Composer, Violinist, Senior Lecturer

Thomas Wally is an Austrian composer, violinist and senior lecturer of music theory courses at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. His music has been performed in Europe, New York, Canada, Argentina, Iran, Hong Kong and Tokyo by ensembles and orchestras such as the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, Academy Symphony Orchestra Hong Kong, Klangforum Wien, PHACE, OENM, Mondrian Ensemble, ensemble risonanze erranti, ensemble mise-en, Ensemble STYX, Ensemble Zeitfluss, Ensemble Kontrapunkte, ensemble LUX, Ensemble Platypus, Ensemble Reconsil, Ensemble Wiener Collage, Hugo Wolf Quartet, Nouvelle Cuisine Big Band, Studio for New Music Ensemble Moscow, Trio Frühstück, Webern Symphonie Orchester, Wiener Concert-Verein and the Zalodek Ensemble.

His compositions have been broadcasted by Ö1, Kulturradio RBB, Deutschlandfunk Kultur, SRF, France Musique and NHK (Japan). Thomas Wally has been awarded numerous prizes and scholarships such as the Austrian state scholarship for composition (2009, 2012, 2018), the Helmut Sohmen composition prize 2009, the Outstanding Artist Award 2010 by the Federal Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture and the Förderungspreis of the City of Vienna 2012. 2015 his composition loop fantasy was awarded the 2nd prize at the Toru Takemitsu Composition Award, Tokyo. 2016 he received a Theodor Körner Förderpreis for Caprice (VII) ultrajaune. Thomas Wally is recipient of the Musik-Preis der Stadt Wien 2016 ("Music Prize of the City of Vienna") and of the Ernst-Krenek-Preis 2020 (awarded for cycle: 25 easy pieces). 2020 a portrait CD, recorded by the Mondrian Ensemble in the ORF RadioKulturhaus Vienna, was released by the Austrian label col legno.

As a violinist, Thomas Wally dedicates himself to the performance of contemporary music, inter alia as co-founder and violinist of ensemble LUX. Since 2002 he is a frequent substitute with the Vienna Philharmonic and since 2001 in the Vienna State Opera. In a new radio series called “Neue Musik auf der Couch” (Ö1, Zeit-Ton) each month Thomas Wally analyses a string quartet written within the last hundred years.

Thomas Wally studied composition with Dietmar Schermann, Erich Urbanner, Chaya Czernowin and violin with Josef Hell at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. In 2005/2006 he spent an exchange year at the Sibelius-Akatemia Helsinki as a student of Paavo Heininen.