BIOGRAPHY
'I make music that is inspired and informed by the various traditions that I have come to know and the ones I still hope to discover. My main interest lies in reconciling the fixed nature of composition with the spontaneity of improvisation.'
Tobias Meissl was born in Vienna, Austria. With both his parents being Classical musicians, he has been surrounded by music and musicians as long as he can remember.
After developing an early interest in the Drums, eventually the Vibraphone became his main focus, soon to be joined by the Piano. Next to an intimate relationship with the European Classical repertoire and an adolescent fascination with Rock
and Metal, the discovery of Jazz and its descendants through his teachers at the local music school proved to be a pivotal point in Meissl's musical development. The research of artists, recordings and styles remains an unending quest.
At age 19 he moved to Boston, MA to attend Berklee College of Music on a full tuition scholarship, majoring in Jazz Composition (Diploma, summa cum laude) and Professional Music. After completing his studies with such luminaries as Ed Saindon, Ralph Peterson Jr., George Garzone, Joanne Brackeen, Greg Hopkins etc., Meissl is currently residing in Vienna, where he finished a Master's Degree in Jazz Composition from MuK and is teaching mallets and working as a freelance musician.
Tobias Meissl's aim is to create music that reflects and consolidates different aspects of what occupies his attention, not necessarily pointing each of them out directly but rather finding an organic whole – beyond strict stylistic boundaries,
but with a Jazz perspective.