Ramiro Uribe

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The Ecuadorian harpist, singer and composer was born in Quito, the capital of his home country. His musical development has been influenced by two music styles: the folk-like and the academic one. He first assimilated by the natural musicality and out of the rich, manifold and unbelievable sounds of this country as well as the entire continent. A world without sound or without music is unimaginably.

At the age of only 5 years, Ramiro Uribe already started his musician career as a singer for family and school celebrations. Later on he learned how to play the guitar and the piano dedicated to the rhythm of his home country and Latin America. The second direction of his career was the academic one, the studies at the National Academy of Music located in Quito where he also took classes in playing contrabass taught by the well-known René Bonilla. At once Ramiro Uribe studied philology and literature at the Universidad Central del Ecuador.

The experience with the popular harp, which he approached in a self-educated way, brought him to higher stages of his musical development. The harp becomes Ramiro’s favorite instrument beyond all obligatory instrumental themes of the usual repertory. The combination of the cadence of his voice and the crystal clear sound of his harp led to an excellent and aesthetic performance: unique sound, extraordinary smooth and gentle, melancholy, mainly Ecuadorian but still universal; a sound which touches the audiences soul. On stage, the harp becomes an individual being next Ramiro and they merge into one. They directly touch the audience mainly due to the magic of his interpretative sensitivity.

Innovation and authencity are the attributes of his art: his unique style, which creates a selected style, dominating the melodic timing, the literary quality and the messages of his music. Either by pre-columbian music genres of his country as Yumbo, Yaraví and Danzante, afro-ecuadorian elements as Bomba and furthermore genres of the mestizo like Pasillo, tonada, Albazo, Aire Típico; and it´s the same way for Latin American rhythm, which influenced him the most: from Columbia, Cuba and Brasil, e.g. Vallenato, Cumbia, Bolero, Salsa and Bossa Nova.

Ramiro performed as soloist and as member of the Ecuadorian band “Nuevo Amanecer” beyond his homeland in Bolivia, Columbia, Peru, Germany, Spain, The Netherlands, France, Great Britain, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Italy and Switzerland.

RAMIRO URIBE performs solo or ensemble with guitar, violine or transverse flute, bass and latin percussion.

(Astrid von Meel)