By Natasha Barbieri
“I was born in Moscow into a family rich in musical history. A family who throughout the generations were prolific musicians and inventors,” Olga Thomas tells us. The composer is known to the public primarily for her ‘musical gifts’ to the royal family that have been heard topping the classical charts.
She shares more about her family saying, “My mother, who was a musician and costume designer, was my first and greatest inspiration. I was very lucky to have both musical multi-subjects, such as piano, composition, musicology, history etc and the normal academic curriculum in the same school, the famous Gnessin school which gave us one of the best piano performers Evgeny Kissin. I was very lucky to study piano under the same teacher as Evgeny Kissin.”
Olga’s training continued at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatoire where she met the “wonderful” composer Edison Denissov. “[He] was was equally great as a classical composer and a film composer.” Soon, she was learning from the man himself. “He suggested that I should stay the way I am, he did not wish to affect my creativity and make me a cliché composer as he described it. He encouraged me just to be myself. Instead of teaching me we spent our lessons playing wonderful piano duets by the great composers. It was absolutely amazing.”
She is grateful for his mentorship and belief in her “unique” style. For Olga, composing has always been a part of her life. “I have a permanent ‘background application’ in my brain which constantly composes. Situations, images, stories inspire me all the time.”
Inspiration can come from reading a great novel or even a trip to the grocery store! “When I was having my driving lessons, I drove my poor instructor mad because every interesting situation was leading to a composition.” Her ‘Roundabout Waltz’ was based on some driving frustrations she experienced on, what else, a roundabout! The piece came to the attention of Peter Falk (of Colombo fame), in fact, he liked it so much that Olga transformed it into ‘Just One More Thing’ in his honor. “He later invited me to his beautiful house in LA, showed me his drawings and asked me to compose ten more pieces!”
One tune that would feature on the West End production of the Cheery Orchard was composed at the age of 5! “Obviously, I didn’t tell anyone that I composed it when I was 5!”
If you are a fan of classical crossover you are sure to enjoy the music Olga creates. More specifically she describes her style as, “very cinematic…. It has catchy tunes and can bring visual images when you hear it.” While that is her personal style she of course accommodates and adapts to the various projects she is involved in. She writes in a unique way: “My compositions come to me entirely, the whole piece and I just tidy them up. I jokingly compare it to Athena emerging complete from the head of Zeus.”
Olga’s uncanny ability to find inspiration in everyday moments has led to success in television and film. “I always knew that it is what I was going to do. Interestingly it was the film project what brought me together with the famous Hollywood dynasty, the Douglas Family, and since then we have been friends for very many years.”
Of course, the process varies. “The way I compose for any drama depends on particular projects. The Douglases, for instance, gave me the script. When I compose for the BBC drama I also usually have the scripts.”
When it came to the film Chernobyl Olga was presented with the unfinished film footage. “I saw the visual part and absorbed the mood of the film.”
Olga’s musical gifts for the royal family have blossomed out of “lifelong admiration” for the Royal Family. “My first piece related to the Royal Family, “Themes of Life and Glory,” was written as a tribute to The Queen Mother soon after she died. I wrote it to celebrate her life and express my great admiration. To be honest, I could never imagine that one day, years later it will be presented to HM!”
It was through her friend Carroll Froth that Olga became involved in the Cruse Bereavement Care charity a cause which she holds close to her heart. It just so happened that the Queen was a Royal patron of the same. “It was decided by the Cruse trustees to give Her Majesty a gift of music, my piece, Themes of Life and Glory. I had the immense honor to present this composition to HM in St James’s Palace.”
Another touching moment came when Olga heard her own music being played. “When I entered the Palace and heard my music played there I had tears in my eyes.”
Olga is now the resident composer for the charity. “Since 2009 I wrote several compositions as my private musical gifts on behalf of the charity, to commemorate the most important events in the life of the Royal Family, all of them were presented to The Queen.”
Generously 100% of the profits from these compositions is donated to charity.
Her album, ‘Jubilation’ is a collection of these themed compositions and was recorded with the Royal Marines. “The album was released to celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th Birthday year and to commemorate the longest reign of any monarch in British history. All proceeds from sales of the album were split between Cruse Bereavement Care and Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity.”
Olga composed ‘Royal Platinum Love Song’ in a “very cinematic” style. The song reached No.1 on the classical charts and featured the vocals of Joanna Forest and Daniel Koek with producer Robert Emery. She wrote carefully for the singer, “I had in mind their voices, their vocal reach and capabilities, I took in mind their tone and wrote the songs to suit their beautiful, rich vocal offerings.”
‘Royal Hollywood Love Song’ was originally written for Joel Douglas on the occasion of his wedding. “I composed it in the majestic setting of Clark Gable’s house. It was then played for Her Majesty the Queen at her Golden Jubilee reception on behalf of Cruse Bereavement Care, a charity for which the Queen is a patron.”
When Olga heard about Prince Harry’s engagement to Meghan Markle she was inspired to re-imagine the song for them. “I went into Angel studios with a 72-piece orchestra and recorded the song in the most spectacular cinematic Hollywood way
possible.” She believes that “Love is universal… This piece is about love, it is emotional, epic, romantic, grand and very cinematic. All these characteristics are there. It has the feel of the State Music, related to our Royalty, it has the quality of the film music of Hollywood and it conveys love from the beginning to the end.”
Although Olga is partial to the piano, she also enjoys writing for the violin. “I have a soft spot for that instrument, one of my ancestors who immigrated to the USA was the founding professor of violin when the Eastman School of Music was opened in September 1921. He was Concertmaster in the London Philharmonic, then the Rochester Philharmonic and then from 1933 till 1964 with Boston Symphony Orchestra.” She often pairs violin, with oboe and piano. “When we did the album ‘Jubilation’ it was Royal Marines Band, as I jokingly call it, ‘no strings attached’ arrangement. Though in real life I am very strongly attached to the Royal Marines and always greatly enjoy collaborating with them.”
She believes teaching is meant to be a passion and not simply something someone does when a performance career doesn’t pan out as planned. “Quite the contrary, one has to be very successful in order to share experience, knowledge etc. with others through teaching. The teacher has to be a source of inspiration. I continue to be creative in my teaching as well. Like with my compositions my style is ‘tailored’ to fit specific individual students.”
This tailoring was especially beneficial in one of Olga’s student with Parkinson’s disease. Because of the nature of her illness, the student only had limited capacity in her left hand. Olga says she “created a special way” and was very proud that she passed her music exams. “The examiner commented on a good coordination between her hands. It was such a great achievement for both of us. There even was a special BBC program about it.”
She continues to work for the future saying, “I would love to perform for Her Majesty The Queen in person, it would be a lifelong dream fulfilled. I will also release a Christmas themed EP ‘A Royal Christmas with Olga Thomas’, which will feature my latest releases as well as Anno Domini. And once again Joanna Forest and Daniel Koek will feature on a brand new track recorded with the 72 piece orchestra titled ‘This Is His Song’ which will be released as my next single along with the EP at the end of November.”
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