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Tommy Barbarella

piano and keyboards

Best known for his extensive work with Prince in the 1990s, Tommy Barbarella has a reputation for excellence and versatility extended over the following two decades by touring, recording and performing with the likes of Art Garfunkel, Mavis Staples, Jonny Lang, Nick Jonas, Italian superstar Giorgia and Minneapolis supergroup Greazy Meal. He has contributed his talents to Hollywood features by iconic directors like Spike Lee, Robert Altman and Marc Forester, as well as composing award-winning commercial tracks for Nike, Budweiser, Audi and hundreds of other organizations.

A veteran of touring and playing live, Barbarella is also a first-call session musician. His keyboard work can be heard on recordings by artists as diverse as Demi Lovato, Switchfoot, Backstreet Boys, Ziggy Marley, Love & Rockets, David Sylvian, Miley Cyrus, Daniel Powter and Mandy Moore, among many others. As a frequent arranger and performer with the Minnesota Orchestra, Barbarella brought his worlds together in September 2016 when the Orchestra performed his arrangement of Prince’s Purple Rain at the state-of-the-art halftime show of the inaugural Minnesota Vikings game at U.S. Bank Stadium. More recently, his Symphony of the North collaboration with the Minnesota Orchestra and the Minnesota Vikings won the award for Best Show Open at the annual 2022 Golden Matrix Awards.