Otmaro Ruiz - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Otmaro Ruíz is a Venezuelan pianist

Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

, keyboardist

Keyboardist

A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...

, composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

and arranger

Arranger

In investment banking, an arranger is a provider of funds in the syndication of a debt. They are entitled to syndicate the loan or bond issue, and may be referred to as the "lead underwriter". This is because this entity bears the risk of being able to sell the underlying securities/debt or the...

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Ruíz began his formal musical studies at the age of eight on piano, classical guitar, harmony, history and aesthetics. He also was exposed to other artistic activities such as drawing and acting. At the same time, he studied organ

Organ (music)

The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...

and pursued a scientific career as a biologist at the Simón Bolívar University

Universidad Simón Bolívar

Simón Bolívar University or USB, is a public institution located in Miranda State, Venezuela with scientific and technological orientation....

, but kept playing keyboards on the side, landing his first professional work in a pop group in 1980.

Decided to focus entirely on music, Ruíz dropped out of school in 1983, playing in his native Venezuela.