Bio
Sebastian Barniol, producer, arranger, composer and pianist, was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and began his musical studies at the age of 5 at the Rimsky Korsakov Conservatory in his hometown of Guayaquil. At the Conservatory, he obtained a Technical Degree in Classical Piano Music Performance (1995-2007). At the age of 18, he started studying a B.S. in Digital Systems and Robotics Engineering at the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) in Monterrey, Mexico (2008-2012). After completing his studies at this prestigious University, he enrolled at the distinguished Berklee College of Music to obtain a B.M. in Contemporary Writing and Production (2013-2015).
Sebastian Barniol is constantly searching for new ideas and concepts to expand his knowledge and creativity. In his music, he is always trying to evoke new emotions and create new sounds. Inspired by new artists like Dirty Loops and classic geniuses of music like Stevie Wonder and The Beatles, his arrangements and productions include rich harmonies and interesting rhythms to catch the attention of listeners.
During his life, he has been part of many successful musical projects in Ecuador, Mexico and the United States of America. In Monterrey, Mexico, he participated as pianist in the renowned Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) Ensemble (2011 - 2012). Also, he participated as pianist and, in many occasions, as concertino of the ITESM Symphonic Orchestra (2008 - 2012). In these two musical groups, Sebastian performed numerous concerts in the Luis Elizondo Hall in Monterrey, at times for more than a thousand spectators in each concert. He was also selected to perform in the National Song Festival XXIV in Mexico City, where he was awarded Best Original Song (2nd Place) and Best Individual Performance (2nd Place) from among more than 150 participants from all over Mexico.
In the United States, Sebastian founded and participated in a band called “Seven To Five” (2015) in Boston, Massachusetts. Sebastian has produced, arranged and recorded a series of popular videos containing “mashup” versions of popular hit songs with Seven to Five. These videos reached more than 30,000 views in various social networks. Seven to Five has performed in multiple influential venues across Boston.
Also, Sebastian Barniol performed as a piano accompanist for a live concert of Latin Grammy Award-winner Alexander Acha at the Berklee Performance Center (2016). Sebastian was also selected as the arranger and pianist for a video production featuring multi Latin Grammy Award-winner Noel Schajris, formerly of the influential Mexican pop band “Sin Bandera.” Sebastian was singled out among his peers to compose an arrangement of a medley of Noel’s most popular songs, which was then performed by Schajris. The “Making of” video recording was transmitted live by “People en Español” through their Facebook page, reaching more than 85,000 views on its first day of release. During the recording, Schajris commented, “The arrangement was phenomenal; I want to listen to it again.”
In 2017 Sebastian started a new project alongside Ecuadorian singer-songwriter Ceci Juno that consist of a piano/voice duo that performs and arranges music videos. One of his videos, “La La Land Medley”, was selected as one of the five runner-ups of the contest “#MyCityOfStars” by Lionsgate and the “La la land” movie. Recently, Sebastian has also composed the music for the videos of the mexican influencer and motivational speaker Farid Dieck. The videos have gone viral reaching more than 80,000,000 views on facebook.
In his broad musical trajectory, Sebastian Barniol has also obtained several honors and awards from prestigious entities and institutions in three different countries: Ecuador, Mexico and the United States. His honors and awards include: First Place at the National Piano Competition, German Cultural Center (Ecuador, 2007), the aforementioned Best Song (Second Place) and Best Individual Performance (Second Place) at Song Composition Contest: National Song Festival ITESM XXIV (Mexico, 2011) and Award for Excellence in Vocal Writing at Berklee College of Music (2015) and many more.
