Tom Oren is the celebrated winner of the 2018 Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz International Piano Competition (currently the Herbie Hancock Institute). He was judged by a jury of piano giants: Herbie Hancock, Monty Alexander, Joanne Brackeen, Cyrus Chestnut, Jason Moran, Danilo Perez and Rene Rosnes.

Oren was born in Tel Aviv, Israel and began his music training at age six. An honors graduate of the Israeli Conservatory of Music Classical Department, as well as the Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts Jazz Department; he studied at the renowned Rimon Jazz Institute and attended Berklee College of Music on a full scholarship. In December of 2019, he graduated from Berklee with honors.

Oren’s achievements include winning first prize in Rimon’s annual Jazz Musician Contest and numerous America-Israel Cultural Foundation Excellency Scholarships. As a pianist, an arranger and a composer, he has performed and recorded with a host of leading Israeli jazz musicians, most recently as a core member of the Eli Degibri Quartet.

Oren has appeared on world-class stages including the JazzAhead! Festival in Bremen, the Jazz à Juan Festival in Antibes, Jarasum Jazz Festival in Korea, the International Jazz Day celebration in Saint Petersburg, Russia, the Newport Jazz Festival and the Red Sea Jazz Festival, just to name a few.

In addition, Tom has just finished composing, arranging and recording his original music for the upcoming feature film “Victory’s Pose”, by internationally acclaimed filmmaker Avi Nesher.

Tom will release his debut album, Dorly’s Song, on Concord Records under the Concord Jazz imprint, due out October 30, 2020 on all digital platforms. The album is an intimately personal project for Oren, offering his interpretations of songs composed by his mother, Dorly Oren Chazon, a highly regarded pianist and composer in Oren’s native Israel.