Omar Gabriel Delnevo (they/them) born in 1996, is a musician and sound artist, of Jamaican, Italian and Brazilian background. They trained in classical piano and composition at the G. Verdi Conservatory in Milan, and successively obtained an MA in Sound Design for Film. Their work is rooted in sound and music as a listening practice, a magnifying lens on the world and their experience of it, but blossoms in many other directions and medias, such as body performance and film.
Their work reflects around the refraction of identity and memories, and how they weave into the experience of diasporic and queer bodies.
They have performed for various artistic contexts as a pianist, composer, sound artist and/or performer in several contexts including the Venice Biennale, Milano Musica Festival, for SAVVY Contemporary, Spazio Griot, SPRINT Milano, and Darmstadt Ferienkurse, among others. As a sound designer they have worked on a variety of films of many genres which have been selected for numerous festivals including Sundance Film Festival, Berlinale, Locarno Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival, Grierson Awards, Edinburgh International Film Festival and Watersprite Film Festival among others.
Selected Perfomances
2024 Encantarias w/ Heron Sena for Mezekere Festival at Volkskundemuseum Wien, Austria.
2024 Encantarias w/ Heron Sena at SAVVY Contemporary, Berlin, Germany.
2022 like an infinite vortex w/ Leila Bencharnia and Wissal Houbabi at Scuola Grande della Misericordia for A Storm is Blowing from Paradise, 57° Venice Biennale, Italy.
2022 soundskin#2 w/ Leila Bencharnia at Mattatoio for Spazio Griot, Rome, Italy.
2022 soft machines/far away engines by Sarah Brahim for Diriyah Biennale Foundation, Saudi Arabia
2021 soundskin#1 w/ Leila Bencharnia at SAVVY Contemporary, Berlin, Germany.
2021 Sonic Landscapes of Black Queer Italy for MQBMBQ at Gucci Circolo Milan, Italy.
2021 piano listening session at Spazio Maiocchi for SPRINT fundraising, Milan, Italy.
2021 piano perfomance at Teatro Lirico di Milano for Pianocity, Milan, Italy.
2021 listening session at Archive Sites for Blackn[è]ss, Milan, Italy.
2019 esercizi d’inverno w/ Alfonso Alberti at Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Milan, Italy.
Selected Compositional Works
2023 this too shall pass choir piece for 8 solo voices, commissioned by Emeka Ogboh and Villa Romana for a house is a house is a home at Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy.
2018 there is a flower that bloometh for voice and electronics w/ Danilo Gervasoni for Teatro della Voce, Milano Musica at Teatro Gerolamo, Milan, Italy.
2018 the shadow line for prepared piano performed live at Darmstadt Ferienkurse, Darmstadt, Germany.
Selected Sound Design for Installations
2024 chrysanthemum multichannel sound installation, commissioned by Leila Bencharnia for Maerz Music Berlin 2024.
2023 this too shall pass multichannel sound installation, commissioned by Emeka Ogboh and Villa Romana for a house is a house is a home at Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy.
2022 Trab تراب multichannel sound installation, commissioned by Leila Bencharnia for Biennale OFF Dak’art, Senegal.
Selected Sound Design for Films
2025 Mad Bills to Pay - by Joel Alfonso Vargas [Official Selection at Berlinale and Sundance Film Festival]
2024 Que te vaya bonito, Rico - by Joel Vargas [Award Winner at Locarno Film Festival]
2024 Liminal Roots - by Aliyah Harfoot [Official Selection at BFI London Film Festival and Edinburgh International Film Festival]
2024 The Waiter, the Scientist and Jenny - by Joe Snelling [Best Student Documentary at Grierson Trust Awards]
2023 Near Light - by Niccolò Salvato [Winner of Best Documentary at Watersprite Film Festival 2024]
2023 Like Father - by Joe Snelling
2023 Sohail (Are you eating and sleeping well?) - by Joel Vargas
2022 A Good Start - by Sarah Blok [Official Selection at Leeds International Film Fest]
2022 Vigia - by Ko Chuan Yang
2022 Cleaning Maggie - by José Prats
2022 Green Country - by Sophia Seymour [Official Selection One World Media Award 2023]
2022 See you in the Dark - by Asena Nour [Official Selection at Muslim International Film Festival]
2021 Venus Ascending - by Meloe Gennai commissioned by Istituto Svizzero
Research Streams
Haptic Library with Archive Ensemble
soundskin collaborative music formation w/ Leila Bencharnia
Education
2022 - 2024 Master of Arts in Sound Design for Film and Television at the National Film and Television School, London, UK.
2018 - 2021 Bachelor’s Degree in Piano at the Conservatorio Statale G. Verdi of Milan.
2018 - 2021 Preaccedemic Studies in Composition at the Conservatorio Statale G. Verdi of Milan.
2011 - 2018 Studies of Piano at the Conservatorio Statale G. Verdi of Turin.
Work and Collaborations
2021 - pres. Archive Ensemble - researcher, production assistant, artist and co-curator
2022-2023 Blackn[è]ss Fest - assistant executive, assistant producer
Selected Panels, Talks, Podcasts
2023 Talk, Black Man loves Black Man, for SPORE, Bologna, Italy.
2022 Podcast, Navigating Mental Health with BIPOC in Italy for Blackcoffee Podcast.
2021 Talk, Sonic Landscapes of Black Queer Italy for MQBMBQ at Gucci Circolo Milan,
Italy.
2021 Panel, Around QTIBIPOCs and representation, Blackn[è]ss Fest, Milan, Italy.
Press
Interview: Omar Gabriel Delnevo, Listening Sessions for Piano, SPRINT 2021for PTWSchool