Óliver Curbelo, PhD from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is an active pianist, educator, and researcher.
His career as a pianist (solo piano, piano duo, and chamber music) has led him to perform in numerous concerts throughout Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Finland, the United States, Argentina, and Chile. He has also appeared several times as a soloist with the Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra and the Gran Canaria Wind Orchestra.
As a researcher, he explores various areas within music education. His doctoral thesis, focused on the use and teaching of the piano’s sustain pedal, was awarded the highest distinction, sobresaliente cum laude, in 2013. As part of his research activity, in 2011 he discovered an unpublished pedal method by Enrique Granados, and in 2015 he found an autograph manuscript of military marches by the same composer. He has authored several books and scientific articles related to music performance and education—particularly piano teaching—and has presented his research at over a dozen conferences and symposia in Spain, Portugal, the United States, Argentina, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.
He was a professor at the Canary Islands Higher Conservatory of Music for 19 years, and since 2015, he has been a professor in the Area of Music Education at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, he holds several administrative and coordination roles at the university, including serving as Campus Director under the Vice-Rectorate for Culture, Sports, and Society of ULPGC. He has also been invited to give piano masterclasses at various conservatories and universities in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Finland, the United States, and Argentina.
Within the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, he focuses on promoting musical activities in an interdisciplinary manner with other academic fields. This interest has led him to initiate the creation of an educational innovation group dedicated to interdisciplinary education, in collaboration with other faculty members from the Faculty of Educational Sciences.