Tommy Reilly Memorial Concert
* 21. August 1919 - † 25. September 2000
Tommy Reilly was born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, in 1919 and died in Frensham, England, in 2000.
His father, Captain James Reilly, was an accomplished musician, conductor of military bands and symphony orchestras, founder of one of the first jazz bands in Canada and also one of the first harmonica bands in the world at the Elmdale School in St Thomas, Ontario.
Tommy began violin lessons at the age of 8 and took up the harmonica three years later. He became a soloist with the band and won the gold medal at the Canadian Exhibition in 1932 and 1933.
Shortly before the Second World War, he toured Europe's variety theatres as a harmonica player and was detained in internment camps in the German Reich as a citizen of an enemy country when the war broke out. During this time, he developed the classical way of playing the harmonica and thus opened up the instrument to classical music.
Saturday, Nov. 1st 2025
Tommy Reilly Memorial Concert
- 2:00 pm
- 1:30 pm
Location
Martin Luther Church
Kirchstraße 22
78647 Trossingen
Live on stage
It’s a lineup you’ll love!
Sigmund Groven
Norway
For five decades Sigmund Groven has had an international career as soloist and composer. He was born in Norway into a musical family. With his mentor Tommy Reilly Sigmund appeared in concert in Europe and North America, and in 1976 they recorded a duo album...
Yasuo Watani
Japan
Yasuo Watani (born in 1960) is a Japanese chromatic harmonica player. He was born in Kyoto, Japan and had his first harmonica lessons with Tadao Kobayashi in 1966.
After graduating from Doshisha University (Faculty of Commerce) in 1984 with a degree in Economics, he studied the chromatic harmonica with Helmuth Herold at the Hohner Conservatory Trossingen in Germany from 1984 to 1988. He also learned the harmonica from the British harmonica virtuoso Tommy Reilly...
Registration & Tickets
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