Hugo Tomas

Hugo Tomas is a first-generation Indigenous Zapotec-American trumpeter who hails from Greater Los Angeles and is part of OaxaCalifornia, a transnational community in Los Angeles dedicated to preserving and innovating the Indigenous culture of Oaxaca.

Mr. Tomas is a graduate of California State University, Fullerton, with a Master of Music in Classical Trumpet Performance and of Los Angeles College of Music, with a Bachelor of Music in Commercial Trumpet Performance. His musical performance experience initiated at 13 years old and ranges across genres like Regional/Traditional Mexican, Latin, Classical, and Jazz; making him a quickly emerging freelancer, musical director, and recording producer in Southern California and Mexico. He has performed with San Diego Symphony, LA Opera, Gente de Zona, Miguel Bose, Marie Osmund, Sonora Dinamita, and many more. Currently, Mr. Tomas performs with one of LA’s top versatile bands, Sonora de Los Angeles, performing genres like Mariachi, Banda, Cumbia, Salsa, Merengue, Latin Jazz, and Latin Pop — all while maintaining an active career as a classical trumpeter.

A dedicated educator, Mr. Tomas maintains a regular trumpet studio with his Trumpet Academy and is a teaching artist for the Harmony Project and Young Musicians Foundation. He has been invited twice by The Conservatory of Music of the State of Mexico for their annual Summer Masterclass Series. He has also been invited to present a seminar on Oaxacan Band Culture and
its integration into Western Band Culture for Dartmouth College’s MusicMexico Symposium, maintaining his commitment to creating diversity, equity, and inclusion by providing resources to underserved, marginalized students.