Felix Biller is an award-nominated pianist, composer, music educator and music manager. Born in Rosenheim, Bavaria (Germany), he started his musical education at the age of four. Throughout the years he tackled many instruments, such as guitar and saxophone, but the piano always remained his instrument of choice and mastery. His classical training gave him an excellent technique; his eagerness to experiment and think outside the box makes him search for new inspirations and opportunities for artistic development.
Biller is both an involved learner and dedicated teacher. He graduated from musicology and music management as well as jazz/pop piano with a focus on pedagogy at the University of Music and Performing Arts in the Austrian capital Vienna, where he lives and works. As an educator, he enjoys working with people of different ages and backgrounds, which is made possible through his teaching activities, among others in private settings.
While patient and systematic as a tutor, Biller is ebullient and charismatic as a musician. He is open to new ideas and influences: he believes an improvisation session with a student may be as inspiring as a classical composition by Johann Sebastian Bach. Esbjörn Svensson, the Neil Cowley Trio, Brad Mehldau, The Bad Plus, John Cage and others have all exercised a lasting influence on his compositions. Skillfully combining diverse musical concepts, Biller manages the balancing act between intellect and emotions and his live performances are a delight for both.
His main artistic focus is on his trio PRIM. Their latest album, "Garnet Tales" (2020, Alessa Records), garnered widespread critical acclaim and has been described as “sharp” or “daring” with Biller serving as “the driving force behind this trio that is not afraid of adventurous and improvised jazz” (Jazzflits, NL). Among other things, they received an invitation to the "Central European Jazz Showcase" 2021 in Brno (CZ) as one of the selected ensembles, were picked for the funding program “musik aktuell – neue musik in nö 2023” of the Musikfabrik NÖ and have already been enthusiastically received in many places. Another focus lies on the artistic work with the group LaRisa, founded by the singer Larissa Schwärzler, and the progressive-trash-pop collective BLECHKASTEN.
Biller also actively supports the music scene in management functions. Since 2018 he is a management team member at the workshop and festival "NYC Musikmarathon" in Mattighofen (Upper Austria) and he held an assistant position in the artistic management office at the "Wiener Konzerthaus". He is also a frequent guest on radio, TV and other formats worldwide and can be heard there musically (Ö1, Jazz FM, Radio Wroclaw, Radio ARA, KAN in Israel, WartaJazz Indonesia, JazzonPRX in the USA, …). With his composition "Demon Crazy?" he was a finalist at the "Austrian Composers Young Jazz Award 2022". His musical activities, which have taken him, among others, across Europe (Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, ...), to Turkey, the USA or China, also include collaborations with choirs such as the choir of the "Philharmonie Wien", masterclasses and workshops (e.g. "Pop-Kultur Nachwuchs" Berlin 2017 and "Intl. Jazz Platform Footprints Edition 2022" Lodz), concerts at both national and international festivals (e.g. Pop-Kultur-Festival Berlin, Jazz Fest Wiesen, jazzahead! CLUBNIGHT Bremen, Jazzfestival Steyr, Lublin Jazz Festival, Mladí Ladí Jazz) and in various venues (e.g. Porgy & Bess Vienna, Musikverein Vienna, Jazz Dock Prague, Prulček Ljubljana, DDC Beijing, Time Beacon Ningbo), recordings in well-known studios such as the Little Big Beat Studios Liechtenstein as well as film scoring (e.g. “Allesandersplatz” 2020 by Isis Rampf with co-composer Christoph Karas and its premiere at the “achtung berlin Filmfestival” 2021 including a nomination in the section "Berlin Spotlights").