Sean Lomax
{{Infobox musical artist
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Sean Lomax
| honorific_suffix =
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| birth_name = Sean Alan Lomax
| alias =
| birth_date = {{Birth based on age as of date|49|2009|05|07}}
| birth_place =
| origin = Braddock, Pennsylvania, U.S.
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| genre =
| occupation = Whistler
| years_active = 1985–present
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}}
Sean Alan Lomax (born {{circa}} 1960) is an American professional whistler. A Three-time winner at the International Whistlers Convention, Lomax quit his day job in 2005 to tour in Cirque du Soleil's Corteo.
Life and career
Lomax{{cite web|url=http://www.whistleon.com/Photo_Gallery.html|title=Sean Alan Lomax|publisher=Sean Lomax|website=whistleon.com|access-date=July 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723155014/http://www.whistleon.com/Photo_Gallery.html|archive-date=July 23, 2018|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}} grew up in Braddock, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and at age 18 joined the United States Navy submarine service.
Possessing a whistling range of three octaves, Lomax says he was encouraged to attend the annual International Whistlers Convention in Louisburg, North Carolina, and first did in 1985. That year, he performed Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue but was disqualified for running overtime. He has returned to the competition many times, becoming the International Whistling Grand Champion in 1988 and 1992 and Twenty years later the third time 2012. Named Entertainer of the Year in 2009.{{cite web|url=http://old.post-gazette.com/pg/09127/968106-56.stm|title=Champion whistler to perform with Edgewood Symphony|last=Angell|first=Kate Luce|date=May 7, 2009|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|access-date=July 23, 2018|archive-date=January 31, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131112735/http://old.post-gazette.com/pg/09127/968106-56.stm|url-status=dead}}
In 1990, while stationed for the Navy in San Diego, California, Lomax traveled to Louisburg and placed second in character as the "whistling sailor" with The Barber of Seville and "The Theme from Superman".{{cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/04/22/Rhapsody-in-Blue-wins-it-for-whistler/5297640756800/|title='Rhapsody in Blue' wins it for whistler|date=April 22, 1990|publisher=United Press International|access-date=July 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723155015/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/04/22/Rhapsody-in-Blue-wins-it-for-whistler/5297640756800/|archive-date=July 23, 2018|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}} After his 1988 win, he appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson;{{cite web|url=https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=tonight+show+starring+johnny+carson&advanced=1&p=22&item=B:43368|title=Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The {Sean Lomax, Kenny Rogers} (TV)|publisher=Paley Center for Media|access-date=July 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723155014/https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=tonight+show+starring+johnny+carson&advanced=1&p=22&item=B:43368|archive-date=July 23, 2018|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}} in 1992, he appeared on Late Night with David Letterman and whistled the Fifth Symphony's first movement,{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/shows/late-night-with-david-letterman/show-1622-177434/|title=Late Night with David Letterman - Show #1622|publisher=TV.com|access-date=July 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002031909/http://www.tv.com/shows/late-night-with-david-letterman/show-1622-177434/|archive-date=October 2, 2016|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}} the piece Lomax whistled to win the International Whistlers Convention that year.{{cite web|url=https://journaltimes.com/news/national/beethoven-wins-for-whistler/article_c3f883f1-561c-56c0-932e-775099d02144.html|title=Beethoven wins for whistler|date=April 26, 1992|work=The Journal Times|location=Racine, Wisconsin|access-date=July 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723155014/https://journaltimes.com/news/national/beethoven-wins-for-whistler/article_c3f883f1-561c-56c0-932e-775099d02144.html|archive-date=July 23, 2018|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}
''Corteo''
In 2000, he was described as "the strangest part of [a] program" who "wowed the audience with his true and occasionally adventurous renditions of old standards."{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=heWU0NtaCtIC&q=sean+lomax&pg=PA218|title=Reaping the Wind: How Mechanical Wizards, Visionaries, and Profiteers Helped Shape Our Energy Future|last=Asmus|first=Peter|year=2000|publisher=Island Press|isbn=9781597262606|page=218|access-date=2018-07-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723155014/https://books.google.com/books?id=heWU0NtaCtIC&pg=PA218&dq=sean+lomax|archive-date=2018-07-23|url-status=live}} In 2004, Lomax released the jazz holiday album Whistling This Christmas.{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/whistling-this-christmas-mw0000505541|title=Whistling This Christmas - Sean Lomax|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=July 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723155014/https://www.allmusic.com/album/whistling-this-christmas-mw0000505541|archive-date=July 23, 2018|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}} Also that year, Lomax made several television appearances and auditioned in Las Vegas for Cirque du Soleil. In April 2005, Corteo launched with Lomax in a leading role, so he left his job as a network technician to whistle full-time. In Corteo, Lomax played circus ringmaster Mr. Loyal, performing upwards of 3,000 shows.{{cite web|url=https://journalstar.com/entertainment/performing-arts/cirque-du-soleil-brings-mesmerizing-theatrical-acrobatics-to-arena-in/article_7916e7fc-cc23-5c47-875a-1d3ece624adc.html|title=Cirque du Soleil brings mesmerizing theatrical acrobatics to arena in 'Corteo'|last=Wolgamott|first=L. Kent|date=May 17, 2018|work=Lincoln Journal Star|access-date=July 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518074115/http://journalstar.com/entertainment/performing-arts/cirque-du-soleil-brings-mesmerizing-theatrical-acrobatics-to-arena-in/article_7916e7fc-cc23-5c47-875a-1d3ece624adc.html|archive-date=May 18, 2018|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}} In a review for the Houston Chronicle, Molly Glentzer wrote, "ultimately, it's the least likeable character of all—Mr. Loyal, the angry ringmaster—who comes across as the most poignant, when he whistles a farewell to Mauro. Sean Lomax whistles so virtuosically he seems part bird, part angel and part seering (sic) violin."{{cite web|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/article/Cirque-du-Soleil-s-Corteo-teaches-us-to-fly-12741257.php|title=Cirque du Soleil's 'Corteo' teaches us to fly|last=Glentzer|first=Molly|date=March 9, 2018|work=Houston Chronicle|access-date=July 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309220451/https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/article/Cirque-du-Soleil-s-Corteo-teaches-us-to-fly-12741257.php|archive-date=March 9, 2018|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}} A second incarnation of Corteo, again featuring Lomax, started in 2018.{{cite web|url=https://www.freepresshouston.com/cirque-du-soleils-corteo-breezes-into-town-this-weekend/|title=Cirque du Soleil's 'Corteo' Breezes Into Town This Weekend|last=Bergeron|first=Michael|date=March 5, 2018|work=Free Press Houston|access-date=July 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723155014/https://www.freepresshouston.com/cirque-du-soleils-corteo-breezes-into-town-this-weekend/|archive-date=July 23, 2018|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.sagaftra.org/iactor/SeanTheWhistlerLomax.pdf List of roles] from SAG-AFTRA
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lomax, Sean}}
Category:Musicians from Pittsburgh
Category:United States Navy sailors
Category:Year of birth uncertain
Category:21st-century African-American musicians