简介：Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen (born 25 December 1976) is a Finnish composer known best for symphonic metal music. He has also studied jazz and classical styles, but prefers to be influenced by harmonic film music. He is best known for being the keyboardist, band leader and main songwriter of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. He has also played in the bands Nattvindens Gråt and Darkwoods My Betrothed. His current side projects are the Gothic metal band For My Pain... and the band of Timo Rautiainen. Holopainen has written several songs that have been included in movie soundtracks, including recent collaboration with Nightwish bass player, and male vocalist Marco Hietala on "While Your Lips Are Still Red", for the Finnish film "Lieksa!" in 2007. He's also producing Nightwish's own film, Imaginaerum, to be released in November 2012. Biography I was born Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen into a family of four, on Christmas Day 1976. Since then my home has been a small city of Kitee in North Carelia, Finland. Music came into my life at the age of 6 when my mother made me take piano lessons in a music school of Carelia, followed by clarinet and tenor saxophone studies some years later. Having completed the music theory classes together with final exams in the instruments, I got my graduation diploma at the age of 15, the same year I took off to Kansas for a year as a foreign exchange student. Ashamed to say, I haven't touched neither the clarinet nor the sax since the military band in '96-'97. In September 1992 my host family took me to see Metallica and Guns 'N Roses in Kansas City, a concert that would have a huge impact on my musical influences and, well, life altogether. Returning from the States in '93, I was asked to join a band of my mates' called "Dismal Silence". It was soon followed by Nattvindens Gråt & Darkwoods My Betrothed. These bands were mainly the brainchildren of my high school friend, Teemu Kautonen, who I have a lot to thank for, as he mentored me into the world of songwriting and lyrics. After some years in those groups, the idea of Nightwish was born in the fall of 1996. Besides Nightwish, some of my past side projects / additional musical adventures include Sethian, For My Pain, Kotiteollisuus, Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus, Silentium (producer) & Indica (producer). I have a special passion for film music, but when it comes to enjoying music, it's always the song that matters the most, not the genre. Writing an actual score for a movie is something I'd love to try one day. My aim in the band is to become a more balanced human being, friend and co-worker through creating music and stories, to give the listeners a place to escape to and to create their own universes, and to simply have a wondrous time with this bunch! Nightwish is my soul image, my retreat, trash can & life's work all rolled in one. The latest album Imaginaerum takes the long ride to a whole new level once again, but I do believe there's still a long way to go on this roller coaster ride. The ride will last as long as there is imagination, beauty and darkness left in the world. Thank you everybody for giving them to me, for listening and for caring.