Julian Gargiulo – Pianist with the hair – introduction
Julian Gargiulo, commonly referred to as “Pianist with the Hair” because of his distinctive look, is a pianist, composer, and recording artist who performs in prestigious venues from New York’s Carnegie Hall to Singapore’s Symphony Stage and has been featured on Radio and TV stations in North America, Europe, and Asia. Julian was named a Steinway Artist in 2014.
Born and educated in Italy, with dual U.S. and Italian citizenship, Mr. Gargiulo studied at the Verona State Conservatory (Randone), the Mugi Academy in Rome (Ciccolini) and the Moscow State Conservatory (Mezhlumov). In the United States he received his Bachelor’s Degree at Rowan University (Zuponcic), Master’s Degree at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University (Slutsky), and his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree at the University of Maryland (Rodriguez). In 2005 Julian started the Water Island Music Festival in the Virgin Islands, currently in its 15th season, which brings together classical and jazz musicians for three days of music. Founder of 16000children, a Non-profit dedicated to raising awareness for the children who die of hunger in the world every day, Julian also devotes his time and talent performing and raising funds for numerous other charities worldwide. In 2009 Julian was also named Artistic Director of ‘Crossing Borders’, a Hunter College (NY) program which presents established foreign artists currently living in NY. In 2010 Julian began writing a classical music column called Mostly Classical for the main newspaper in the Cayman Islands, The Cayman Compass. In 2015 Julian presented the first edition of Getting to Carnegie an International Music Competition which features musicians from all around the world for a chance to share the stage at Carnegie Hall. This year Getting to Carnegie became an official NonProfit 501c3. Grammy-winning pianist Emanuel Ax and US Poet Laureate Billy Collins have recently joined the Honorary Board of Getting to Carnegie, alongside longtime supporters Susan and Chip Fisher. The short documentary “Getting to Carnegie”, based on the yearly competition by the same name, has screened at movie festivals in the United States and Europe. It was an Official Selection in New York’s Independent Film Festival and won the Marion Herman Excellence in Filmmaking Award at the 2019 Sedona International Film Festival. Julian’s music and recordings have appeared in movies and documentaries, most recently in the ‘Official Trailer’ of Keira Knightley’s new film, “The Aftermath”, produced by Ridley Scott. Upcoming highlights include return tours of Europe, Asia and the United States, albeit via Zoom and Facebook Live due to the current Covid-19 world-wide pandemic. Julian currently splits his time between New York and Paris.