BIOGRAPHY
A true romantic pianist, Dr. Julia Mortyakova brings a unique voice to the instrument - a fresh, yet, mature interpretation of the great masterpieces, as well as new music. Julia's repertoire ranges from Baroque to the music written today. As a captivating performer, Julia's stage presence has mesmerized audiences around the world.
As an active performing artist, Julia has given solo recitals in Florida, Michigan, New York City, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington D.C., Moscow, Russia and Ukraine. She has been a soloist as well as a chamber musician at major festivals including: Aspen Music Festival, Assisi Music Festival (Italy), Eastern Music Festival, Varna International Piano Master Class (Bulgaria), Musica Nueva Malaga (Spain), South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Zhitomir's Musical Spring (Ukraine). She has also been a performer in the Columbia International Festival in Columbia, South Carolina, and at the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
In the summer of 2003 Julia gave a solo recital at the American Embassy in Moscow, Russia, and performed on the compositional recital of composer Olga Harris at the prestigious Gnessin Academy in Moscow.
In the summer of 2007 Julia had her Italian debut at the Assisi Music Festival in Assisi, Italy, where she was a concerto soloist with the Assisi Festival Chamber Orchestra, as well as a solo pianist in various concerts.
During the 2007-2008 year Julia appeared as soloist with orchestras in Montreal, Canada and Miami, Florida.
In the summer of 2008 Julia performed at the Musica Nueva Malaga Festival in Spain. She was a soloist with the orchestra, performing Olga Harris's Piano Concerto "Julia."
Later in the same summer Julia participated in the International Piano Master Class Program in Varna, Bulgaria. There, in addition to taking lessons and playing in masterclasses for famous pianists of the present (such as Joseph Banowetz, Milko Milkov, Joseph Stanford and Adam Wodnicki), Julia had the opportunity to play as a soloist with the Varna Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as to perform solo repertoire.
In addition to standard classical repertoire, Julia regularly performs new music by such composers as Valentin Bogdan, Dennis Kam, Olga Harris and Gustavo Parra. She also specializes in the piano music of Cecile Chaminade.
During the 2010 concert season Julia is performing a series of concerts across the country and abroad, featuring women composers in celebration of Women's History Month. Locations include: Arlington, VA, Los Angeles, CA, Nashville, TN, Lawrence, KS, Miami, FL as well as Zhitomir, Ukraine.
In April 2010 Julia gave a solo and chamber recital featuring the music of women composers at the Zhitomir's Musical Spring new music festival in Ukraine. She also performed music by Dennis Kam and gave a lecture about musical life in the United States.
Julia also has a great passion for chamber music. In the summer of 2002 she gave a chamber music recital at the Aspen Music Festival and School, and in 2006 performed as a part of the New York University Chamber Music Quilt. Julia is also an avid performer of the piano duet repertoire, particularly the music of female composers.
In 2008 Julia became a co-founder and Artistic Director of the Downtown Community Concert Series at First United Methodist Church of Miami, a concert series aimed at bringing audiences downtown for concerts ranging from classical music of all genres (solo, chamber, vocal, orchestra and choral) to tango and jazz.
In addition to her performing experiences, Julia has had extensive professional training in her field. A native of Moscow, Russia, she is a graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy, and Vanderbilt University, where she majored in Piano Performance and Philosophy. She earned her Master's Degree in Performance at New York University, where she served as an adjunct piano instructor teaching keyboard harmony, as well as undergraduate and graduate piano students. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Keyboard Performance from the University of Miami.
Julia's principle teachers have been: Michael Coonrod, Irina Krivchenko, Miyoko Lotto, Craig Nies, Fabio Parrini, and Rosalina Sackstein.
Julia continues to pursue her love of research, and particularly of combining music and philosophy through her many papers, presentations, and projects. Dr. Mortyakova's first book, "Existential Piano Teacher" is available for purchase on Amazon.com
Read more...