Julia Aguayo, Piano
Spanish-born pianist Julia Aguayo began her career at age 16 at the prestigious Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid in 2005, as one of five candidates selected from a field of over 100 candidates.Following her success in Spain, Julia moved on to The Netherlands to pursue her Master's degree. In 2010 she placed in multiple competitions, one of them resulting in a seven-performance tour around The Netherlands that culminated with a performance in the De Doulen hall in Rotterdam – one of the country’s most prestigious performances venues. That same year, she won the chance to participate in a professional recording with Peter Arts, which was subsequently played on Radio 4 (the Dutch National Radio). During the next two years she was invited to perform as a soloist and in ensemble in the Zaltbommel piano festival, sharing the program with renowned pianists Klara Wurtz and Martijn Van Den Hoek. In 2012 she was selected to perform with the HKU chamber music orchestra.
Julia then moved to the US where she was offered a collaborative assistantship at the University of South Florida. She received a second Master's degree and accompanied other instrumentalists, some of them winning awards in major national competitions.
Julia is currently A.B.D, having completed her coursework and recitals for a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree under Dr. Cathal Breslin at the University of Memphis, where she received a full Teaching Assistantship and also completed a minor in Music Theory. While in Memphis, she won third prize at the Beethoven Club Competition in 2016 and was selected to perform as a soloist with the University’s Wind Ensemble under the direction of Kamran Ince.
Julia has taught all ages and levels, including filling in for her former teacher, Dr. Svetozar Ivanov, at the University of South Florida during part of the Fall semester in 2017 while he was on sabbatical, giving her over a decade of teaching experience.