JOSEPH PUGLIA, violin

Violinist Joseph Puglia recently made his debut in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw as part of the Holland Festival playing John Adams’ Violin Concerto with the Asko|Schoenberg Ensemble. Reviews of the performance praised his “exceptional debut” for his “supple, clear, and when needed, powerful tone” (NRC Handelsblaad), also saying that he “brought the hall to a boil” (De Volkskrant). He has already performed in major concert halls in the US, Europe, and Australia, and moved cellist Anner Bylsma to write of his playing “Joey Puglia is the best.” He was a prizewinner in the 58th Vriendenkrans Concours in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the 14th Concorso Internazionale “Andrea Postacchini” in Italy, where he was also given a special prize for his performance of Berio’s Sequenza VIII for violin. Other noteworthy concerts have included appearances as the concertmaster of the Asko|Schönberg Ensemble tours of Australia, Poland, and the UK, as well as a performance of Bartok’s Sonata for Solo Violin at the Bartok Memorial House in Budapest, which led to an offer to record a disc of chamber music for the Hungaroton label, as well as an immediate invitation to return twice the following season.

 As a performer of new music, Mr. Puglia appears regularly as concertmaster of the Asko|Schoenberg Ensemble. He has participated in both the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland and the Klangspuren Festival in Austria, where he worked closely with Pierre Boulez and members of the Ensemble Intercontemporain. He has given world premiers in the US and Europe, and has worked with many of today’s leading composers and new music interpreters including Peter Eotvos, Louis Andriessen, and Reinbert de Leeuw.

A native of New York City, Mr. Puglia began the violin at age 4 and was accepted to Juilliard’s Pre-College division in 1994 where he studied with Louise Behrend. He has played in coachings and masterclasses led by Anner Bylsma, Bernard Greenhouse, Joseph Kalichstein, Seymour Lipkin, and members of the Juilliard and Guarneri Quartets. In 2002, he was accepted to The Juilliard School’s college division with a full scholarship where he earned his Bachelor’s degree studying under Robert and Nicholas Mann, and received his Master of Music degree with the highest possible marks at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague in 2008, working with Vera Beths.