Julian Schwarz

Born in 1991 to a musical family, cellist Julian Schwarz is already being recognized as one of the finest cellists now before the public. In August 2013, he won the first prize in the inaugural Schoenfeld International String Competition in Hong Kong.

Mr. Schwarz made his orchestral debut at the age of 11 playing the Saint-Saëns Concerto No.1 with the Seattle Symphony and his father, Gerard Schwarz, on the podium. Since then he has appeared as soloist with the Virginia, Omaha, Hartford, Puerto Rico, Grand Rapids, Columbus, San Diego, Memphis, Sarasota, Springfield MA, Syracuse, Boca Raton, Chesapeake, Greensboro, Seattle, Wichita, Binghamton, UNLV, and Las Cruces Symphonies, as well as many regional orchestras from the Pacific Northwest. In winter of 2010, he was one of the featured soloists on an extensive US tour with the Moscow State Radio Symphony Orchestra, performing 13 concerts on East and West coasts, as well as the deep South.

Upcoming performance highlights include concerto appearances with the Modesto, Queensland, Toledo, Amarillo, Hartford, and Charlotte Symphonies, the Louisville Orchestra, the Northwest Sinfonietta, and the Symphony Silicon Valley. In Fall 2013, he was a featured soloist with The All-Star Orchestra for national public television, performing the Samuel Jones Cello Concerto. After broadcast, the performance was released as a DVD on the Naxos label.

Julian Schwarz has performed solo recitals in Los Angeles, San Diego, Palm Springs, New York, Greensboro, High Point, Tacoma, Aspen, Seattle, St Thomas USVI, and at the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico. In summer 2009, he was the "Featured Young Artist" at both the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival and the Seattle Chamber Music Society. He has appeared at the Verbier, Bellingham, Aspen, Interlochen, Encore music festivals, and in Pollack and Weill Halls as part of the Montreal International String Quartet Festival and a Carnegie Hall workshop, respectively. Summer 2014, includes performances as faculty at the Eastern Music Festival, and at the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival. In August, he returns to the pianoSonoma festival for his 3rd summer as an Artist in Residence.

In 2007, Mr. Schwarz was appointed assistant conductor of the Lake Union Civic Orchestra under Christophe Chagnard. In his two years as assistant he led the orchestra in Borodin's Second Symphony and Dukas' Sorcerer's Apprentice at Seattle's Town Hall. He returned to LUCO as cellist in 2010 for a performance of the Elgar Concerto.