Shenandoah Conservatory has appointed Julian Schwarz, M.M., as assistant professor of cello beginning August 2017. Regarded as a one of the leading cellists in the twenty-first century, Schwarz will succeed Clyde Thomas Shaw, M.M., who will retire at the end of this academic year after thirteen years of service to Shenandoah University.
“The retirement of our treasured colleague Tom Shaw leaves big shoes to fill,” said Shenandoah Conservatory Dean and Professor of Music Michael Stepniak, Ed.D. “I’m delighted that Julian Schwarz will be stepping into that role. Beyond being recognized internationally as an exceptional chamber and solo musician, Julian is a strikingly thoughtful and purposeful artist and teacher; someone who joins us deeply invested in the further growth of our cello studio and broader conservatory.”
Julian Schwarz comes to Shenandoah with an extensive performance history filled with solo, chamber and orchestral concerts around the world. Most recently, he and Canadian pianist Marika Bournaki won the Boulder International Chamber Music Competition. Schwarz made his orchestral debut at the age of eleven with the Seattle Symphony under the baton of his father, Gerard Schwarz. He has performed with multiple orchestras, including the Seattle, San Diego, Puerto Rico, Columbus (Ohio), Syracuse, Virginia, Memphis, Toledo, Sarasota, Grand Rapids, Omaha, Wichita and Modesto symphonies. Internationally, Schwarz has appeared on stage with the Queensland Symphony in Brisbane, in Hong Kong at the Intimacy of Creativity Festival, as well as with the Boca del Rio Orchestra in Veracruz, Mexico and the Mexico City Philharmonic.
“I am excited to call Julian a colleague; one who is ready to develop, nurture and inspire our cello studio at Shenandoah,” said Victor Brown Chair in Violin and Associate Professor of Strings Akemi Takayama, M.M. “His exceptional artistry and musicality are a rare find that I hope everyone in the community will have a chance to experience. Julian’s passion for teaching and collaboration will confirm Shenandoah Conservatory’s standing as a place of choice.”
An active chamber musician, Schwarz frequently performs at Bargemusic in New York City with pianist Marika Bournaki, and has performed at the pianoSonoma Festival, Hammond Performing Arts Series, Frankly Music Chamber Series, as well as a new music residency in Hong Kong in 2015. During the summer, Schwarz has frequented a number of major music festivals in the United States and abroad, including Aspen, Interlochen, Eastern, California Summer and Encore music festivals. He was chosen to perform at the renowned Verbier Festival in Switzerland and was the Featured Young Artist at both the Seattle Chamber Music Festival and Cape Cod Music Festival.
Schwarz’s teaching experience includes both studio and ensemble coaching. He served as the teaching assistant to Joel Krosnick at The Juilliard School in New York City, where he completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He is also a member of the cello faculty at Eastern Musical Festival in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he has performed multiple concertos with the festival orchestra. Schwarz serves on the faculty of the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance in Nova Scotia and is a chamber coach and artist-in-residence at pianoSonoma in California. He has presented masterclasses with Eastern Music Festival, Camerata Chicago, Academy of Music Northwest (in conjunction with Cello Mundo), and many university programs.
In 2015, Schwarz was a prizewinner at the Salzburg Mozarteum Academy in Austria and in 2013, he was awarded first prize in the professional cello division of the inaugural Alice and Eleonore Schoenfeld International String Competition in Hong Kong.
