About
Hailed for having an “Adroit facility and depth of understanding that belies his student status” (Sequenza 21) Boston-based American Pianist, Joseph Vasconi, has emerged as a multifaceted artist and is equally known for being a soloist, collaborator, and chamber musician. Born in 2001, in Los Gatos, CA, Vasconi exhibited exceptional talent at an early age. From age three, he would climb on the piano bench after his two older brothers finished their piano lessons. Their family piano teacher, however, refused to teach him until he could “count to 88”. Undeterred, he began to teach himself melodies, modeling the practice sessions of his brothers. Vasconi formally began piano studies just before age six.
In recent years, Vasconi has garnered numerous top prizes such as 1st prize at the 2018 Cunningham International Piano Competition in Philadelphia, PA. In the same year, he also won 1st Prize in the United States Open Music Competition in Oakland, CA, was named an Honorable Mention Winner in the National YoungArts Foundation in Miami, FL, and was named Musician of the Year in the Valley Christian Conservatory of the Arts.
Aside from taking part in competitions, Vasconi has attended many prestigious music festivals including the Aspen Music Festival and School, Tanglewood Music Center, and the Colburn Piano Festival. He has also participated in masterclasses and worked closely with legendary artists such as Marc-Andre Hamelin, Jonathan Biss, Andreas Haefliger, Fabio Bidini, Andre Laplante, and Ruth Slenczynska. Most recently, Vasconi held the 2023 Leonard Bernstein Piano Fellowship of the Tanglewood Music Center where he received countless solo, chamber, and new music opportunities. These included working closely with members of the Boston Symphony, learning and performing new music written by the composition fellows, and giving the Tanglewood premiere of Andile Khumalo’s “Schau-fe[r]n-ster II” for solo piano in Seiji Ozawa Hall. Vasconi is thrilled to return to Tanglewood for the summer of 2024 as a returning fellow.
As an avid chamber musician and collaborator, Vasconi has partnered with many notable artists including members of the Lorelei Ensemble, Nashville Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, and the New World Symphony in performing music spanning the baroque period to music written within the last year. He has also explored works of various instrumentation and styles ranging from standard piano, violin, and cello trios to pieces written for piano, percussion, and electronics. In the Fall of 2023, Vasconi made his Organ and Harpsichord debut in Boston’s Symphony Hall performing Ligeti’s devilishly difficult Kammerkonzert under the baton of Samy Rachid as a part of the Boston Symphony’s ‘Ligeti 100’ series; However, he had already made his performance debut in Symphony Hall in the season prior as a Bass within the chorus of Shostakovich’s Symphony No.13 led by Maestro Andris Nelsons—of which Deutsche Gramophone released the recording. This last April, Vasconi made his solo piano debut in Symphony Hall performing Messiaen’s Catalogue d’Oiseaux No.3 ‘le Merle Bleu’. In the same concert, he performed alongside the Carduus Choir, [nec]Shivaree, and the Callithumpian Consort on a program that included works by Tod Machover, Marti Epstein, and Morton Feldman.
Vasconi attended Valley Christian High School in San Jose, CA, where he majored in piano performance in the Conservatory of the Arts program. Throughout high school, he studied privately with Gwendolyn Mok, known for her extraordinary recordings of Ravel’s complete works for piano performed on period instruments. He then went on to earn his Bachelor’s degree at the New England Conservatory of Music graduating with academic honors in May 2023 and is currently continuing his studies there pursuing his Master’s Degree in the studios of Stephen Drury and Meng-Chieh Liu.