JULIAN SCHWARZ has been recognized as a cellist destined to rank among the finest of the 21st century. Born in 1991 into a musical family, Schwarz made his concerto debut at age 11 with the Seattle Symphony under his father, EMF Music Director Gerard Schwarz. Since making his US touring debut with the Moscow State Radio Symphony in 2010, he has toured internationally as soloist with over 250 concerto performances to date. In 2013, he won first prize in the inaugural Schoenfeld International String Competition in Hong Kong, and in 2016, he won 1st prize in the Boulder International Chamber Music Competition with duo partner Marika Bournaki. He has given the world premiere of concertos written for him by Richard Danielpour, Paul Frucht, Samuel Jones, and Lowell Liebermann.
An EMF alumnus, Julian studied with Neal Cary in the summer of 2008, won the EMF Concerto Competition, and is currently in his 12th year on the EMF faculty and also as the co-director of faculty chamber music. He received his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School, where he studied with Joel Krosnick, later serving as his teaching assistant. A devoted teacher, Schwarz serves as Associate Professor of Cello at Shenandoah Conservatory of Shenandoah University in Winchester, VA, and on the Artist Faculty of NYU Steinhardt. He has contributed articles to Strings Magazine, The Strad, and The Violin Channel, a series of editions of the works of Ernest Bloch for Carl Fischer Publishing, and in-depth online courses for Tonebase. He performs on a cello by Gennaro Gagliano, circa 1743, and endorses Pirastro Perpetual cello strings and Melos Rosin.