about

Pianist Joseph Vaz has performed internationally as a soloist and chamber musician across North America and Europe, in venues from Carnegie Hall to the Arnold Schönberg Center in Vienna.

Born in Faro, Portugal, Joseph now lives in New York City, where he is completing a doctorate at the CUNY Graduate Center. Vaz has studied with renowned performers and pedagogues, including Julian Martin, Ran Dank, and Emile Naoumoff. He is a laureate of several national and international competitions, with recent appearances at the Pacific Stars International (2nd Prize), James Mottram International Piano Competition, and the Seattle International Piano Competition.

Joseph frequently performs at international festivals, including recent appearances at the Gilmore Piano Festival, Sarasota Music Festival, Lucerne Festival Academy, and Aspen Music Festival. Joseph has performed for several acclaimed artists and pedagogues, including Byron Janis, Gabriela Montero, Jerome Lowenthal, Jon Nakamatsu, and Ursula Oppens. His orchestral debut came with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra in 2015, and he has also performed as soloist with Harmonia Orchestra Seattle, the Seven Hills Sinfonietta and other orchestral ensembles.

Joseph is an avid chamber musician and has performed with multiple orchestras and choirs for operas and concert programs. He is a proponent of new music, working closely with several composers on pieces for world premieres. Interested in many genres of music-making, Joseph enjoys working in contemporary music ensembles, musical theater, and popular music. Outside of music, he holds a Bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a minor in French from Indiana University, and loves reading modernist literature.

Joseph is a regular contributor to Tone Prose, a weekly newsletter about the ever-changing world of classical music.