violinist
Violinist Joseph Puglia made his solo debut in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw as part of the 2009 Holland Festival. Reviews from the concert were overwhelmingly positive, with the headlines reading "Exceptional Debut Violinist Puglia" (NRC Handelsblad) and "Puglia Brings Hall to a Boil" (De Volkskrant). He has performed in major concert halls in the US, Europe, and Australia, and moved cellist Anner Bylsma to write of his playing "Joey Puglia is the best." He was a prizewinner in the 58th Vriendenkrans Concours in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the 14th Concorso Internazionale "Andrea Postacchini" in Italy, where he was also given a special prize for his performance of Berio's Sequenza VIII for violin. Other noteworthy concerts have included appearances as the concertmaster of the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest in the Netherlands premiere of John Adams' "City Noir" with John Adams conducting, and performances as concertmaster of Asko|Schönberg Ensemble tours of Europe and Australia.
As a chamber musician Mr. Puglia has performed with some of the top musicians and ensembles in the Netherlands including the Osiris Trio, Vera Beths, Reinbert de Leeuw, and the Rubens Quartet, as a member in their 2010/2011 season. He has recorded chamber music for the Sony Classical and Hungaroton labels. As a founding member of the Acadia Chamber Ensemble he helped set up a chamber music week in Maine which included radio broadcasts, outreach concerts, coachings, and school workshops along with its concerts. In 2004 was invited as a chamber musician in residence at the Festival dei due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy.
Mr. Puglia is also an advocate of new music, and appears regularly as concertmaster of the Asko|Schoenberg Ensemble. He has participated in both the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland and the Klangspuren Festival in Austria, where he worked closely with Pierre Boulez and members of the Ensemble Intercontemporain. He has given many world premieres in Europe and the US, and has worked with many of today's leading composers and new music interpreters including Peter Eotvos, Heinz Holliger, Oliver Knussen, and Louis Andriessen.
A native of New York City, Mr. Puglia began the violin at age 4 and was accepted to Juilliard's Pre-College division in 1994 where he studied with Louise Behrend. He has played in coachings and master classes led by Anner Bylsma, Bernard Greenhouse, Joseph Kalichstein, Seymour Lipkin, and members of the Juilliard and Guarneri String Quartets. In 2002, he was accepted to The Juilliard School's college division with a full scholarship where he earned his Bachelor's degree studying under Robert and Nicholas Mann, and received his Master of Music degree with the highest possible marks at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague in 2008, working with Vera Beths.
