Viola & Piano Duos at Lukas Violins with Jay Julio and Ari Livne

Ernest Bloch - Suite 1919

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Nicanor Abelardo - Kundiman (arr. Jay Julio)
Astor Piazzolla - Le Grand Tango

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BIOS:

Originally from Uniondale, New York, 26-year old first-generation Filipino-American Jay Julio is a multi-instrumentalist, teacher, and composer-arranger based in NYC. Jay is the Assistant Principal Violist of the Opera Philadelphia Orchestra, substitute violist with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the Kennedy Center Opera Orchestra, the Dallas, Memphis, Charleston, and Virginia Symphonies, and has been invited to play with the New York Pops, the American Composers Orchestra, the Metropolis Ensemble and PROTESTRA. Recent appearances include solo turns with the Ocala Symphony, the Marquette Symphony, and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and chamber music performances on the TIME SPANS Festival with the Talea Ensemble, the Broadway Advocacy Coalition‘s Arts in Action Festival, and at the Museum of Modern Art.

They appeared in the official collaborative music video for Major Lazer & Marcus Mumford’s single, Lay Your Head On Me, released as a fundraiser for COVID-19 research efforts, performed with Nigerian artist Burna Boy in his Hollywood Bowl debut, and have played behind Audra McDonald on Carnegie Hall’s Great Artists series. A prizewinner in national competitions held by the YoungArts Foundation, the National Federation of Music Clubs, the Music Teachers National Association and recipient of a 2019 Juilliard Career Grant, Jay is indebted to the Virtu Foundation and the American Viola Society for their past support through instrument and bow loans.

After taking their first viola lesson at age 14 at the Mannes Preparatory Division, Jay graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy at 16 studying with Renee Skerik with their highest musical honor, the Young Artist Award, received their BM in Viola Performance from the Manhattan School of Music under Karen Ritscher on full scholarship, and received their MM at the Juilliard School on a full-tuition Susan W. Rose Fellowship under the tutelage of Heidi Castleman and Misha Amory. Other important mentors include Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti and Lina Bahn. For rhythm, Jay studies poetry.

They are a proud member of AFM Locals 77 and 802, the Justice Committee, and the IWW.

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Ari Livne has performed extensively as a solo artist, chamber musician, and lecture-recitalist. His diverse set of skills and interests has allowed him to become equally comfortable as a performer, public speaker, actor, and coach. He has worked with New York’s Heartbeat Opera as repetiteur and vocal coach for three seasons, and has presented lecture-recitals and listening classes to audiences throughout the New York area. Performance highlights have taken him to Benaroya Hall, the Kennedy Center, Merkin Hall, Kyoto Concert Hall, and ACROS Fukuoka Symphony Hall.

Ari was a Gold Award winner at the youngARTS competition, and a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. He has often been recognized for his inventive programming. Some performances delve deeply into the repertoire of a single composer: he performed the complete Rachmaninoff Etudes Tableaux in Elebash Hall, presented a lecture-recital on the Goldberg Variations at the Bridenthal Concert Series, and curated a recital of Brahms’ four final works in Paul Hall. Others focus on new music: Ari is currently designing a program of works by living composers, including Yaz Lancaster, Ryan Francis, Peteris Vasks, and John Musto. He has also premiered new works by the composer Cyrus Von Hochstetter and performed the American premiers of works by Peter Maxwell Davies and Volodymyr Runchak, the latter at the Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival in 2020.

In addition to his solo performances, Ari is also an avid collaborator and chamber musician. He recently toured Japan with violinist Sho Omagari, performing recitals in Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka His duo with cellist Clare Monfredo has spent two summers at the Avaloch Farm Music Institute and performed interactive recitals for audiences large and small in New York, NY; Ellsworth, ME; and Hudson, NY. He has performed with violinist Tosca Opdam for the New York House Concerts series and at the Celebrate The Arts Festival in Doyleston, PA, and he performs frequently with New York’s Circle Wind Ensemble. He also recently presented a program centered around Schoenberg’s Book of Hanging Gardens with mezzo-soprano Sophie Delphis at “Sessions”, a new recital series at Coffey Street Studio in Brooklyn, NY.

Ari received his Bachelor of Arts from Yale University in 2012 and his Master of Music Degree at The Juilliard School in 2014. His most influential piano teachers have been Ursula Oppens, Zitta Zohar, Jonathan Feldman, Margo Garrett, and JJ Penna. He would also like to thank his acting teacher John Anthony for his continued inspiration.