Biography
(short version)
Joshua Sawicki is a pianist based in Denver, Colorado. He appears regularly as orchestral pianist for the Colorado Symphony (highlights have included Bernstein’s Fancy Free, Stravinsky’s Petrushka, Firebird, Symphony in Three Movements, Shostakovich’s Symphonies #1 and #5, and Lutoslawski's Concerto for Orchestra), as a member of the new-music group The Playground Ensemble (recently ranked one of the top five chamber groups in the state), and as principal pianist of the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra. He has appeared as a soloist with the Denver Philharmonic, Grand Junction Symphony, Greeley Philharmonic, Lakewood Symphony, Farmington Valley Symphony Orchestra, and the Lamont Symphony Orchestra; solo appearances and competitions have taken him to Paris, Manhattan, Utrecht, Novi Sad, Granada, Cambridge, Tampa, and Aspen. He has received prizes from various international competitions and can often be seen around Denver in chamber music performances alongside principal members of the CSO. Aside from teaching privately, he teaches piano as affiliate faculty and piano area coordinator at Regis University and as adjunct faculty at the Community College of Denver. He has studied in Boston, New York, London, Tampa, and Denver; his principal teachers include Steven Mayer, Rebecca Penneys, John O’Conor, Anthony di Bonaventura, and Svetozar Ivanov.
(long version)
Joshua Sawicki was born in New Britain, Connecticut, into a family of Polish, French, and Native American descent. He was raised in Unionville, Connecticut, where he began piano lessons at age 4 — and graduated from Farmington High School in 2006. During high school he studied at the Hartt School of Music (Hartford, CT) and won awards in various piano competitions, including the Musical Club of Hartford Piano Competition, Renee B. Fisher Piano Competition, Hartford Young Artists Concerto Competition, the Williams Chorale New England Young Artists Competition, the Audrey Thayer Piano Competition, and was the recipient of the Hartt School's Jeffrey Quinn Memorial Scholarship.
Since then, Joshua has studied at the Royal College of Music (London, England), Boston University, University of South Florida, the Aspen Music Festival, the Chautauqua International Piano Festival, the International Keyboard Institute and Festival (New York City) and recently finished an Artist Diploma at the Lamont School of Music, where he studied with New York-based pianist Steven Mayer. His other principal teachers have included Rebecca Penneys, John O'Conor, Anthony di Bonaventura, and Svetozar Ivanov.
Recent awards include 1st place in the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra concerto competition, 1st place in the Lamont Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, 2nd place at the Artist Series of Sarasota piano competition, the Jacques Abrahms Piano Scholarship, 1st place in the USF Tampa Symphony Orchestra concerto competition, 1st place in the Stephen P. Brown concerto competition, 1st prize for the best performance of the commissioned competition piece ("Starlight," by David Liptak of the Eastman School of Music) in the 14th Chautauqua International Piano Competition. Joshua was a quarter-finalist in the Sixth Isidor Bajic Piano Memorial Competition (Novi Sad, Serbia), a semi-finalist in the Maria Herrero International Piano Competition, and a finalist in the 15th Chautauqua International Piano Competition.
Recent concerto appearances include d'Indy's "Symphony on a French Mountain Air" in Denver, Prokofiev's 3rd Piano Concerto in Denver and in Grand Junction, Brahms' Second piano concerto in Tampa, Grieg's Piano Concerto in Connecticut, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's "Millennium Fantasy" with the Patel Conservatory Chamber Orchestra, and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with the Lakewood Symphony, Greeley Philharmonic, and Farmington Valley Symphony Orchestras. Recent solo performances have been in Novi Sad, Serbia (Isidor Bajic Memorial), Paris, France (Association Philomuses), Manhattan (IKIF Piano Competition, 92nd street Y), Utrecht, Netherlands (Utrecht Conservatory), Cambridge, Massachusetts (Boston Ethical Society), Tampa, Florida (Clarion Society, Rutenberg Chamber Festival), and Aspen Colorado (Spotlight Series) and Denver (Playground New Music Ensemble, Newman Center for the Performing Arts), and a world premiere video recording of Geoff Sheil's "Newport" (2012). Recently Joshua has appeared in recital with Silver Ainomäe (Minnesota Orchestra assistant principal cellist), Brook Ferguson (CSO principal flutist), Jason Shafer (CSO principal clarinet) and on Colorado Public Radio. In 2014 he appeared in a series of Museum of Contemporary Art events where he performed with Mark Mothersbaugh (co-founder and lead singer of DEVO and composer of Wes Anderson film scores). He appears regularly as a member of the Playground Ensemble -- Colorado's premiere modern music ensemble, as an orchestral pianist for the Colorado Symphony, and as principal keyboardist for the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra.
Besides performing, Joshua is an avid teacher. Currently he teaches privately in Denver, at the Community College of Denver (adjunct faculty), and at Regis University (affiliate faculty and piano area coordinator).
Since then, Joshua has studied at the Royal College of Music (London, England), Boston University, University of South Florida, the Aspen Music Festival, the Chautauqua International Piano Festival, the International Keyboard Institute and Festival (New York City) and recently finished an Artist Diploma at the Lamont School of Music, where he studied with New York-based pianist Steven Mayer. His other principal teachers have included Rebecca Penneys, John O'Conor, Anthony di Bonaventura, and Svetozar Ivanov.
Recent awards include 1st place in the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra concerto competition, 1st place in the Lamont Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, 2nd place at the Artist Series of Sarasota piano competition, the Jacques Abrahms Piano Scholarship, 1st place in the USF Tampa Symphony Orchestra concerto competition, 1st place in the Stephen P. Brown concerto competition, 1st prize for the best performance of the commissioned competition piece ("Starlight," by David Liptak of the Eastman School of Music) in the 14th Chautauqua International Piano Competition. Joshua was a quarter-finalist in the Sixth Isidor Bajic Piano Memorial Competition (Novi Sad, Serbia), a semi-finalist in the Maria Herrero International Piano Competition, and a finalist in the 15th Chautauqua International Piano Competition.
Recent concerto appearances include d'Indy's "Symphony on a French Mountain Air" in Denver, Prokofiev's 3rd Piano Concerto in Denver and in Grand Junction, Brahms' Second piano concerto in Tampa, Grieg's Piano Concerto in Connecticut, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's "Millennium Fantasy" with the Patel Conservatory Chamber Orchestra, and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with the Lakewood Symphony, Greeley Philharmonic, and Farmington Valley Symphony Orchestras. Recent solo performances have been in Novi Sad, Serbia (Isidor Bajic Memorial), Paris, France (Association Philomuses), Manhattan (IKIF Piano Competition, 92nd street Y), Utrecht, Netherlands (Utrecht Conservatory), Cambridge, Massachusetts (Boston Ethical Society), Tampa, Florida (Clarion Society, Rutenberg Chamber Festival), and Aspen Colorado (Spotlight Series) and Denver (Playground New Music Ensemble, Newman Center for the Performing Arts), and a world premiere video recording of Geoff Sheil's "Newport" (2012). Recently Joshua has appeared in recital with Silver Ainomäe (Minnesota Orchestra assistant principal cellist), Brook Ferguson (CSO principal flutist), Jason Shafer (CSO principal clarinet) and on Colorado Public Radio. In 2014 he appeared in a series of Museum of Contemporary Art events where he performed with Mark Mothersbaugh (co-founder and lead singer of DEVO and composer of Wes Anderson film scores). He appears regularly as a member of the Playground Ensemble -- Colorado's premiere modern music ensemble, as an orchestral pianist for the Colorado Symphony, and as principal keyboardist for the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra.
Besides performing, Joshua is an avid teacher. Currently he teaches privately in Denver, at the Community College of Denver (adjunct faculty), and at Regis University (affiliate faculty and piano area coordinator).