When Giampiero Bugliarello was four years old, his uncle wanted to get rid of a piano… When his father brought it home. Giampiero says, “this thing, this object – I just fell in love with it. Since the first moment, I never stopped.”

As a young boy, Giampiero embarked on two parallel paths: the formal education of the artist, piano instruction featuring reading and playing written music; and the piano as a toy for sound research. He says, “From the first moment, I liked to “play chess” with sounds, understanding how the natural phenomena of sound work.” Being a “musical engineer,” understanding how sounds interact, fascinated the young pianist.

Giampiero studied piano with Ketty Teriaca for several years, but was kicked out of her studio around the age of 9. “I used to drive her crazy, because I kept improvising and changing things, rather than playing as I was supposed to play!” says Giampiero. She told his parents that she couldn’t manage the young musical explorer, but there was one person that she would suggest: Alberto Alibrandi, professor at the Vincenzo Bellini Conservatory in Catania. With Alibrandi, Giampiero studied playing, composing and music theory. He describes his years studying with him as, “…the best musical chapters of my life, asking how is this working, why is this working, how is this engaging the music engine?”

At the age of 12, Giampiero passed the audition to join the Vincenzo Bellini Conservatory in Catania, led by Carmelo Pappalardo, who was a huge influence on the young pianist and became great friend. Giampiero studied under Pappalardo for ten years, graduating with highest honors in piano performance.

While Giampiero says he doesn’t believe in destiny or fate, he came to the United States as the result of a series of coincidences so improbable it was less likely than winning the lottery! A week before the conservatory graduation concert, Maestro Simeone Tartaglione (familiar to area music lovers as an internationally accomplished musician, conductor, and professor at Catholic University) forgot his lunch, so went to the Catholic University cafeteria. While there, Maestro Tartaglione noticed a man cursing in Italian on his phone, so struck up a conversation and friendship with the man, who happened to be a priest back in Catania! The maestro told the priest about music scholarship opportunities at Catholic University in Washington, DC. Later, back in Catania, the priest mentioned the scholarship opportunity to Giampiero’s high school English teacher. The day before the graduation concert, Giampiero was looking for people to invite and decided to ask his high school English teacher (who he hadn’t seen for several years) to attend – and he did! Giampiero describes a moment with his English teacher after the concert: “’You know, Giampiero, I just heard about this music school in Washington, DC where they have scholarships…‘ I said, I gotta try!”

Having successfully auditioned, Giampiero came to the United States to pursue a Master’s in Piano Performance at Catholic University; then, studying under the guidance of Nikita Fitenko, he obtained the title of Doctor of Musical Arts, both under full scholarship. After graduating, COVID caused Giampiero to return to Italy, where he composed two pieces he will perform February 3rd, Fantasia and Ballata. It was a period of intense creativity and composition, with little to distract him. Grateful for the opportunities provided to him, he maintains close ties with Catholic University, where he was appointed an ad honorem visiting scholar, and currently serves as a piano instructor at the Music School of Delaware and at the Fairfax Conservatory of Music. He has furthered his studies with a wide range of instructors, winning prizes and awards in many national and international piano competitions. He wishes he could invest more time and energy in composing and performance – he currently performs about once a month, traveling between the United States and Italy – but his teaching schedule keeps him busy.

He was recently appointed Goodwill Ambassador by the Arkansas Secretary of State, and has been granted an O-1 visa for individuals who possess extraordinary abilities in their field by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service.

Artistic tastes and the cultural part of music are always changing, but the interaction between sounds reflects the same natural laws. The two figures, the artist and the musical engineer, come together when Giampiero plays and performs. In his February 3rd concert, Giampiero will include Grieg (“an underappreciated composer, his music manifests that he was a loving, sweet man”) and his own compositions. “I do not compose, I discover music… I try to create music that, once it is in the air, is for everybody to enjoy. I want to find the music that, when you listen to it, it melts your heart.”

We are fortunate to have Giampiero Bugliarello playing for us at the Arts Barn February 3rd. Join us for a dessert reception at 7pm and an amazing concert at 8pm. Find more information and tickets here: https://www.gaithersburgmd.gov/recreation/performing-arts/concerts/classic-world-concerts/giampiero-bugliarello.