WASHINGTON GARCIA | CONCERT PIANIST

Born in Quito, Ecuador, Washington García began his musical studies at the age of 6.  Among his teachers are Genoveva Granja, Toshko Stoyanov, Ann Schein, Yoheved Kaplinsky, and Julian Martin. Dr. García holds a bachelor of music from the National Conservatory of Music in Ecuador, and master’s and doctoral degrees from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, where he graduated at the age of 25 becoming the youngest Latin American to have received a Doctoral degree in piano performance from the Johns Hopkins University.
           


The success of his first public performance at the age of 6 led him to perform at the most important cultural centers in Ecuador.  Dr. García was awarded first prizes at the Guillermo Wright-Vallarino National Piano Competition held in Quito, the Elizabeth Davis Memorial Piano Competition and the 19th International Young Artist Piano Competition in Washington DC, the 2004 Baltimore Music Club Piano Competition, and the Harrison Winter Piano Competition. As the winner of the Harrison Winter at the Peabody Institute, Dr. García was selected to perform with the Peabody Concert Orchestra. He was also a top prizewinner at the Yale Gordon Piano Competition, the Russell Wonderlic Piano Competition, and a finalist at the Hilton Head International Piano Competition.
            


From a very early age, Dr. García became a seasoned veteran of the concert platform, performing extensively throughout his native country.  Several times he has been soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ecuador. Dr. García also played at the US Embassy in Quito and at the Claudio Arrau International Piano Seminar in Santiago, Chile for former President Patricio Aylwin. Dr. García was chosen from a large field of contestants from 33 countries by the Kennedy Center to receive one of two $25,000 grants awarded to pianists in its Fellowships of the Americas Program.  As a result, he came to the United States to begin intensive piano studies with Professor Julian Martin at the Peabody Institute. Under the auspices of the Fellowships of the Americas Program he was invited to play at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, the Organization of American States, the World Bank, the Inter-American Bank, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.  Other performances include recitals at the Department of State and the Mexican Cultural Center in Washington D.C., the Chesapeake Center of the Performing Arts and St. Ignatius Church in Baltimore, and the National Library and Archives in Ottawa, Canada, where Dr. García performed in Glenn Gould’s piano. He was one of five young artists presented by the Texas Conservatory for Young Artists in Dallas.

He has also performed in Israel with maestro Sam Zebba and the Campus Orchestra of the city of Tel-Aviv as well as the Cuenca Symphony Orchestra under the baton of maestro Medardo Caisabanda. Additionally, Dr. García has performed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the San Ildefonso Museum in Mexico City, the Hong Kong Baptist University, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C, the Green Valley Chamber Music Festival in Las Vegas and the Myra Hess Series in Chicago, which was broadcast live in the radio and television. Most recently, Dr. Garcia toured Italy with the Texas State University Chamber Orchestra, performing Beethoven’s Triple Concerto.
           


Since his European debut in Rome at the Instituto Italo-Latinoamericano, under the auspices of Continental Airlines, Dr. García has been an active recitalist, soloist, and lecturer in prestigious venues in Switzerland, Austria, France, Spain, Hungary, Canada, Israel, Chile, Mexico, Ecuador, Japan, China, Indonesia, Singapore, and the United States. In addition to awards granted by the Peabody Institute and the Ecuadorian government, including the prize “Monseñor Leonidas Proaño” and the award “Al Mérito Laboral,” Dr. García has been sponsored by Continental Airlines since 1997. He was also named a Presser Scholar and grant recipient by the Presser Music Foundation. Most recently, he was awarded the Friends of Fine Arts Awards for Scholarly/Creative Activities and Service. These awards were presented by the College of Fine Arts and Communication at Texas State University-San Marcos. Dr. Garcia was also a recipient of a full scholarship by the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in addition to scholarships by The Lloyds Bank, The Zaldumbide Rosales Foundation, and the British Embassy in Ecuador. 

Dr. García served in the faculty of the Peabody Preparatory of the Johns Hopkins University and is currently Associate Professor of Piano at Texas State University-San Marcos, where he is the chair of the piano department and Founder and Director of the Texas State International Piano Festival. He also teaches at the Austin Chamber Music Festival and the Peabody Piano Week.  Upcoming engagements include performances in Oregon, Georgia, Texas, Ecuador, Colombia, Spain, and Taiwan. Dr. Garcia will debut with the Austin Symphony Orchestra on October 2012 under the baton of maestro Peter Bay performing Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto.

SOURCE: Washington Garcia's website