Composer
Aaron Berkowitz was born in 1978. He holds a BA in music
and a BS in biological
sciences from George
Washington University where he studied piano, composition, and
theory with the late Robert Parris. Following his undergraduate studies, he
moved to Paris, France where he studied composition primarily with Jean-Luc HervŽ and Nicolas Bacri,
receiving additional advice from Philippe Leroux, Thierry
Blondeau, and Gonzalo Macias. After returning to the United
States, Berkowitz studied composition with Chris
Theofanidis at the Peabody Conservatory. In the summer of
2001, Berkowitz attended the Bartok Festival in Szombathely Hungary where
he participated in master classes with Martin Bresnick and Jacopo
Baboni Schilingi, and wrote and premiered Zeno for flute, clarinet,
soprano saxophone, trumpet, trombone, electric guitar, electric bass, and
piano. He has had additional
lessons/master classes with George Crumb, Chaya Czernowin, Gerald Levinson, Magnus Lindberg, James Tenney, Chinary Ung, and Judith Weir. He is currently second
year PhD candidate at Harvard University where he has studied
composition with Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Joshua Fineberg, and Bernard
Rands, and currently studies with Julian Anderson. Aaron BerkowitzÕs
music has been performed by Frances-Marie Uitti, The
Callithumpian Consort, Matthew Bengtson, Alarm Will
Sound, Gabriel Langfur, White Rabbit, and Yukiko
Takagi.
Pianist/Fortepianist
Aaron began studying the piano at age 12 with Arnold Ostroff
and continued under Robert Parris and Tzvetan
Konstantinov at George Washington University. Following his
undergraduate studies he moved to Paris France where he completed a diploma in
piano at the Conservatoire Russe de Paris under Michel Iaschine and Igor Lazko. After returning to the United States,
Berkowitz studied chamber music
with Marjorie Liss, and piano with Matthew Bengtson at the Peabody
Conservatory. He has performed three times in the Kennedy Center
master class series in Washington DC with John O'Conor, Joseph Kalichstein and Misha Dichter He is currently studying the Taubman
Techniques under Robert Durso, and has received additional
lessons from Edna Golandsky. Aaron has given recitals in Baltimore, Cambridge,
Ithaca, Paris, Philadelphia, New
York, and in the Williamstown Early Music Festival.
As a fortepianist, Berkowitz has studied with Robert Levin and in master classes with Malcolm Bilson, David Breitman, and Andrew Willis
at the Cornell University Center for 18th Century Performance Practice
Fortepiano Summer Workshop (2005). He has received additional lessons from Sandra Rosenblum. He has played on original
and replica instruments spanning the 18th and 19th centuries including
Broadwood, Clementi, Cristofori, Erard, Graf, Schanz, Simon, Stein, Streicher,
and Walter.
Sitarist
Aaron also studies Hindustani
music. He began with Pandit Shivnath Mishra, in Varanasi India,
continued with Ustad Hamid Hossain, in Baltimore, and currently studies with George Ruckert at MIT.
