Julia Den Boer

Pianist Julia Den Boer is recognized for her performances of contemporary music, having worked with leading composers, including Kaija Saariaho. Her performances often involve works that broaden the boundaries of pianism. Den Boer was born in Lyon, France, in 1984. She was inspired to take up the piano from hearing her father play the instrument. She attended the regional conservatory in Lyon, studying with Hervé Billaut. Den Boer studied both piano and history for a time but settled on music and moved to the U.S., enrolling at Lawrence University in Wisconsin and working with Michael Kim and Emma Tahmizian. Den Boer earned a bachelor's degree from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, where her principal teacher was Sara Laimon and where she played with the McGill Contemporary Music Ensemble and McGill Percussion Ensemble. She went on to the State University of Stony Brook in New York for master's and doctoral degrees, studying with Gilbert Kalish. Since then, she has been based in New York City, where she teaches at the Third Street Music Settlement and the Bloomingdale School of Music while maintaining a private studio. Several awards helped launch Den Boer's career, including the Solti Foundation award, the Prix Maurice Ohana at the 2012 International Orléans Competition in France, and a prize from the Mikhashoff Trust Fund for New Music Pianist/Composer commissioning, with composer Zosha Di Castri; she made her recording debut in 2019 on Di Castri's Tachitipo. Den Boer is a frequent guest at festivals stressing contemporary music, including the Festival d'Automne in Paris, the Time:Spans Festival in New York, and Unerhörte Musik in Berlin. She has been heard on CBC Radio 2, the SWR in Germany, and France Musique, among other regional and national radio networks. In addition to Saariaho, contemporary composers with whom she has worked include Heinz Holliger, Philippe Leroux, and Martin Matalon. In 2021, Den Boer made her solo recording debut with the album Kermès on the New Focus Recordings label. She was slated to join the percussion-and-piano quartet Yarn/Wire for the 2021-2022 season.
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