Joseph Vaz
Pianist Joseph Vaz has performed internationally as a soloist and chamber musician across North America and Europe in venues from Carnegie Hall to the Arnold Schönberg Center in Vienna. Born in Faro, Portugal, Joseph now lives in New York City and is a doctoral candidate at the CUNY Graduate Center. He has studied with renowned performers and pedagogues, including Julian Martin, Ran Dank, and Émile Naoumoff. A laureate of several national and international competitions, Joseph frequently performs at international festivals, including recent appearances at the Gilmore Piano Festival, Lucerne Festival Academy, Sarasota Music Festival, and Aspen Music Festival. He made his orchestral debut with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra in 2015, and he has also performed as soloist with Harmonia Orchestra Seattle, the Seven Hills Symphony, and others.
Joseph is a dedicated collaborator and regularly performs chamber music on series in New York City and beyond. A proponent of new music, he has worked closely with several composers on world premieres. His debut album, Galanteries: The Solo Piano Music of William White, was released by PARMA Recordings in January 2025, and has been heard on radio stations throughout the US. Outside of music, he holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a minor in French from Indiana University and loves to read modernist literature.
As part of his fellowship with Ensemble Connect, Joseph teaches at Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn.
