Nicole Brancato
Guided by her distinct artistic vision, “piano virtuoso” (The Daily Gazette) Nicole Brancato has crafted an imaginative career, merging curation, composition, performance, improvisation, education, and collaboration across the arts. Her endeavors have taken her across America and Europe, appearing in such venues as Lincoln Center, the Guggenheim, and the Banff Centre for the Arts, as well as the exciting “underground” performance spaces in New York City and on NPR.
Brancato is a passionate champion of creative and conceptual music. Her recent curation “The Illustrated Pianist” — a multimedia event of new works for piano and visual installation that was featured in The New Yorker — honors the centenary, in 2020, of the iconic science-fiction author Ray Bradbury and the seventieth anniversary, in 2021, of his celebrated story collection The Illustrated Man. Hailed as “Ingenious,” “Mysterious,” and “Inspiring,” the program comprises works by nine composing pianists, including Anthony de Mare, Jed Distler, Kathleen Supové, Adam Tendler, and herself, accompanied by visual elements designed by the artist Eve Nova. At the Guggenheim, she participated in a “night at the museum” multimedia staging of Satie’s Vexations along with Christian Wolff, Philip Corner, David Del Tredici, and Joshua Rifkin, all of whom performed in John Cage’s legendary premiere of the work in 1963. This unique 19-hour concert, featured in The New York Times and Art News, was accompanied by a special Salon de la Rose + Croix art exhibition. On the international television network Rai Italia, Brancato gave an intimate televised concert and interview for the series “L’altra Italia,” exploring her roots and her love for New York’s exhilarating music scene. Her “brilliant” (New York Magazine) modern big band project “The Titanics,” for which she acted as pianist and lead arranger, re-imagined chart-topping tunes in fun and strange new ways, garnering multiple features in The New Yorker and Time Out New York. Additionally, she has had the great pleasure of recording and premiering new works by composer Joel Pierson, winner of the New York Philharmonic’s 2017 New World Initiative Composition Competition (www.therealjoelpierson.com).
Through her devotion to thoughtfully programming an impressive range of music, including both canonic and living composers, Brancato receives great acclaim from audiences: “I am still reeling from Nicole’s recital,” said a Metropolitan Opera Guild board member, “The way she played … will stay with me forever.” That mission is vital to her, from her solo career to her unique ensembles. These include 2Squared and oNSET — dynamic chamber groups that curate a blend of new canonic works, original compositions, and multidisciplinary collaborations. She particularly enjoys collaborating across the arts, most recently teaming up with visual/performing artist Marie Chrinstine Katz in conceptual improvisations at Plaxall Gallery’s Culture Lab LIC. In all of her endeavors, Brancato strives to create connective, intellectual, and provocative experiences for her audiences.
Brancato won multiple awards and competitions during her career, including the Hunter Symphony’s Aria and Concerto competition with Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G. Her education history includes advanced graduate studies in Manhattan School of Music’s distinguished Contemporary Performance Program, with scholarship awards. In her other graduate and undergraduate performance degrees (M.A., CUNY Hunter College in New York City, and B.M., Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA), she was awarded multiple scholarships and prizes, including the Benno Lee Prize at Hunter for an outstanding Master’s Recital.
For more, please visit www.nicolebrancato.com
