Julian Pellicano

Family and ancestry

Pellicano's parents emigrated from Southern Italy in the 1950s. Many of his ancestors were artists, artisans and amateur musicians. His cousin Antonio Gambula is a conductor based in Genoa, Italy and a cellist in the opera orchestra at the Teatro Carlo Felice.

Musical education

Pellicano started playing the piano at the age of 5, and percussion shortly after, at age 8. As a child his grandfather taught him to play the accordion. Pellicano went on to receive a double bachelor's degree, from Johns Hopkins University (philosophy) and Peabody Conservatory (percussion), with a minor in orchestral conducting. He studied percussion with Jonathan Haas and conducting with Dr. Harlan Parker.

Pellicano earned a graduate performance diploma from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, Sweden, where he studied percussion under Anders Loguin, founding member of the Swedish percussion ensemble Kroumata, Roland Johansson, former timpanist of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, and Daniel Kåse, principal percussionist of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic. Pelliano studied conducting with Per Andersberg.

Pellicano received his master of music in percussion and a master of music in orchestral conducting from the Yale School of Music, During his tenure at Yale, Pellicano held a fellowship in orchestral conducting and served as the assistant conductor of the Yale Philharmonia Orchestra under his principal teacher Shinik Hahm. He studied percussion with Robert van Sice and was a member of the Yale Percussion Group.

Conducting career

Pellicano was appointed Resident Conductor of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in 2013. Conductor of the Norfolk New Music Ensemble since 2008, he is on faculty at the Norfolk New Music Workshop and also serves as artist-in-residence at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.

Pellicano has worked extensively with living composers, premiering over 40 new works since 2005. He directed the American premiere of Hans Werner Henze's Drei Geistliche Konzerte with trumpeter Joel Brennan, as well as the premiere of a new version of Ballet Mechanique, in which George Antheil's music was paired with Fernand Léger's previously irreconcilable film. Pellicano conducted the recording of Ingram Marshall's Peaceable Kingdom, released on New World Records, and conducted Pascal Dusapin's chamber opera To Be Sung collaborating with soprano Susan Narucki, who directed the production at the University of California, San Diego.

Awards and fellowships

A recipient of the 2008 Presser Music Award, Pellicano was funded to visit major orchestras in Europe and the United States, observing conductors Simon Rattle, Daniel Barenboim, David Robertson, John Adams and Michael Tilson Thomas. He was also awarded a fellowship from the Centre Acanthes to conduct the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg under the mentorship of Peter Eötvös and Zsolt Nagy, and was selected by Kurt Masur to participate in the 2009 Kurt Masur Conducting Seminar. Pellicano is a recipient of Yale's Phillip F. Nelson Award.