Avery Gagliano, from Washington, D.C., entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2016 and studies piano with Robert McDonald. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships, and Ms. Gagliano is the Dr. Samuel R. and Mrs. Beatrice S. Rossman Fellow. 

A 21-year-old pianist, Ms. Gagliano gained international attention as the first prize and best concerto prize winner of the 2020 National Chopin Piano Competition and as the only American semifinalist at the 2021 International Chopin Piano Competition. She recently made her Carnegie Hall debut and released her debut album Reflections on the Steinway & Sons label. 

Ms. Gagliano’s performance highlights include appearances at world-renowned stages such as the Verbier Festival, Gilmore Festival, Bravo! Vail Festival, Ravinia Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Swiss Alps Classics Festival, Carnegie Hall, Warsaw Philharmonic Hall, Cavatina Hall, Louis Vuitton Foundation, Salle Cortot, and WQXR Greene Space. 

Ms. Gagliano has performed as a soloist with orchestras throughout the United States, including the Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra, Tuscarawas Philharmonic, MostArts Festival Orchestra, Oregon Mozart Players, the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra, and Symphony in C. A passionate chamber musician, she regularly collaborates with ensembles, most recently sharing the stage with the Balourdet Quartet at Bravo! Vail. She also frequently performs as a guest artist with the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players in New York. 

Ms. Gagliano received the audience prize at the 2019 Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and was the winner of the Aspen Music Festival Concerto Competition, the MostArts Festival Piano Competition, and the 2019 National YoungArts Competition. She is an alumna of the Verbier Festival and Academy, Gstaad Piano Academy, and the Lang Lang International Music Foundation’s Young Scholars Program. Ms. Gagliano is four-year winner of the U.S. Chopin Foundation Scholarship and has made several appearances on Philadelphia’s WRTI radio and National Public Radio’s (NPR) From The Top. 

This season, at the invitation of Sir András Schiff, she joins the Building Bridges concert series and appears in recitals throughout Europe. She also makes her debut with the Maryland Symphony Orchestra, Fort Collins Symphony, and Avanti Orchestra. 

Among Ms. Gagliano’s previous teachers are Gary Graffman, Jonathan Biss, and Marina Alekseyeva.