Known for the warmth and conviction of his performances, pianist Walter Aparicio explores issues of cultural background and identity through his concerts and workshops. Much of his programming includes music that directly references elements of dance, language and folk traditions.

Walter’s notable New York credits include alternative spaces such as the Cell Theatre, Firehouse Space, and Soapbox Gallery as well as more traditional venues like Steinway Hall, Carnegie Hall & Symphony Space. Outside of the US, he has presented performances at the International Academy of Music in St. Petersburg (Russia), the Beijing International Music Festival & Academy (China), and Barcelona Piano Academy (Spain) and in his native Bolivia for the Festival Internacional de la Interculturalidad.

An adventurous artist, Walter has participated in performance installations such as Allora & Calzadilla’s Stop, Repair, Prepare: Variations on Ode to Joy for a Prepared Piano. Taking place at the Gladstone Gallery, NY, the work involved the pianist performing backwards – from a hole cut inside a grand piano – while moving the instrument around the gallery space. The work transforms the player/instrument dynamic, and this experience has been part of Mr. Aparicio’s ongoing inquiry into the nature of performance and the artist-audience relationship. Other ventures have included collaborations with the Nouveau Classical Project (where fashion meets music) and Notes on Fiction, a series where musical references in literature are presented as a fluid reading/concert hybrid.

An active proponent of music by Latin American composers, Walter is committed to introducing rarely heard works to new audiences. His debut album, Aires Indios: Piano Music of Bolivia (MSR Classics) features music by Eduardo Caba, Simeón Roncal and Marvin Sandi. These evocative works that draw from Andean folk music are then infused with the stylized vocal quality of Chopin and the barbarism of Bartók. Mr. Aparicio is on the artist roster of Cayambis Music Press, a leading publisher of works by Latin American composers. As a Cayambis artist, Walter champions and records recent works of the publisher’s composers.

Walter serves on the Executive Board of the Piano Teachers Congress of NY where he co-chairs the 20^th/21^st-Century Piano Festival. Currently, he is faculty at Piano Works in Progress (NY & Vermont), Manhattan School of Music -Precollege Division and maintains a thriving private studio in Manhattan. He is staff accompanist at the Chapin School & Bank Street, School for Children.

Walter holds degrees from NYU Steinhardt and Manhattan School of Music. His primary teachers have included Deirdre O’Donohue, Phillip Kawin and Robert Durso.