Andrew Vargas

ANDREW VARGAS

Country: United States
Date of Birth: July 8, 2000
School: Texas Christian University
Teacher: Tamás Ungár
Concerto: Grieg Concerto in A minor, Op. 16

Young Steinway Artist, Andrew Vargas, engages audiences with his virtuosic and confident command of the piano. He is praised for his mature musical artistry, sense of harmonic color, impressive technique, and for giving his audiences an exciting and energetic performance.  A participant in numerous piano festivals, Vargas attended the Art of the Piano Festival in both 2020 and 2021 and was present at the PianoTexas International Festival and Academy in the summer of 2021.  As a National Finalist in the MTNA Senior Piano Division, Vargas participated in the MTNA finals in Baltimore, Maryland in March 2017.

In June 2016, he placed first in the PianoTexas International Festival & Academy concerto competition and performed Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra under the baton of internationally-renown concert pianist and conductor, Barry Douglas.  For two consecutive years, Vargas was awarded the First Prize in the Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition and performed twice in Carnegie Hall.

He has participated in master classes with Enrico Elisi, Edna Golandsky, Stanislav Ioudenitch, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Michael Lewin, Harold Martina, John Owings, and Lori Sims, as well as having had private lessons with Davide Cabassi, Barry Douglas, Christopher Elton, Edna Golandsky, Alexander McDonald, Igor Resnianski, and Boris Slutsky.

An avid composer, his compositions have been nationally recognized and applauded.  In 2016, his piano solo suite, Phantasms was the National First Place Composition Winner for the National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC) and a final selection in the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Competition. A "Tour de Force" according to judges, Phantasms "demonstrates a great deal of compositional skill, is harmonically courageous, superbly crafted, and is truly a valuable contribution to the piano literature."

Vargas serves his community by sharing his love for classical music and has appeared as a guest performer for an array of non-profit organizations, among them, the Make-A-Wish Foundation and The Gaylord Pickens Heritage Museum.

He currently studies Piano Performance at Texas Christian University under the guidance of Dr. Tamás Ungár.