Faculty Artist Series: Carlos Vargas, piano

Carlos’ performances have taken him throughout the United States, South America, and many countries in Europe and  in venues such as Teatro el Circulo in Argentina, Sala Eduardo Brito in the Dominican Republic, and Wiener Saal in Salzburg. A native of the Dominican Republic, he began his studies at a young age with renowned Cuban pianist and pedagogue Karelia Escalante. Since a young age, Carlos has been an active participant and winner of national and international competitions, such as the Manuel Rueda award in year 2005 in the Festival of Latin-American music celebrated in his country. Other prizes include third prize in The Steinway Competition of Massachusetts, second prize in The Churchill Scholarship Competition, and second prize at the Bradshaw and Buono International Competition. During the 2008 season, Carlos toured Argentina with his duo partner Sebastian Plano, giving concerts as the special guests for “Teatro el Círculo” along with the orchestra of Rosario, Argentina. He was also invited by the President of the Dominican Republic to play for the opening of the literary festival, which is celebrated every year in Santo Domingo. Carlos has a particular interest in developing programs that facilitate musical education to people from all social and economic backgrounds who wouldn’t have the opportunity to receive this type of training. Because of this, Carlos was awarded, since 2008, a grant by the Boston Public Library that allows him to create a piano program for dozens of kids to receive lessons in piano and theory for free. Carlos was also awarded, since 2005, the Zitrin scholarship and completed both his B.A. and M.A. at the Boston Conservatory on full scholarship under the guidance of Dr Jonathan Bass. For more information about Carlos, visit www.facebook.com/carlosvpiano.