Eugene Alcalay, a native of Romania, began playing the piano at age two and composing at age eight. At fourteen, Mr. Alcalay was featured in a televised piano recital after winning Romania’s National Music Competition.
In 1980 Mr. Alcalay’s compositions were brought to the attention of Leonard Bernstein, who subsequently requested a personal meeting and audition in Israel. After this meeting, Maestro Bernstein decided to personally supervise and sponsor Mr. Alcalay’s musical education, the first comprehensive scholarship he ever awarded. Under this sponsorship, Mr. Alcalay studied piano and composition in Tel Aviv for 1 1/2 years, where he received numerous awards.
In 1984 Maestro Bernstein invited Mr. Alcalay to the United States to continue his studies at the Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington, under a scholarship named The Leonard Bernstein Award. While at Indiana University, Mr. Alcalay won a Performer’s Certificate in Recognition of Outstanding Performance in Piano, the school’s highest performance award. Following graduation with a double Bachelor’s Degree With High Distinction in Piano and Composition, Mr. Alcalay attended the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he earned a degree in composition under Ned Rorem. At this time he began studying piano with Seymour Lipkin. In 1993 Mr. Alcalay graduated from the Juilliard School with a double Master’s Degree in Piano and Composition and made his Carnegie Hall debut.
In May 1998 Mr. Alcalay earned a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Piano from The Juilliard School, and in August of 1999 he was appointed Assistant Professor of Piano at Geneva College. In 2002, Eugene will travel to Colombia as Visiting Professor of Piano in the graduate studies program at Universidad Nacional de Colombia in Bogota, a position sponsored by the Fulbright Foundation.
