Jay Julio

From Uniondale, New York, first-generation Filipino-American Jay Julio (25) began studying music formally at the age of 14; since then, Jay has been recognized in national competitions held by the National Federation of Music Clubs, the Music Teachers National Association, and the YoungArts Foundation. Festival appearances include the Thy, Pacific, Spoleto, and Aspen Music Festivals (the latter as a New Horizons Fellow), as well as the New York String Orchestra Seminar and Music Academy of the West. Jay is grateful for crucial support in recent years from the Virtu Foundation, the American Viola Society, the FilAm Music Foundation, and the WeInspire Foundation, which named Jay a WeInspire Ambassador for justice work in 2021. Jay was a full-scholarship student at the Manhattan School of Music (BM) and the Juilliard School (MM), studying with Karen Ritscher, Misha Amory, Matthew Lipman, and Heidi Castleman, and has recently joined the Opera Philadelphia Orchestra as their Assistant Principal Viola.