Justin Bird

About Justin Bird

Justin Bird is a widely acclaimed pianist, teacher, arranger, tuner, and collaborator whose fresh interpretations include an affinity for underrated repertoire. He has won the NZ Kapiti Coast International Piano Competition awarding him his USA debut recital in Salt Lake City. He has represented New Zealand as a finalist in the Kowhai Australasian Piano Concerto Competition and was awarded the NZ Young Performer of the Year for piano. He has appeared as a finalist in the NZ Young Musician of the year Competition, and the MTNA National Young Artist Competition in the USA.
In addition to several concerto appearances with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Justin has performed with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Auckland, Wellington and National Youth Orchestras. Two of these were to an audience of over 250,000 people in the Auckland domain. More recently he won concerto competitions awarding performances with both Florida State University Philharmonia and the Indiana University Orchestra. Taking advantage of the talented musicians at IU he joined forces with conductor Nicholas Hersh to give a memorable performance of the Delius Piano Concerto which was filmed and published online.
As a young pianist he studied with Rae de Lisle, then in later years with Bryan Sayer at the University of Auckland. He then continued study in the USA with Read Gainsford at Ithaca College and Florida State University, and Marian Hahn at the Peabody Institute. Justin is currently a Doctorate in Music candidate studying with André Watts at the Indiana University Jacob’s School of Music. He has also been privileged to play for Leon Fleisher, John Perry, Roy Howat, and Michael Houston.
Justin also thrives as an accompanist and chamber musician, and has twice been part of the winning group in the NZ National Chamber Music Contest. He has worked with many contemporary music ensembles performing on celeste, harmonium and harpsichord. His recent studies incorporate his interest in early keyboard instruments, piano tuning, and conducting. He also plays the violin and viola and loves to play in orchestras, string quartets, and Christian worship settings.