Brian Billion Pianist from Saint Paul, MN

Brian Billion is a pianist originally from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He began piano lessons at the age of eleven under the tutelage of Julie-Melik Stepanov, with whom he continues to study to this day when home in South Dakota. He has won top prizes at national and international competitions, including 1st prize at the Lancaster International Piano Competition (2015), The 1st Catholic University of America International Piano Competition (2014), The Mu Phi Epsilon Scholarship Competition (2015), the Aberdeen Civic Orchestra Young Artists Concerto Competition (2009), and the 2nd Annual Grant Competition (2012). Mr. Billion has also received awards for his pianism such as the DAR "Nellie Love Butcher Music Scholarship", the "Luciana Montanari-Mendola Award" from the Italian Cultural Society, and the Mu Phi Epsilon Scholarship for undergraduate performers. Mr. Billion began studying under Dr. Ivo Klatchev (Bulgaria) in 2012 at The Catholic University of America as the recipient of the Archdiocesan Scholarship, a full-tuition scholarship for university based on academic excellence. Upon graduation, in 2016 he received a special award from the university for the best undergraduate instrumentalist. He has performed at such international venues as the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, Carnegie Hall (Weill Hall), Lincoln Center's Paul Hall and Peter J. Sharp Hall, the Cascais Cultural Center in Lisbon, Portugal, the Teatro Comunale Degli Industri in Grosseto, Italy, Mariahilferkirche in Vienna, Austria, The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, among many others. He has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Orquestra de Camara de Cascais e Oeiras, the Aberdeen Symphony, and the Millersville University Orchestra. In 2018 Mr. Billion finished his Master's degree in piano performance under Hung-Kuan Chen at the Juilliard School and is currently pursuing his Doctorate with Alexander Braginsky at University of Minnesota.