Julien Brocal
Born in 1987 in Arles, France, Julien began learning the piano at the age of 5. He was taught by Erik Berchot and Rena Shereshevskaya at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris Alfred Cortot and in 2013 began working with Maria João Pires at the Cité de la Musique in Paris. She subsequently invited him to continue his studies at the Queen Elisabeth Musical Chapel in Belgium and to be one of the founding members of the Partitura Project.

Maria and Julien have performed together all over the world, with performances at the Chopin Festival (Warsaw), Auditorium Teatro dell'Opera di Firenze (Florence), Sheldonian Theatre (Oxford), Severance Hall (Cleveland) and Tippet Rise Art Centre (Montana). In addition, they have also given many workshops together and launched educational and social programs for children (including Equinox). Julien is now resident in Belgais, at the Center for Arts created by Maria, and his first solo recording (of works by Chopin) will be released in January 2017 by Rubicon Classics.

Julien trained under Erik Berchot at the Conservatoire National de Région de Marseille and under Rena Shereshevskaya at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris Alfred Cortot, where he was unanimously awarded the prestigious performer diploma. Throughout his training Julien has benefited from the support of the Zaleski Foundation, Association Assophie and the Safran Foundation. He has been invited to appear on France Musique by Gaëlle le Gallic and to take part in several festivals in France. From his early childhood he has performed on stage in France and abroad. Julien was spotted in January 2013 by Maria-João Pires during an academy session at the Cité de la musique in Paris, and was subsequently invited to perfect his skills at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium.