Julie Bees

Wichita State University

Celebrated American pianist, Dr. Julie Bees, is a Professor of Piano and Director of the Konrad Wolff-Ilse Bing Chamber Music Endowment Award at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas. She is also a founding member of The Orfeo Trio, a traveling piano trio that has most recently given recitals and masterclasses across Southeast Asia. The highlights of Dr. Bees’ early career include two performances of the Mozart Piano Concerto, K. 488, with the Youth Symphony of New York, at Carnegie Hall and at Lehman College, and performances as a guest artist on the “Discovery” Recital Series recorded for broadcast on WQXR and National Public Radio. As a collaborative pianist, Dr. Bees has performed with the Vermeer Quartet, the St. Petersburg String Quartet, bass-baritone Alan Held, the Viotti trio, American Chamber Players, and other ensembles and soloists.

In addition to her performance successes, Dr. Bees is a dedicated teacher and mentor. Her students have been successful in competitions at every level, including a bronze medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

A native of Miami, Florida, Dr. Bees earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University in 1974. She then studied for two years at the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna, Austria, before earning a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in 1982. Her mentors have included the acclaimed Leon Fleisher, Maria Curcio-Diamand, Dieter Weber, Noel Flores, Alexander Uninsky, Alfred Mouledous, Konrad Wolff, Peggy Neighbors Erwin, and Nelita True.