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This May, Classical IPR celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month on Classical IPR by featuring just some of the many AAPI artists of Interlochen who play significant roles in the classical music world.
Interlochen Arts Academy alum and multi-instrumentalist Jay Julio returned to northern Michigan earlier this year as part of a tour with Josh Tatsuo Cullen, playing music by diverse composers at the Music House Museum. One of the pieces performed was "Remaindered Life," which Julio themself had written.
As a musician and composer, Julio is dedicated to amplifying underrepresented music and cultures globally — especially their own Filipino heritage.
"I'm a first-generation Filipino American of Ilocano descent, from Uniondale, New York, and currently based in New York City. I play violin, viola and mandolin, in Broadway pit, touring ensembles, new music groups, with the Opera Philadelphia Orchestra as their assistant principal viola, and orchestras around the country and around the world," they said.
Julio studied with violist Renee Skerik at Interlochen Arts Academy before graduating from the Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School.
"Interlochen has been an integral part of my history. I was very lucky to spend a summer at Camp and my last two years of high school at Academy, as well as assisting the Viola Intensive back when that program was called Institute.
"What I get to do as a musician, and as one who is conscious of some of the history that has brought me here, is a privilege. Most people who interact with a Filipino in the Midwest, the South and the East Coast, do so either in the context of a hospital, military base or nursing home, definitely not an orchestra.
"On stage, I am committed to making sure that audiences can see some of the fullness of Filipino experience expanding past these roles, and also that the histories and challenges of people like our nannies, our nurses, our military wives are not lost to assimilation," said Julio.
Julio also collaborated with Norman Menzales for his album, "Panoramas," a series of Filipino flute and chamber music.
The recordings that Julio and Cullen made here in northern Michigan continue to be recognized and featured on Performance Today, resonating with audiences of the 21st century.
