Sacred Heart Concert Series
Music Director, Julian Lawrence Gargiulo

Wael Farouk, piano

Biography for Wael Farouk: Born in Cairo, Egypt, Wael joined the Cairo Conservatory at the age of 7 in 1988. Then at the age of 9, he was awarded the Youngest Egyptian Talent Prize given by the First Lady Susan Mubarak. Wael made his Orchestral debut in 1994 at the Cairo Opera House (Main Hall) performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major with the Academy of the Arts Orchestra conducted by Talle Ganiev(Russia). In the same year he won the jury special prize at the Second Composition Festival in Tachikawa (Japan). In 1995, he gave his debut recital; he was the youngest pianist to give a solo performance at the Cairo Opera House. In 1998, Wael was given special recognition by the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, for being the youngest Egyptian artist to have represented Egypt internationally. Wael was the first Egyptian to perform Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto with the Cairo Symphony Orchestra under Patrick Fournilier’s conductorship in 2000. The following year, Wael was invited by the same conductor to France, making his French debut in Saint-Etienne performing Saint-Saens’ Second Piano Concerto with the National Orchestra of Saint-Etienne and giving a solo recital at the city hall. Also in 2001, he won a scholarship to Brevard Music Center in North Carolina, where he was invited back in 2002 and 2003. In 2002, Wael made his German debut. He toured 6 cities with the North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, performing Aziz El Shawan’s (Egypt) Piano Concerto, conducted by Ahmed El Saidi (Egypt). In November 2003, he made his debut in the Czech Republic with Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto as well as Aziz El Shawan’s Piano Concerto with the same conductor. In 2003, Wael won a Fulbright Fellowship that brought him to Washington, D.C., to study at the Catholic University of America with Professor Marilyn Neeley, where he performed numerous solo recitals at the University and other locations. In March of 2003, Wael played two recitals in Schumann’s house in Leipzig (Germany) as a benefit concert for the great composer’s house. Wael made his Russian debut in July of 2004 in Saint Petersburg as a member of the official cultural exchange party, which performed four different solo recitals, which were all received with great admiration by the critics and public. In May 2006, having earned a full fellowship and an assistantship from Converse College (South Carolina) to study with Dr. Douglas Weeks, Wael earned his Master’s of Music in Piano Performance. Wael premiered Egyptian composer Adel Afify’s two piano concertos (the second of which was dedicated to him) with the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, with Steven Loyed conducting the first in 2005 and the second in 2006. Wael toured England with a chamber group from Converse College in May of 2006. Wael also won a full scholarship to attend the Master Works Festival in Indiana in June of 2006. Wael also earned a scholarship to the Duxbury Music Festival in Massachusetts in July 2006. In the 2006-2007 academic year, Wael studied with Professor Solomon Mikowsky at the Manhattan School of Music in the Professional Studies degree program. Wael was awarded a full tuition fellowship. In November of 2006, Wael toured Germany, performing sold-out solo recitals in Schumann’s house, the Johann Sebastian Bach Music School, and the Berlinminster.