About Julian
Known for his versatility across a broad spectrum of genres, dynamic interpretations and meticulous technique, American-Canadian conductor Julian Pellicano has been recently appointed to the conducting staff of the National Ballet of Canada starting with the 24-25 season and is Music Director of Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Bringing an incisive musicality and collaborative spirit to every performance, he has built a wide-ranging international career leading the Winnipeg Free Press to proclaim that “his versatility is truly astonishing.”
Associate conductor of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra from 2013 - 2024, Julian conducted hundreds of performances on all of the orchestra’s various series, contributed to the development of the orchestra’s programming and established himself in the community as an ambassador for the WSO. As a guest he has conducted orchestras in North America and abroad including the Seattle Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Orquestra de Valencia, Edmonton Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, The Florida Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfônica de Porto Alegre, Symphony S.O.N.G., Orlando Philharmonic, Memphis Symphony, Hartford Symphony, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, and the Vermont Symphony among others.
Passionate about the intersection of music and dance, he has conducted numerous classical and contemporary ballet productions, performing the works of internationally renowned choreographers including Alexei Ratmansky, Christopher Weeldon, Angelin Prelocaj, Twyla Tharp, Mauricio Wainrot, Rudi Van Dantzig, Lila York, Septime Webre and Jorden Morris. Guest engagements include performances with Hong Kong Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet and Orlando Ballet in addition to performing and touring with the National Ballet of Canada and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.
Highly experienced with live-to-film performances, his film project credits encompass more than 30 titles including Miloš Forman’s award-winning film Amadeus, Fritz Lang’s Metropolis with its original 1927 score, as well as many legendary films scored by John Williams, recent blockbusters, and classic films of the “Golden Age” of Hollywood.
A musician with a penchant for collaboration, Julian has performed with an eclectic array of world-class musicians including Vadim Gluzman, Ann Schein, Timo Andres, Steven Page, Jan Arden, Paul Shaffer, Boris Berman, Benjamin Verdery, Thomas Meglioranza, James Morrison, La Bottine Souriante, Andy Summers (The Police), Rajaton, The Crash Test Dummies, Don Amero and Natalie MacMaster to name a few.
The creation of a new performance edition of George Antheil's original 1923 groundbreaking work Ballet Mecanique first brought Pellicano to the public’s attention. Conductor of Yale University’s Norfolk New Music Workshop for more than a decade, Pellicano has been recognized for his transparent interpretations of contemporary music and many premieres by emerging and established composers including the first performances of Martin Bresnick’s critically acclaimed opera My Friend's Story and the first American performance of Hans Werner Henze’s Drei Geistliche Konzerte. In 2010, he released a recording of Ingram Marshall’s Peaceable Kingdom with the Yale Philharmonia on New World Records and recorded music by Australian composer Nicole Murphy. Other notable projects include a concert tour of Turkey leading new music that blends both western and Turkish classical instruments and a collaboration with Soprano/Director Susan Narucki and the Kallisti Ensemble on Pascal Dusapin's opera To Be Sung at the University of California San Diego.
Julian Pellicano studied conducting at the Yale School of Music with Shinik Hahm and during that time also trained in masterclasses with Kurt Masur, Martyn Brabbins, Peter Eötvös, Zsolt Nagy, Carl St. Clair, L’Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. At Yale he had the opportunity to assist guest conductors including Sir Neville Marriner, Helmuth Rilling, Reinbert De Leeuw and Peter Oundjian and he was a recipient of the Presser Music Award which allowed him to travel to observe world-renowned conductors Simon Rattle, Daniel Barenboim, David Robertson, Bernard Haitink, John Adams and Michael Tilson Thomas in rehearsal with orchestras around the world. He has also been awarded prizes from the Royal Swedish Academy of Music and Yale’s Phillip F. Nelson Prize for Musical Entrepreneurship.
From 2009 to 2013 he served as music director of the Longy School of Music Conservatory Orchestra where he developed the orchestra’s repertoire, engaged world-class soloists, and establishing a rigorous and distinctive new orchestral program. In 2013, he joined the conducting faculty of the University of Manitoba where he served as Music Director of the University of Manitoba Symphony Orchestra for seven seasons.
His career grew out of unconventional beginnings, starting as a primarily self-taught percussionist, timpanist, drummer and accordionist, performing in a wide variety of styles, genres, bands and ensembles. He studied percussion at the Peabody Conservatory with Jonathan Haas, the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, Sweden with Anders Loguin, and at the Yale School of Music with Robert Van Sice where he was a member of the critically acclaimed Yale Percussion Group. As a percussionist, he has performed in concert halls and festivals in North America, Europe and Asia. He also holds a degree in philosophy from The Johns Hopkins University.