At the age of seven, Javier Gonzalez began his music studies on the piano in Havana, Cuba. He eventually won five Grand Prizes and five First Prizes in the Amadeo Roldán National Piano Competition. He also won special mention for Best Interpretation of Latin American and Cuban music and second prize in the Ernesto Lecuona International Piano Competition. In 1999, Mr. Gonzalez took First Prize in the UNEAC Interpretation Competition, and third prize in the Ignacio Cervantes International Piano Competition. In 2002, he moved to the United States and was enrolled in the Master’s Program at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where he won first place in the concerto competition in 2003.
During this time, he was a soloist with the Santa Monica Symphony Orchestra, and with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra in Caracas, Venezuela. In the summer of 200_, Javier was accepted into the Music@Menlo Summer Program for Chamber Music, where he studied with Wu Han and David Finkle, of the Emerson String Quartet. He has received regular coaching from Maestro Earl Wild and Alicia de Larrocha. Mr. Gonzalez has performed in Barbados, Colombia, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Venezuela, Switzerland, Spain and Hawaii. He is currently on the faculty at the Baldwin -Wallace College Conservatory of Music and the Beck Center.