Julián DE LA CHICA
Praised for his "meditative simplicity" [The New Yorker], described as "an extraordinarily deep thinker... able to take a listener into mysterious byways using very slender means" [Music Trust], and noted for his "spare and pensive" music [NewSounds], Julián De La Chica is an award—winning Colombian multidisciplinary artist and author (AWA), based in Brooklyn, NY. His influences range from minimalism and post—minimalism to the alternative electronic scene. His work often juxtaposes spiritual reflection with an exploration of humanity’s inner darkness, drawing inspiration from everyday images. His music mixes piano, strings, and classical voices with electronic keyboards and controllers, crossing genres from classical to ambient and electronic music. With a discography that includes six solo albums and over eighteen collaborative projects (between singles and albums), De La Chica’s music has been recorded and performed by artists worldwide and has been featured on Spotify’s Classical New Releases playlist. His work has also premiered at prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall.
Julián De La Chica
Photo Courtesy by IGM
As a pianist, De La Chica has performed in a variety of settings, from iconic concert halls to electronic music bars. His U.S. debut, at the invitation of then—Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) and former President of Colombia César Gaviria Trujillo, took place in 2003 at the OAS headquarters in Washington, DC. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2016, premiering a selection of his own piano works. A Baldwin Piano Company artist since 2009, he currently plays the custom—designed Baldwin Heavy Metal Piano.
In 2020, Julián De La Chica gained recognition with Agatha, his debut film as a director and writer. Premiering at the visionary Bogotá Film Festival, during its 37th edition, Agatha received a Special Mention and won Best International Film. Since its premiere, the film has been selected by over thirty international film festivals and has won eighteen awards, including Best Picture, Best LGBTQ Film, Best Cinematography, Best Composer, and Best Actor. The Rome Prisma Film Awards described Agatha as “an elegant, original, poetic film that touches us with delicacy,” and hailed De La Chica as “an author to follow.”
His first novel, God’s Punishment (based on his opera of the same name), won the AWA (Award-Winning Author) award for Best Novel—Historical Fiction (English) and received an Honorable Mention for Best LGBTQ+ Theme Book at the 25th International Latino Book Awards 2023 (ILBA), where it earned the Silver Medal in its category. Set in the remote Colombian town of Agua de Dios, a mass leprosarium run by the Colombian government during the 19th and 20th centuries, the novel highlights the human rights abuses of this dark chapter in Colombia’s history. The novel, the result of two decades of investigative work, underscores the importance of human rights. As psychiatrist Dainius Pūras, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health, has noted, “Books like God’s Punishment are vitally needed in these times,” as De La Chica “reminds and warns us of what can happen when human rights are taken away from people.”
A founding member of the independent record label Irreverence Group Music [IGM], De La Chica lives in Brooklyn, NY, with his family and cat.