He has performed recitals in Brazil, Costa Rica, Spain, France, Colombia, the United States, Germany and Italy, at important venues such as the Salle Cortot and the Eglise Saint-Merri in Paris, the Luis Ángel Arango concert hall of the Banco de la República in Bogotá, the National Museum of Colombia, Teatro Estudio of the Julio Mario Santo Domingo Library, the Katzin Concert Hall of Arizona State University, and Viernes de Musikeon series in Valencia (Spain), among others.

 

His interest in refining his piano technique has led him to participate in various international festivals and competitions, including L'auditorioum Campra in Les nuits Pianistiques d'Aix-en-Provence, the José Monleon Theater in Leganés (Spain), Sala dei Notari at Perugia MusicFest, the Bucaramanga International Piano Festival (Colombia), Mozart Concert Academy (Germany), Festival Eleazar du Carvalho (Brazil). He has been finalist of the International Piano Competition "María Clara Cullel" (Costa Rica), of the National Piano Competition (Colombia) and winner of the prize "Young Talents of Music" sponsored by the French Alliance. In these same spaces he had the opportunity to receive master classes with internationally acclaimed pianists such as Arie Vardi, Menahem Pressler, Ilana Vered, Harold Martina, Nicolas Stavy, Luiz Carlos de Moura Castro, Christopher Hinterhuber, Daniel Blumenthal and Cedric Tiberghien.

 

Paulo Navarro began his studies at an early age in Bucaramanga (Colombia), his hometown, with pianist Hortensia Galvis. He then began his university cycle at the EAFIT University in Medellín, where he obtained his degree as a musician with emphasis on piano with the highest recognition. There he was under the guidance of Claudio Suzin and the renowned Colombian pianist Blanca Uribe. In 2010 he migrates to the United States, with the support of the Colfuturo program in conjunction with a partial scholarship from Arizona State University, where he begins and culminates under the direction of pianist Dr. Baruch Meir his master's studies in Piano Performance. 

 

One of the most relevant aspects that have marked the career of pianist Navarro is his altruistic spirit, which he embraced at the beginning of his career and through this practice he has cemented art and music as a vehicle to support significant social projects in his region. In this way, he joined the Colombian Cardiovascular Foundation, offering with great success a solo recital at the age of 18 in the Luis A. Calvo Auditorium of the Industrial University of Santander. Later he joined the endeavours of the foundation KIWANIS International, where he managed to build up through his music the alimentary infrastructure for 300 children in the region. These efforts were publicly recognized, receiving in 2011 the distinction "Knight KIWANIS". He recently offered a recital at the historic Santander Theatre, in his hometown, which reopened its doors in 2019 after 30 years of inactivity, becoming the first Colombian pianist to offer a solo recital since its foundation in 1929. This event was for the benefit of the RECIENSA foundation, an entity that supports through science and technology the new generation of sportsmen in Santander. This initiative led him in 2017 to offer a benefit recital in Hong Kong City Hall, raising more than 30 thousand euros in aid for the Little Life Warriors Foundation and its fight against childhood cancer.

 

Between 2012 and 2015 he was based in Bogotá (Colombia), where he worked as a piano professor and collaborative pianist at the Universidad el Bosque, Universidad de los Andes and Universidad Antonio Nariño, while also pursuing an intense activity as a concert pianist, especially in chamber music, collaborating with various artists of national and international renown. This exploration has led him to continue his studies in this branch, moving in 2015 to Paris, where he culminated in 2017 advanced studies in chamber music and piano accompaniment at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris Alfred Cortot School. Subsequently, he began a new stage after his meeting with the French pianist Pascal Gallet, under his tutelage he was chosen for two consecutive years as the winner by unanimous decision with the congratulations of the jury of the degree competition at the Grand Prix and Excellence levels of the Conservatoire International de Musique de Paris.

 

Currently, Paulo Navarro alternates his artistic activities with pedagogy, linked to a private institution, as well as collaborative pianist at the Malakoff Conservatory in the Paris region. His first solo album will be recorded in the summer of 2020, including a variety of Romantic, Impressionist, and Latin American repertoire.