Jan Hugo

Born in Bloemfontein, South Africa in 1991, Jan started his music tuition at the age of 7 with Claudine van Breda in Pretoria. He distinguished himself in local art festivals and eisteddfods and passed all his examinations for practical piano and theory with distinction. At the age of 11, he participated in the International Competition for Pianists 'Virtuosi per Musica' in Usti nad Labem in the Czech Republic. At 12 he won the Musicon Senior Primary Piano Competition in Bloemfontein and the Sanlam Music Competition in Cape Town.

At 13 Jan was invited to further his studies in Italy and became a student of Francesco Cipolletta at the Istituto Superiore di Studi Musicali 'Vecchi-Tonelli' in Modena, Italy, where he passed all his exams cum laude. In 2006, aged 15, Jan won in the category 'Soloists 18 years old' at the International Piano Competition Carlo Soliva in Casale Monferrato, Italy. In December 2006 he was admitted to a Master's Diploma in Piano Performance at the Accademia Pianistica Internazionale 'Incontri col Maestro' in Imola, where he studied with Franco Scala and Boris Petrushansky. In the academic year 2007/2008, he was accepted for a Bachelor of Music Degree at the Istituto Superiore di Studi Musicale 'Vecchi-Tonelli', where he studied under the tutorship of Prof. Giuseppe Fausto Modugno and graduated cum laude in March 2010.

In July 2011 Jan won the fourth UNISA National Piano Competition in Pretoria. In 2013 he was awarded the prestigious SAMRO Overseas Scholarship. He has participated in various master classes with internationally acclaimed professors and pianists such as Michel Dalberto, Robert Levin, Jin Ju, Riccardo Risaliti, David Ascanio, Adam Wodnicki and Joseph Stanford. He has played recitals in Rome, Milan, Bologna, Modena and various other towns in Italy during important concert seasons of Italian music associations. He has also performed as a soloist with the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra, Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra and Cape Philharmonic Orchestra. He performed as a soloist with the Orchestra of the Istituto 'Vecchi-Tonelli' in the Teatro Comunale of Modena and is also active in chamber music.