Joseph D’Urso was born in Brindisi in 2007. He began playing the piano at the age of five and, at six, was admitted for special merits to the “Tito Schipa” Conservatory in Lecce. Since 2017, he has been studying at the “Nino Rota” Conservatory in Monopoli under the guidance of Stefania Santangelo, and in October 2025, at the age of eighteen, he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Piano, scoring 110 with honors and special mention. From 2013 to the present, Joseph has participated in numerous national and international piano competitions for young pianists, collecting over twenty first prizes and absolute first prizes, including the first prize with a scholarship at the 1st “Villa Scacciapensieri” Piano Competition in Siena, the absolute first prize at the San Donà di Piave Competition, and the first prize at the “Pietro Argento” Competition in Gioia del Colle. He placed third at the 16th National Arts Award, held in 2022 at the “Monteverdi” Conservatory in Bolzano, and won third prize at the “Galletta” Competition in Livorno. He received a special mention at the 10th Ciudad de Vigo International Piano Competition, awarded by the jury chaired by Martha Argerich. At the age of fourteen, he was selected among the students to perform Mendelssohn’s First Piano Concerto with the Conservatory Orchestra at the Radar Theatre in Monopoli. In 2023, he performed Liszt’s First Piano Concerto at the Apollo Theatre in Lecce and the Cathedral of Galatina with the Symphony Orchestra of Lecce and Salento, and in 2026 he performed Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto with the Conservatory Orchestra. He has participated in masterclasses with masters Daniel Rivera, Pierluigi Camicia, Roberto Plano, Ralph Nattkemper, Roberto Prosseda, Igor Resnianski, Tamás Ungár, Hung-Kuan Chen, Davide Cabassi, and Benedetto Lupo, with whom he took part, through selection, in the “Musica d’Estate” advanced masterclasses in Bardonecchia. In November of the same year, he was selected through an international call as an active student to participate in a masterclass with Nikolay Lugansky. He has performed in various concert contexts, including the Museum of Preclassical Civilizations of Southern Murgia in Ostuni, the Puccini Hall of the “G. Verdi” Conservatory in Milan, Palazzo Fornari, the Marrucino Theatre, the Auditorium of the “Luisa D’Annunzio” Conservatory in Pescara as part of the youth season of the Luigi Barbara Theatre and Music Society, the Ducal Palace in Martina Franca, the Radar Theatre, and the Mariella Theatre in Monopoli. In 2022, he was selected among the 24 active participants of the PianoTexas International Festival & Academy in Fort Worth, Texas, performing in the Van Cliburn Concert Hall. In April 2026, he won the “Paola Bruni” scholarship, awarded by Maestro Benedetto Lupo at the end of the masterclass held at the “Nino Rota” Conservatory in Monopoli.
He has been student of Fondazione Accademia di Musica since 2026.
