Edward Pulgar is a

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist and conductor.

Early life and education

Born in

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

, Pulgar was trained through the National Youth Orchestra System in Venezuela (currently known as "

El Sistema El Sistema (which translates to The System) is a publicly financed, voluntary sector, music-education program, founded in Venezuela in 1975 by Venezuelan educator, musician, and activist José Antonio Abreu.Lesniak It later adopted the motto "M ...

"). He began musical studies at age eight in solfege,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

and

at the Escuela de Música “Elias David Curiel” in Coro. His teachers included Giuseppe Maiolino, Miroslaw Kulikowsky, and Józef Szatanek. At thirteen years old, he won the special prize in the

Juan Bautista Plaza Juan Bautista Plaza Alfonso ( Caracas, Venezuela June 19, 1898 – 1965) was a classical composer. He began studies in medicine at the Central University of Venezuela but, with time, left in order to dedicate himself to music. His first teach ...

V National Violin Competition and several other competitions in Venezuela. He continued his studies in violin and orchestral conducting at the Conservatorio José Luis Paz of

Maracaibo ) , motto = "''Muy noble y leal''"(English: "Very noble and loyal") , anthem = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_alt = ...

, the Conservatorio Simón Bolívar, and the Latin-American Violin Academy under José Francisco del Castillo in Caracas. Pulgar earned an artist diploma from

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened as the Pittsbu ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

and recently a

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in music performance from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

Career

He made his debut as a conductor at age twenty with the Zulia Symphony Orchestra in Venezuela. Three years later he became a member of Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela. Also, he has been a member of the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra in Michigan and Associate Principal of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra in West Virginia, United States. Mr. Pulgar has appeared as a soloist and concertmaster with symphonic

orchestras An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...

in Venezuela and South America, and more recently with the

Knoxville Symphony Orchestra The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra is a professional orchestra in Knoxville, Tennessee. The orchestra was established in 1935 and is the oldest continuing orchestra in the southeastern United States.Roy C. BrewerSymphony Orchestras ''Tennessee Enc ...

at important

concert halls A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention centres that may ...

such as

Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex The Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex (''Complejo Cultural Teresa Carreño''), also known as Teresa Carreño Theater (''Teatro Teresa Carreño''), is the most important theatre of Caracas and Venezuela, where performances include symphonic and pop ...

of Caracas, Panama's National Theatre, Beethovensaal of

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

and

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

, Teatro Colón of Bogota, th
PNC Recital Hall
an

in Pittsburgh, the Niswonger Performing Arts Center of Greenville, TN and th
Knoxville Civic Auditorium
among others. Currently, Mr. Pulgar is the Principal Second Violin of th
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra
and a member of the Knoxville Symphony’s Principal String Quartet, appearing throughout East Tennessee in recitals, concerts and radio and television appearances. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Strings a
Carson-Newman University
He eagerly continues to pursue solo and chamber music in the U.S. and Latin America along with guest appearances as conductor.

Critical reviews

''"Large and beautiful sonority, with impeccable intonation...."'' ''"...The concerto was superbly executed by Edward Pulgar..."'' ''"In the Saint-Saëns, Pulgar exploited with great freedom the possibilities of the violin..."'' ''"The audience gave back o Mr. Pulgarthe same stamp he sealed in both pieces of very high levels of technique, with much applause and a well-deserved ovation..."'' ''"A soloist of admirable pedagogy..."'' ''“

hen Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman. Hen or Hens may also refer to: Places Norway *Hen, Buskerud, a village in Ringer ...

Edward Pulgar conducts, he draws music with his hands...” ''

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pulgar, Edward 1974 births Living people Duquesne University alumni Michigan State University alumni People from Caracas Venezuelan classical violinists Male classical violinists Venezuelan conductors (music) Male conductors (music) 21st-century conductors (music) 21st-century classical violinists 21st-century male musicians