GCHS Alumni: Where Are They Now? Julian Pellicano

There is always interest in what became of our Garden City High School (GCHS) star students.

They are the ones we read and marveled about in the local papers over the years. This new series, entitled: “GCHS Alumni: Where Are They Now?” will feature these students in all fields of endeavor and find out what they're up to now.

Starting this series is the story of Julian Pellicano, one of James McCrann’s talented band students from the Class of 1998.

Pellicano is a professor at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA, a small and intimate conservatory, he said. Pellicano is also a freelance conductor. His resume reads like someone twice his age with impressive credentials. He is the artistic director of large ensembles, principal conductor of the Longy Conservatory Orchestra and guest conductor for many orchestras in the United States and overseas.

He’s had a chance to work with many fine musicians, travel thousands of miles over the years and win numerous awards. Here is video of Pellicano conducting the end of Sibelius' 2nd Symphony.

So where did Pellicano get his start on this road to Longy? He started right here in Garden City.

Pellicano was influenced by his parents and grandparents and saw the value in being a well-rounded student. He double-majored in philosophy at Johns Hopkins University and percussion at Peabody Conservatory on the advice of his father. The philosophy major helped him supplement his music with an overall outlook and approach to music-making.

Surprisingly, Pellicano had no formal private lessons until he entered conservatory. But luckily he had McCrann for a band teacher, who has always been an inspiration to many students in town.

“Jim gave me all my first percussion lessons," Pellicano said. "He especially helped me learn how to play timpani, which became my favorite percussion instrument, prepared me for getting the timpani spot in All-County Orchestra, and ultimately prepared me for my college auditions. I probably wouldn’t have gotten into Peabody Conservatory if it wasn’t for him and all the extra time he spent teaching me … He gave me my first conducting lesson at Garden City High School (baton included and I still have it). Jim was my first true musical mentor."

McCrann said, “Julian was a percussion section leader, and eventually a student director of our newly formed marching band. As our program expanded, he served as the principal percussionist in another new group, our wind ensemble. Julian's unlikely conducting debut occurred as a result of a series of mishaps that prevented me from getting to school on time ... As I entered the room, the students were in their places, instruments in hand [and] Julian was conducting.

"Julian's artistry, leadership and determination are surpassed only by his warmth and compassion as a person. These are the same attributes that have carried him through the Peabody Conservatory, Yale University and ultimately into his emergence among the finest young conductors in the field … Julian has not only made music his life, but he has made it an important part of the lives of so many others.”

Keith Conlon, Pellicano’s friend and lead singer in the band, said when Julian wasn't busy conducting the school band, he was rocking out with his high school band "Low Budget." "Along with his bandmates, he also enjoyed getting small Slurpees from the local 7-Eleven," Conlon added.

One letter prior to freshman year at Peabody confirmed Pellicano’s thoughts on being a professional musician - his “aha! moment." It was a letter that reached back in time to when he was in Garden City Middle School with teacher Linda Backer. Backer had her students write letters to themselves, to be received in the mail when they had graduated high school, talking about their dreams for the future.

“It said something like, ‘Dear Julian, This is Julian writing. I am in the sixth grade…When I grow up I want to be a professional musician.’ No kidding. After I read that, I quickly forgot about all the practical questions and apprehensions that any sane person would have about trying to become a professional musician and performer, such as ‘Will I ever make any money at this?’...These questions completely disappeared thanks to Ms. Backer,” Pellicano said.

Pellicano obsessively practiced his drums and studied since he had tough professors at Peabody. “They gave us a dose of reality concerning how hard you have to work to make it as a musician … Now that I see how competitive the music world is, I am grateful to them for doing it, for pushing all of us students into this obsessive state and not wasting our time in school,” he said.

Pellicano also has degrees in percussion from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, Sweden, a Masters in music in percussion and orchestra conducting from Yale School of Music.

It looks like the years of hard work paid off for Julian Pellicano.

For more information on Pellicano, visit www.JulianPellicano.com. For more on Longy Conservatory visit www.Longy.edu. Longy has recently merged with Bard College, located in New York State.