Julie Holtzman

Holtzman, Julie

Julie (Julie Heathers) Holtzman. Pianist, jazz singer, teacher, b Montreal, of Polish parentage, 13 Jul 1945; Première médaille ear training (Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal [CMM]) 1955, Premier prix piano (CMM) 1956, Premier prix chamber music (CMM) 1957, diploma (Juilliard) 1961. Following studies at the CMM with Germaine Malépart, Julie Holtzman received a Canada Council grant that allowed her to work with Rosina Lhévinne at the Juilliard School in New York. During the summers, she sang popular music under the name Julie Heathers. As a pianist, she gave concerts in Canada, the US, Mexico, Europe, and Asia (1984); in Manila, Philippines, she played in a televised concert broadcast to an audience of over five million people. In Canada she has performed with the McGill Chamber Orchestra and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

Showing a preference for little known repertoire, she has performed piano works by Franz Xaver Mozart (Wolfgang Amadeus's son), including the premiere of his Concerto in C, Opus 14 in London (followed by the Canadian premiere on Montreal television), and several transcriptions. A devoted champion of George Gershwin as well, she made a transcription for solo piano of An American in Paris, and gave the Beijing, China, premiere of Rhapsody in Blue. In a letter to Ira Gershwin, biographer Edward Jablonski wrote about her rendition of Rhapsody in Blue: 'Electrifying and spine-tingling! She plays George Gershwin with a glowing, sparkling authority and a twinkling humor that too many miss.'

In 1991, Julie Holtzman began performing as a jazz and cabaret singer-pianist. Her performances have included tribute concerts to the Duke Ellington Society in New York (2004-5) and engagements at jazz venues in that city. Holtzman specializes in teaching classical piano to jazz pianists. As of 2005, she was living in New York City.