Arts Guides Fall 2019 Preview: South Jersey | Page 35

After studying piano at the New
England Conservatory of Music’s
Preparatory School he received
a B.A. in Computer Science from
Boston College. In 2001 Birnbaum
moved to New York City to be-
come one of two pianists select-
ed to participate in the Juilliard
School’s inaugural jazz studies
program.
“I was feeling frustrated artistically
by the end of my time at Boston
College and I came to the conclu-
sion that I needed to play music to
be happy,” he acknowledges. “I was
fortunate that Juilliard provided me
with the perfect chance to move
to New York and dive into the jazz
scene there. I consider myself very
lucky to have had that opportunity.”
After graduating, he won the
American Jazz Piano Competition
in May 2004 to become the Amer-
ican Pianists Association’s Cole
Porter Fellow in Jazz. The Cole
Porter Fellowship gave Birnbaum
a much needed boost and helped
launch his career. He received a