John Bitoy is an Afro-Dominican pianist and composer originally from Chicago, where he enjoys a multi-faceted career as a soloist and collaborative pianist. His recent solo engagements include performances of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the South Loop Symphony and Symphony of Oak Park. He has performed in esteemed halls such as the Eastman Theatre, Chicago Symphony Center, the Jay Pritzker Pavilion at Millenium Park, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, and the Copernicus Center.
John is a passionate advocate for new music in performance spaces. Past projects include the recording and world premiere of several pieces from Steve Wallace’s Solo piano and chamber compositions in 2020, followed by his opera in 2021. An avid chamber musician, John has participated in numerous performances in the Gateways Music Festival, and performed works by Marcus Norris and Brian Raphael Nabors. In addition to taking pleasure in his classical engagements, John is well versed in other genres. He was invited to perform with Sigur Ros during their 2019 United States Tour of Riceboy Sleeps.
Mr. Bitoy enjoys playing standard repertoire, yet he is simultaneously devoted to shedding light on the new music of composers of the African Diaspora. He recently started his own Latin Jazz fusion band, Blackmaninoff, performing his original works. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in 2017, and received a Master’s in Piano Performance at DePaul University in 2019.