Urbina is an astonishing musician, with an uncanny ability to communicate and a luscious sound that enwraps the audience. Walter Ponce, Author of “The Tyrany of Tradition in Piano Teaching.”

Luis Urbina was born in Venezuela in 1991.  Considered a child prodigy, he began his musical studies at the age of 9 on the piano, cello and voice.  

A recipient of many international awards including the prestigious Gina Bachahuer competition, he caught the attention of Mrs. Giselle Brodsky, Artistic Director and Founder of the Miami International Piano Festival and its Piano Academy.

In 2009, Giselle Brodsky took Luis Urbina under her wing and offered him unique opportunities to study and perform as a soloist and collaborator with renowned singers and violinists in the MIPF.   His development as a special artist stemmed from the opportunity, he had to work with great artists associated with the festival, such as Kemal Gekic, Misha Dacic, Jorge Luis Prats, Dr. Frank Cooper and Ilya Itin. 

In 2009 he got his Undergraduate Degree at FIU where he studied with Kemal Gekic. During his time at FIU, participated in many ensembles, both jazz and classical, and won the Concerto Competition playing the Liszt 2nd with the School Orchestra. 

After graduating from FIU, he worked as a collaborator with several important artists. He participated in MIPF’s “Opera and Piano Transcriptions” series as a collaborator, and later with world-renowned soprano Eglise Guiterrez, Gilles Apap, Simone Porter, Oliver Aldort and Chelsea Guo.  Luis was featured in many performances at the MIPFA and the Festival. 

Luis Urbina is an extraordinary mentor and pedagogue and has been invited to participate in the 2025 MIPFA’s Summer Program in the Italian Dolomites as a resident artist and as a member of the faculty. 

His appearance in a solo recital at the 2025 Discovery Series marks his official debut at the Miami International Piano Festival.

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Brandon Goldberg has been playing piano and making music since he was three years old. Critics have praised his “unassailable technique, advanced harmonic understanding, a deep sense of swing and, most impressively, a clarity and plethora of ideas executed to near-perfection.” – Downbeat Magazine

Goldberg has performed at leading jazz festivals across the country including the Newport Jazz Festival, San Francisco (SFJazz), PDX Jazz, Litchfield, Twin Cities, and Caramoor. He has played in New York’s most notable jazz clubs including Dizzy’s Club, Smoke, Mezzrow, and Birdland Theater.

Goldberg released his third album, Brandon Goldberg Trio Live at Dizzy’s in 2024. The album is described as a “prodigious work, wrapped in tradition and steered with refreshing contemporaneity. A testament to shared musical vision, this album showcases Goldberg’s musicianship” - Lydia Liebman PR.  The “song selection and sequencing are exquisite…Impeccable sense of time, spotless communication with the accompaniment, unhurriedness, fidelity to melody and harmonic structure.” – Dark Blue Notes.  Goldberg has released two other albums which also received critical acclaim - In Good Time (2021) and LET’S PLAY! (2019) - both were recognized as top albums of the year, earning four-star reviews from Downbeat Magazine. 

Goldberg has appeared on Good Morning America and Live with Kelly and Mark accompanying Katharine McPhee as she performed songs from her new album with David Foster, Christmas Songs. Goldberg has also written original music for television and his compositions were featured in the first season of Lawmen: Bass Reeves.

Goldberg is a 2024 YoungArts Winner with Distinction, a semifinalist in the 2023 Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz International Piano Competition and youngest recipient of the 2022 ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award.

In connection to his South Florida roots, Goldberg has been a featured performer at the South Beach Jazz Festival, Jazz Roots Series at the Adrienne Arsht Center, the Miami International Piano Festival, FAENA Summer Jazz Series. He was also commissioned by The Miami Symphony Orchestra to write two original compositions for piano and orchestra, “Surroundings” and “Rhapsody in f minor”, which were both performed live and recorded by MISO and received high praise and accolades.

Goldberg was a featured performer at TEDxYouthMiami, TEDxBocaRaton and TEDxCoconutGrove conferences. He also works closely with the Jazz Foundation of America (JFA) and performed at their annual Gala at the famous Apollo Theater where he presented McCoy Tyner with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.

At a young age, Goldberg appeared on national television in Seasons 1 and 2 of NBC’s Little Big Shots, The Steve Harvey Show and the Harry Connick, Jr. Show.

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