What is it like to be a rising classical piano star? How do the 2025 American Piano Awards finalists spend their days outside the competition? Take a peek into the lives of these artists though our short documentary series, A Day in the Life.

In the first episode of our new season, we head to the City of Brotherly Love to catch Avery Gagliano on one of her final days as a student at the Curtis Institute of Music.

A partial transcript follows:

 

It’s bittersweet certainly. It’s funny because if you had asked me a year ago, I would have been so immediate to answer: yeah, I’m really ready to go—I’ve been here way too long and it’s definitely time.

And I don’t disagree with that sentiment currently either. I am ready, and it is time.

But at the same time, it’s really hard to say goodbye to a place that’s been your home for a third of your life. And, I can’t really imagine what life looks like without Curtis or without Philadelphia.

My name is Avery Gagliano. I am 23 years old, originally from Washington, D.C., but I’ve been living in Philadelphia for the past eight years, and I have just graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music.

I’ll say a typical day now because I don’t have many classes, I like to start with some meditation. I am Christian, so I read the Bible, and I just take a moment for myself in the morning. I make breakfast. I love to cook, so for me, one of the best things about living off campus has been having access to my own kitchen. A typical breakfast is eggs and sourdough, maybe some cottage cheese. Then I’ll pack my bags, head to school, and practice.

I help work orchestra crew at Curtis. Like any university, Curtis has a lot of opportunities for student work. This has been something that works for my schedule because, it’s more flexible in the hours that I do.  I go in, set up or take down chairs, sound shields and music stands, and it’s kind of satisfying sometimes to get your mind off of the creative thing and do something that’s very much straightforward black and white, in and out.

You know, we always joke at Curtis that Field Hall is the hardest hall to play on. It’s so scary and intimidating for whatever reason.

It was really special. And I feel really blessed that I had a totally packed hall with friends, family, loved ones. I was just speechless at how many people were there that I didn’t even know would be there. I just felt so cared for and appreciated, and I’m incredibly grateful.

It was very meaningful to be back there. András Schiff was in the audience, which was mind blowing. and I had a blast, I really did. It was a good way to end eight years here.

Well, like any competition—and especially with this one because it’s so unconventional—I just want to make music and take every opportunity as an opportunity to perform. I feel very blessed to be in a position where I can share music with the world, and I’ll try my very best not to think about the fact that it’s a competition.

Ten years from now, I hope I would have a family by then. And from a musical standpoint, I think that’s something I’ll carry with me always. I mean, you just look at how much has changed in my eight years here at Curtis for example. I hope to be making music, but I don’t know in what capacity. I don’t know if that would be, performing a lot or perhaps teaching, and it really depends on where I end up. I really don’t have an answer!