Born in Kaunas, Lithuania in 1980, Edvinas Minkstimas began his studies at the Naujalis Music High School and went on to the Lithuanian Academy of Music in Vilnius. In 2003 he received an Artist Diploma from the Paris Conservatoire (CNSMDP). He completed a Master of Music (M.M.) in piano at The Juilliard School of Music and Drama in New York in May of 2005. Currently Mr. Minkstimas is a C.V. Starr Doctoral Fellow at the Juilliard School where he pursues his doctorate on a full-tuition scholarship basis.

In 1992, at the age of twelve he became a prize winner in the Tchaikovsky First International Competition for Young Artists in Moscow. He made his debut as a soloist at age 14 with the National Philharmonic of Lithuania in 1995 performing Edvard Grieg’s  Piano Concerto in A-minor. Since then he has performed continuously with all the major Lithuanian symphony and chamber orchestras under the baton of Lithuanian and foreign conductors. Since 1990 Mr. Minkstimas has performed extensively as a soloist, playing recitals in Russia, Belarus, Poland, Chech Republic, Germany, Denmark, France, Canada, and the United States. Since 2001, Mr. Minkstimas has won three international piano competitions, including the “European Piano Days” in Pontoise, France. In September of 2007, Mr. Minkstimas won first prize at the 5th international M.K.Ciurlionis piano competition in Vilnius, Lithuania.

In 2001, Mr. Minkstimas was granted a two-year residency at the prestigious Cite Internationale des Arts in Paris. In summer of 2002 he participated as a recitalist and chamber musician at the Summer Music Festival of the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, CA. He has won various scholarships and grants, including those from the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture, the Meyer Foundation in France, the Music Academy of the West, and The Juilliard School.

Mr. Minkstimas is a member of the New Juilliard Ensemble led by Joel Sachs. A  performance of “Conga Line in Hell” by Miguel Aguila for piano solo and strings at New York’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and that of Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto with the Lithuanian National Philharmonic are among his recent performances.

In addition to performing, Mr. Minkstimas is an accomplished composer of numerous works, including a fantasy on Bizet’s “Carmen,” song cycles, variations for piano, and piano etudes. In April 2005, his multi-media composition “Incarnations” was performed as part of the “Beyond the Machine 2” festival at the Chelsea Art Museum in New York.