Nat Bartsch

Nat Bartsch is a young Melbourne-based contemporary jazz pianist and composer. She is fast gaining a reputation for creating beautiful original music, with an incredibly distinctive touch and tone at the piano.

Nat began classical piano lessons from the age of four at the Yamaha Music School, and following high school she completed a Diploma of Music Performance at Box Hill Institute, where she began to discover the world of jazz and contemporary playing. She followed on to a degree in music improvisation at the prestigious Victorian College of the Arts, where she received tuition from Paul Grabowsky, Andrea Keller and Tony Gould.

Nat is best known for her work in her jazz piano ensemble, Nat Bartsch Trio. This group showcases Nat’s original compositions, which have a distinctive style, drawing on the European jazz, indie rock and pop artists, and classical music.

The trio has toured internationally to Japan in 2009 and to Europe in 2010, where they performed in Belgium, Switzerland, and most memorably supporting South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim at the Jazz Transfer Festival in Germany. The trio has also performed at the inaugural Walsh Bay Jazz Festival in Sydney, the Melbourne Women’s International Jazz Festival and toured across Australia.

Her trio released their debut self-titled EP in 2008, and recently released their first full length album, Springs, for all the Winters, on Rufus Records. This recording was originally commissioned for ABC Classic FM’s Jazztrack Program. Nat played on a Yamaha C7 grand piano for both of these releases.

She has also been the recipient of a number of awards. In 2006 her trio won the Athenaeum Award for ‘Best Improvisation Ensemble’. In 2007 Nat was awarded the ‘Lionel Gell Travelling Scholarship’, funding study in Europe. In 2010 Nat was awarded the prestigious ‘Melbourne Prize for Music Development Award’, and was also a Bell Award finalist for ‘Young Australian Jazz Artist of the Year.’ She has also accepted a Residency at the University of Melbourne for 2011.

Nat also works in other genres of music around the Melbourne scene. She has performed and recorded with many singer/songwriters and belongs to soul Brazilian project Robbie and the Melvilles. She also composes music for film.

Nat has had a close relationship with Yamaha pianos since the very beginning of her music career. In 2004 Nat visited the Yamaha grand piano factory in Hammamatsu, Japan, and this solidified her respect and commitment to Yamaha instruments. She is proud to endorse Yamaha pianos as an artist.