Francesco Barfoed is a Danish-Italian collaborative pianist and coach from Copenhagen and a candidate for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at The Juilliard School.

An avid recitalist, Francesco performs in the United States and Europe with singers and instrumentalists alike. Recent appearances include recitals with Carnegie Hall’s Citywide series, NYFOS, Caramoor, Opera Saratoga, Berkshire Opera Festival, Death of Classical. He has performed at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Cosmos Club in D.C., Folly Theater in Kansas City, Usedomer Musikfestival in Germany, on WQXR (New York’s Classical Music Radio Station), and in 2025 will perform at The Morgan Library in New York with mezzo-soprano Megan Moore, premiering a brand-new song cycle by Jake Heggie. Francesco also partners with principal string players of the Austin Symphony Orchestra and will return to Texas in 2025 for their chamber music series.

Francesco has also taken home competition prizes, including 1st prize in the Copenhagen Lied-Duo Competition 2021, 2nd prize at the Naumberg Foundation International Vocal Competition with Megan Moore, and played first-prize winning performances with singers for Young Concert Artists. He works extensively in opera and has assisted Juilliard with numerous productions, including co-arranging and performing Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress for two pianos. He has been on the coaching faculty at Saluzzo Opera Academy in Italy and Canto Vocal Programs in Virginia and was a fellow at the Aspen Music Festival.

Francesco completed his master’s degree at Juilliard, holds degrees from The Royal Danish Academy of Music and Rutgers University, and has completed additional training at SongFest and Carnegie Hall’s SongStudio. The topic of his doctoral dissertation is on Danish composer Rued Langgaard and his songs, and he specializes in coaching singers in the Danish language.

Francesco is a passionate promoter of cultural exchange between Denmark and the United States. In addition to collaborating with the Museum of Danish America in Iowa, his studies in the U.S. have been supported by several prizes and scholarships from organizations like Denmark-America Foundation, Bikuben Foundation, and perhaps most notably the Victor Borge Scholarship.

Francesco holds Danish and Italian citizenship, and is fluent in Danish, Italian, and English.