Julian Calv

Julian Calv is an American composer, singer, and trimbist. Born February 18 1999 in New Brunswick, NJ, Julian grew up in Bethlehem Township, NJ. He graduated from Moravian University in 2021 with a Bachelor’s of Music focusing on composition, education, and classical piano. While there he studied piano with Barbara Thompson and Dan DeChellis and composition with Larry Lipkis and Scott Watson. In his senior year he completed an independent study of the  20th c. American composer Moondog's creative life. Throughout the course of this impactful project he established an apprenticeship with Stefan Lakatos.

Self proclaimed as Moondog’s grand-student, Julian is the sole prodigy of Stefan Lakatos– who is “the leading [and only] exponent of the Moondog method of drumming.”1 Through both this mentorship and dedicated study of Moondog's creative life, he upholds his grand-teacher's dying wish to “please take care of my music.” Learning to build and play the trimba and oo, two of Moondog's invented instruments, Julian has sculpted a unique soundscape, preserving the sonic tradition of his mentors. He re-imagines that same tradition in his original compositions. 

In early 2023 both “Route 4” and “Thorn and Roots” were released. These place-based percussion compositions were conceived following the start of Julian's street performances in Burlington, VT. "Route 4” combines samples of the US Interstate Route 4 with a drum collage defined by the trimba's repetitive groove. "Thorn and Roots” is a fast paced musical impression based on an improvised melody performed in front of a juice bar having the same name. The trimba and balafon play in tandem with one another, creating a percussive flurry in perpetual motion.

Recorded in late 2023, Calv's first album Nonstop Motion debuted November 9th of 2024. It features both Ava Bloomfield on piano and the vocal sextet Non Prophets– led by Calv. Comprising both original and Moondog music, some of which was never previously recorded, the album's nine song track list is unified by the nonstop trimba present throughout.

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