Monica Tessitore

A solo pianist and chamber musician she is also an active teacher. Her early musical education took place in the quaint town of Campo Belo, MG, Brazil, from the local piano teacher of who she has fond memories. After moving to Rio de Janeiro she began taking lessons from Homero Magalhães at the “Pro-Arte” school of music participating in various competitions. The family moved to the capital, Brasilia, where she was in the class of the pianist Maria Apparecida Tavares in the “Escola de Música de Brasilia”. At a competition she met Luiz Carlos de Moura Castro, whom eventually encouraged her to come to the Hartt School of Music (BM). While at studying at the Hartt School she won the concerto competition, performing with the Hartt Symphony Orchestra with the French conductor Charles Bruch. She also had the opportunity to perform with the Emerson String Quartet, then a quartet in residence at the Hartt School. After graduating from the Hartt School she moved to Boston where she attended the New England Conservatory (MM ‘85) and Boston University (DMA ’94) studying with Veronica Jochum and Tong Il-Han.

Her solo concerts include performances in Brasilia with the Brasilia Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Claudio Santoro and in Spain with Carles Coll conducting. As a chamber musician she participated in the “Taos Chamber Music Festival” in New Mexico and in the International Music Festival of Brasilia winning numerous accolades for her performances. She was the co-artistic director and pianist for the Indian Hill Chamber Players for several years, presenting works of the chamber music repertoire with great success.

During the summers of 2015 and 2016 she hosted the “International Piano Week” summer program at Cushing Academy, in Ashburnham. These intensive weeks attracted participants from China, Italy, Brazil, California, Connecticut and Massachusetts with a diverse faculty and performing artists from Russia, Brazil, Italy and USA.

International appearances include performances in Italy, Spain, Brazil, South Korea, China and Portugal, where she attended the SIPO (International Piano Week Festival). In China, with cellist Ning Tien, she performed at the Beijing Conservatory of Music, Remnin University and Minzu University and in Brazil at the University of Brasilia and in Belo Horizonte at the “Fundação Artistica”, where she also worked with students in masterclasses.

Locally she has played at the Frederick’s Historical Piano Concert Series in Ashburnham, in Peterborough and in Littleton with the Indian Hill Orchestra. She has recorder a CD, “Momentos Musicais”, with the Bostonia Records Label.
Dr. Tessitore is currently piano faculty at the Groton Hill Music school and at Cushing Academy, both in Massachusetts.