Michele Adler Cohen A Brief Biography

Michele Adler was born in Salvador, capital of the Norhteastern state of Bahia, Brazil. Although Bahia's music is heavily influenced by African rhythms and melodies, at an early age, Michele showed remarkable curiosity for European classical music that she heard at her grandfather's house. She began her formal piano studies at age six with Maria Carneiro in her native Bahia. Early on, Michele captured first prizes in National Piano Competitions in Brazil and this early success took her to performing concerts in Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Recife, Joao Pessoa, Maceio, as well as Belem, a town in the Amazon region.

The fusion of her Jewish descent with Bahia's African culture is reflected in her passionate and creative style of playing. At age 16, Michele was awarded a full scholarship to study at the National Academy of Arts in Champaign, Illinois. While in the US, she earned degrees from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a Master's and Doctorate in Piano Performance from Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington. At Indiana she met her main musical mentors, the distinguished pianists Michel Block and Arnaldo Cohen. During her years at Indiana University, she worked as an Associate Instructor teaching piano to undergraduate and graduate students. She also accompanied and performed chamber music with students of Joseph Gingold and Janos Starker. As part of her training, she studied solo and chamber music with Gyorgy Sebok at Indiana University and Ernen Musikdorf in Switzerland. In an effort to deepen understanding of her own roots, Michele did extensive research and performing of Brazilian 20th century music. She wrote a dissertation on Villa-Lobos' Momoprecoce for piano and orchestra and played works by Claudio Santoro, Villa-Lobos and Marlos Nobre.

Michele Adler's many awards include Bosendorfer Artist, Capes Grant from the Government of Brazil, Martha Istomin Award of Chicago honoring a promising Latin American Artist , and Winner of Artists International Recital Debut Auditions of NY in 2001.

Michele Adler's most recent appearances include recitals at the Brazilian Embassy (Washington, DC), Weill Recital at Carnegie Hall (NY), Chicago Cultural Center, Ernen Musikdorf in Switzerland, Athenaeum of La Jolla (San Diego), Orange County Museum of Art (Los Angeles), and Musicfest in Carefree, Arizona.

(Updated 15 Nov 2006) - Copyright 2006