Lara Saldanha
Indian-American pianist Lara Saldanha is currently in the Professional Studies Diploma program at the Mannes School of Music, having received her M.M. in Piano Performance at Mannes in 2018, studying with Vladimir Valjarević. She received her B.M. in Piano Performance and B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University in 2015, studying with Alan Chow. She has also studied with Serguei Milstein at the Geneva Conservatory of Music in Switzerland, Inna Terekhov, and NeyaKorsantia.
Lara has been a prizewinner at the 2019 Mannes Piano Department Concerto Competition; 2018 Metropolitan International Piano Competition; 2011 Geneva Conservatory Liszt, Mendelssohn, and Schumann Competition; 2010 Geneva Conservatory Chopin Competition, among others. Lara made her Indian debut in 2017 with performances at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Mumbai, the Kala Academy in Goa, and Mazda Hall for the Pune Music Society. She has alsoperformed at the DiMena Center, German Consulate, Bohemian National Hall, Opera America, and World Trade Center Plaza; the Bodmer Foundation and Place Neuve in Geneva, Switzerland; and Aronoff Center and Art Museum in her hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. Lara has performed in the USA, Switzerland, France, Germany, Italy, and China and lived in 10 cities across 6 countries.
Lara is a passionate about making classical music accessible to people from all walks of life. To that end, she has performed for the “Neighborhood Concerts” series in the New York Public School; performs frequently in retirement communities; has fundraised forthe Child’s Play Foundation, an El Sistema program in her ancestral state of Goa, India; and concertizes frequently through Groupmusehouse concerts. Lara is also a devoted music educator; she was awarded a Teaching Fellowship at the New School in 2017 and teaches a studio of about 15 young pianists in New York City.
To inquire about private lessons, email Lara here.