S i l v i a 
 SANTINELLI

An ardent, multifaceted artist with an extensive musical trajectory, Silvia Santinelli began her piano studies at a very early age in her native Mexico. At the age of seven, she was taken under the tutelage of the late pianist and composer Robert Avalon to study and begin her performing career in the United States. At the age of twelve, she made her debut as a soloist with orchestra (San Antonio Symphony) playing the Beethoven C Major Piano Concerto. Hailed by the San Antonio Express News as a “musician of great depth”, she continues to dazzle audiences in concert, whether in solo, chamber, or duo performances. She is the Co-Founder of the Classical Music Institute (previously Chamber Orchestra of San Antonio), a resident company of the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts and currently serves as Director and Artistic Advisor for Opera Hispánica.

Aside from Carnegie Hall, New York City Opera, and many appearances in the United States and Mexico, Silvia’s performances have taken her to concert halls worldwide, including the Chopin International Music Festival in Marianske-Lazne, Czech Republic; the International Piano Festivals at both Valle di Blenio, Switzerland, and Óbidos, Portugal; and the Rachmaninoff World Piano Seminar in Tambov, Russia, where she captivated audiences with her performance of Maurice Ravel’s La Valse.

Highlights of her engagements and performances include the International Piano Festival in Óbidos, Portugal; the 85th season of the Tuesday Musical Club Artist Series in San Antonio, Texas; the Griffin Concert Hall, Colorado State University School of the Arts; the salon concert series for the San Antonio International Piano Competition (now the Gurwitz); and performances with the Classical Music Institute at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, where she championed the rarely heard Sinfonia da Camera by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari. Dr. Santinelli in an avid proponent of early 20th century music of Spain with a particular focus on the repertoire of Manuel de Falla. She presents selections of his music in concert to educate audiences about compositional elements and development as influenced by sociopolitical, cultural, and musical currents of de Falla’s time.

In addition to receiving multiple awards and recognitions throughout her formative years, Silvia has been featured in various television and radio broadcasts, including KWEX (Univision), Televisa, Texas Public Radio, National Public Radio, and KMFA (Classically Austin), which featured her performance of the Ravel's Concerto for the Left Hand with the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Kevin Noe.

Silvia is a first-prize winner of the Mexican National Piano Competition, the MTNA Solo and Concerto Performance Competitions, and the San Antonio Contemporary Piano Solo Competition (winning for six consecutive years). She is also a laureate of the Tuesday Musical Club Competition and the Corpus Christi International Concerto and Piano Solo Competition, among others.  

Beyond her concert career, Dr. Santinelli is dedicated to music education. She has maintained a select private studio in San Antonio, Texas, served on the faculties of the University of Texas at Austin and Clavier-Werke School of Music, and given master classes at the Universidad Autónoma de Saltillo in Coahuila, Mexico. As Co-Founder of the Classical Music Institute and orchestra, she played a key role in unveiling a Steinway D concert piano for the underserved Edgewood community in San Antonio, thus expanding access to highly artistic performances while collaborating as pianist.

With the Marjory Powel Zachary Keyboard Endowment from the University of Texas at San Antonio, Silvia earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a Master’s Degree in Piano Performance under Busoni winner Valeri Grokhovski, while receiving additional interpretive instruction from the late professor Alexander Alexandrov of the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music in Moscow. She is also the recipient of the FONCA/CONACULTA Grant from the government of Mexico and a Teaching Assistantship from the University of Texas at Austin where she obtained a Doctorate in Musical Arts with internationally acclaimed pianist Anton Nel.