alessandro.fonseca@mvsu.edu | WSH Rm 119

Dr. Alessandro Fonseca is Assistant Professor of Piano at Mississippi Valley State University, where he teaches applied piano, group piano, chamber music, and music history. An active soloist, chamber musician, and educator, he has performed extensively in the United States, Brazil, and abroad and has appeared as a soloist with orchestras in a wide-ranging repertoire.

Praised for his colorful contrasts and fiery playing, Dr. Fonseca has been described as a “musician who seeks the inner message of every note played and aims to deliver a sound that is both passionate and intense, yet also delicate and refined.” His recent orchestral appearances include performances of Gershwin’s Second Rhapsody and I Got Rhythm Variations with the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra. Other concerto performances have included Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 (“Emperor”), Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A Minor, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, and Khachaturian’s Piano Concerto.

Dr. Fonseca was the winner of the University of Oregon’s 2021 Concerto Competition, performing the Khachaturian Piano Concerto. His competition distinctions also include First Place in the 2019 Vienna Grand Prize Virtuoso International Music Competition, Second Prize in the Professional Category of the 2021 Medici International Music Competition, and Second Prize in the Professional Musician Category of the 2022 Red Maple International Music Competition, in addition to numerous prizes in piano competitions in South America. He has also received an Audience Prize for performances of Khachaturian’s Piano Concerto and Mily Balakirev’s Islamey.

As a recitalist, Dr. Fonseca has performed major works from the piano repertoire, including Liszt’s Sonata in B Minor, Beethoven’s Sonata in C Minor, Op. 111, Balakirev’s Islamey, and works by Bach, Schubert, Chopin, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, and other composers. He has participated in international festivals and concert projects, including the “Liszt and Russia” Festival in Los Angeles, where he performed music from Lyapunov’s Twelve Transcendental Études. As a member of the American Liszt Society, he has participated in numerous performances devoted to the works of Franz Liszt, including the Transcendental Études, opera and song paraphrases, transcriptions, and the Sonata in B Minor.

Dr. Fonseca is also active as a collaborative pianist and chamber musician. He has performed in a variety of instrumental and vocal ensembles, including a recital program devoted to Beethoven’s Violin Sonatas Nos. 5, 8, and 9. One of his long-standing chamber music projects is Duo Alarte, a violin-and-piano collaboration with violinist Ana Zivkovic. The duo has performed throughout North and South America.

Originally from Campo Belo, Minas Gerais, Brazil, Dr. Fonseca began his piano studies at the age of ten under the guidance of Gil Eliazar. He later earned his undergraduate degree in Piano Performance from Minas Gerais State University (Universidade do Estado de Minas Gerais), where he studied with Dr. Miriam Bastos Rocha. He continued his studies at the University of Oregon, earning both the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in Piano Performance under the guidance of Dr. Alexandre Dossin. During his graduate studies, he was named Outstanding Graduate Keyboard Performer and also studied chamber music extensively with Dr. David Riley.

While at the University of Oregon, Dr. Fonseca served for six years as a graduate teaching fellow and collaborative pianist, working with vocalists and instrumentalists while teaching piano. Prior to joining the faculty at Mississippi Valley State University, he taught for five years at Daytona State College in Florida, where his responsibilities included applied piano, class piano, and collaborative performance.

Dr. Fonseca continues to maintain an active career as a performer and educator, combining his interests in solo performance, chamber music, piano pedagogy, and music history with his work at Mississippi Valley State University.

To learn more of Dr. Fonseca's work, please check out the following links: