Marcia Marchesi's compositions have been performed in the US, South America, Europe and Asia. A native of Brazil, Marchesi started studying piano and theory with her grandmother at the age of 4. She was admitted to the Brazilian Conservatory of Music, where she received piano and theory instruction by Mirtes Helena Roman. Other early teachers include pianists Andre Luis Rangel and Ondine de Mello. Her first public recital was at the age of 6, and at 8 she was the gold medalist at the Lucia Branco National Piano Competition. Subsequent competitions and awards followed over the next 6 years, and at the age of 14, Marchesi moved to Vienna, Austria, with her family. There she received piano instruction from internationally known pianist Michael Krist, who also introduced her to the study of harmony and composition. At the age of 16, her composition "A Happy Ending Story" was selected among hundreds of entries for performance at the Vienna School Act music festival, and made the final 12 pieces which were recorded. An invitation to join the AKM (ASCAP Austrian equivalent) and AustroMechana (Harry Fox Agency Austrian equivalent) followed that year. This piece later became the opening tune for a program on Austrian Radio.
While attending the Vienna International School, Marcia Marchesi fell in love with the theater, and at 17 had her first musical performed (accompanied by an orchestra which she conducted). This led to her first commission - a tuba concerto. She was awarded the Jimmy Kelleher Award for most promising student at VIS (1987). Upon HS graduation, she was admitted to the composition department at the Music University of Vienna, where she studied composition and music theory with Dietmar Schermann and Kurt Schwertsik, orchestration with Ertugrul Sevsay, conducting with Peter Burwik, and piano with Regina Seidlhofer. During that time, her pieces were performed at venues in Austria, including the Musikverein, and also at two International Music Festivals in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Other premieres include an organ festival in Japan, and another full-length musical. She graduated from the Music University with a Master's Degree (and an Austrian Government Merit Award for International Students), and moved to the US to pursue doctoral studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
During her studies at CU, she taught in the composition/theory department and continued having performances of her work in the US, Europe and Brazil. Upon graduation, she joined the CU faculty, and in 2001 moved to D.C., where she taught orchestration and theory at St Mary's College of Maryland. She returned to Colorado, where she taught piano at the Center for Musical Arts in Lafayette, and theory at CU-Boulder. She was selected 2003 Colorado Commissioned Composer and earned a joint commission by the MTNA and CSMTA, for which she wrote "Wind Trio: Or What You Will", inspired by a performance of "Twelfth Night: Or What You Will" at the Folger Shakespeare Theater in Washington, D.C. A steady stream of commissions led to her first recording, "Marimba Moods", commissioned by Gilmart Goulart for his solo CD. More commissions and performances followed, and another recording was released ("Sounds of Spring", commissioned by Michelle Stanley for her CD debut with Centaur Records). Mountain Music Duo commissioned "Ciranda" for their CD Summerplay, and recently, grammy-winner Marian Hesse commissioned "The Lake and the Moon" for Horn and Piano for her upcoming CD "Mountain Fantasies" (release date TBA).