Following undergraduate studies at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazilian pianist Alessandra Feris received a fellowship from KAAD (Katholischer Akademischer Ausländer-Dienst) to study at the Hochschule für Musik ‘Franz Liszt’ in Weimar, Germany, where she received the Artist Diploma under the tutelage of Thomas Steinhöfel and the legendary Lazar Berman. She came to the United States as a student and teaching assistant of Réne Lecuona at the University of Iowa. In Iowa she earned a master’s degree in Piano Performance and was awarded the ‘Becker Piano Scholarship’ as well as the prestigious ‘John Simms Piano Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Study of Music.’ Under the direction of Carolyn Bridger and Read Gainsford, Alessandra Feris received a doctoral degree in Piano Performance at Florida State University in 2009. A devoted doctoral teaching assistant at FSU, she was the recipient of the ‘2008 Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award.’

Dr. Feris served as Piano Faculty and Artist-in-Residence of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College for eight years, where she worked with a wide diversity of students. Committed to excellence in teaching, she received the ‘Mississippi Humanities Council Teacher of the Year Award’ in 2012. A sought-after pedagogue, Dr. Feris has been actively adjudicating competitions on both national and international levels, as well as conducting masterclasses at major universities in the U.S. and abroad. Her students have been winning many competitions such as the MTNA Young Artist and MTNA Senior (state level), Truran Piano Competition, and the University of South Dakota Concerto Competition.

Alessandra Feris has an extensive career as soloist and chamber musician. She has performed widely in Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Costa Rica, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Serbia, and in the United States, making successful solo debuts in major venues such as the Theatro São Pedro in Porto Alegre (Brazil), the Costa Rican National Theater, the Steinway Haus in Frankfurt (Germany), the Auditório León de Greiff in Bogotá (Colombia), and the Palácio de Bellas Artes (Sala Manuel M. Ponce) in Mexico City. She has recently been a guest artist at institutions such as the Colburn School, Irvine Valley College, University of Arizona, Washington State University, University of Kansas, University of Central Florida, Texas A&M, Louisiana State University, Montclair State University, North Dakota State University, Auburn University, University of Southern Mississippi, Kansas State University, Huntingdon College, University of North Dakota, Chadron State College, University of South Alabama, University of Montevallo, Southern University, Wayne State University, Universidad de Costa Rica, Universidade de Aveiro in Portugal, Universidad de Buenos Aires in Argentina, Ionian University in Greece, Royal Birmingham Conservatory in England, and several universities in Colombia and Brazil. Additionally, she is devoted to the diffusion of Latin-American music and is often requested to premiere works by contemporary composers.

Dr. Feris is an Associate Professor of Piano at the University of South Dakota. A passionate collaborative pianist, she enjoys performing with colleagues and is a member of Duo Weimar with cellist Pedro Bielschowsky and Duo Paul-Feris with oboist Jeffrey Paul. She is an artist-faculty at the InterHarmony International Music Festival in Italy and at the Lancaster International Piano Festival in Pennsylvania.