Nicoletta Todesco is a Brooklyn based guitarist and composer, known for including singing in her concerts for guitar.
Nicoletta has a reputation as an eclectic and versatile performer. Her concerts can range from early music to original compositions and arrangements, pieces for voice and guitar as well as for electric guitar. She performed solo recitals in venues in the U.S. and abroad, including a Carnegie Hall debut in 2019 with the Yale School of Music guitar studio. In addition to performing and arranging new pieces for guitar, Nicoletta writes her own music and continues to develop her unique compositional style. With her concerts, Nicoletta aims at engaging the audience through unique stage presence and storytelling.
Nicoletta's approach to music led her to perform in numerous ensembles in the U.S. and abroad. In Italy, she was among the founding members of the acclaimed Zer0Crediti (“no credits”) contemporary music ensemble, carrying out well appreciated projects such as Ich Bin Mein Stil, in collaboration with the Arnold Schöenberg Centre and the German Institute of Culture. She currently plays in a duo with flutist Laura Gracia and in a trio with soprano Emily Donato and flutist Helen Park. Recently, Nicoletta played electric and acoustic guitar in the awarded Trinity Church Wall Street’s new music orchestra NOVUS NY, and Heartbeat Opera in their acclaimed production of Lady M.
A committed educator from a young age, for more than 15 years Nicoletta taught guitar and music theory in private and public institutions in the U.S., Italy and Mexico. She worked as a teaching assistant at Yale School of Music, where she was awarded with the Eliot Fisk Prize, recognized to an outstanding guitarist whose artistic achievement and dedication have contributed greatly to the guitar department. In 2015, she spent one year in Aguascalientes (Mexico) promoting music education among children and young adults in collaboration with Italian nonprofit Engim. In 2019, Nicoletta joined the team Classical Guitar Corner Academy, an online guitar academy founded by Simon Powis with more than one thousand members worldwide. She is also the newly appointed interim director of the New York City Guitar Orchestra.
A native of Italy, Niki - as her friends call her - left her hometown at the age of 14 to study at the Conservatory of Trento where she graduated with honors. During her time at the Conservatory, she emerged as a young and talented guitarist, gaining recognition at international guitar competitions like the G.Rospigliosi competition and E. Mercatali competition in Gorizia. She then completed a Master of Arts in guitar performance at the Conservatory of Bologna. In 2017, she moved to the U.S. to develop her own voice and unique approach to the instrument at Yale School Music under the guidance of Benjamin Verdery. Nicoletta also studied and performed in masterclasses with world-renowned guitarists, including Pavel Steidl, Sharon Isbin, Paolo Pegoraro, Aniello Desiderio, Lorenzo Micheli, Duo Melis, Giampaolo Bandini, Bruno Giuffredi, Andrea Dieci.
Along with her well-rounded performance abilities, Nicoletta curates guitar didactic books and composes pieces for solo guitar as well as guitar ensembles. Her composition for four guitars Picking Berries in the Haunted Forest won 1st prize at the 2022 Austin Classical Guitar Composition Composition. She holds a Master's degree in Music Studies from the University of Bologna, and she completed a research internship on musical iconography at the Carlos Chávez Center for Musical Research in Mexico City.
​Nicoletta performs on a classical guitar made by Leonardo De Gregorio, Rome, a classical guitar made by Gino Canello, Treviso, Italy and on an electric guitar made by Jack Vees and Bruno Jacquet.
