2023 IPPEC Examiner

Dr. Diego Caetano

Sam Houston State University

Hailed by the Italian newspaper, La Stampa, as "a gifted pianist with a brilliant technique and musicality," Brazilian-American pianist Diego Caetano has performed as a soloist and a chamber musician throughout the USA, Brazil, Chile, Europe, Asia, and Africa. He has been invited to appear at New York's Carnegie Hall, Yokohama's Philia Hall, Lisbon's Palácio da Foz, Rio de Janeiro's Sala Cecília Meireles, and London's Royal Albert Hall.

He is the co-founder and Artistic Director at Ávila International Music Festival in Ávila (Spain). During 2016-2021, he was the President of the World Piano Teachers Association - Texas Chapter.

Currently, he is an Assistant Professor of Piano at Sam Houston State University, and is a Shigeru Kawai Artist.

Diego Caetano was awarded a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder, a Master of Music from the University of Wyoming, and a Bachelor of Music from Universidade Federal de Goiás (Brazil). He also studied at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, in Russia.

He has received top prizes in more than fifty national and international piano competitions, most notably from Città di Massa Concorso per Giovani Musicisti, Bonn Prize International Music Competition, Bucharest Pro Piano International Piano Competition, International Piano Competition HR Princess Lalla Meryem, MTNA Young Artist - Steinway & Sons, and "Arnaldo Estrella" Piano Competition. He has also won special awards, including Best Interpreter of Brazilian Composers, Best Interpreter of Spanish Composers, and Prix d'Excellence in Performance.

He maintains an active schedule as an educator. He has served as both a masterclass clinician and a competition adjudicator in educational institutions around the globe. Under his guidance, his students have won prizes at national and international piano competitions. Recently, he released the CD “French Connection: Violin Sonatas of the 20th Century” with Zvonnikov for the DaVinci Classics label.