Elia Cecino

24
Birthplace: Treviso, Italy
Studied in: Cesena and Stradella, Italy
Resides in: Venice, Italy
When Elia Cecino (eh-LEE-uh sheh-SHE-no) started playing the piano at age nine, he was mature enough to know that diligent practice led to improvement. Since classical music wasn’t part of family life growing up in Treviso, a town nearVenice, his exposure came from listening to other students playing advanced repertoire. It was a world he longed to be part of.

Elia committed to becoming a concert pianist at 18 after winning a competition for the best graduates of Italian conservatories. He’s gone on to win several international music competitions and release three recordings.

“Being a musician means being the intermediary between the composer and the audience,” he says. “You can speak to people of any background. It then becomes a social role, to inspire and influence people.”

Elia has performed extensively in Europe and America, and last year, he toured throughout India.

“Music has an unparalleled ability to bypass intellectual barriers and directly touch our feelings and memories and can even create physical sensations. Music has the ability to build bridges between people.”

He loves the experience of playing with an orchestra—being at the centre of an incredible sound force, while remaining an integral part of it.

“The soloist needs to be able to lead as well as to integrate, an experience that teaches you to listen, to intuit the perception that others have of you.”

And if he had to choose another career? “I might pursue a field that still involves both creativity and problem-solving, perhaps architecture due to the intricate systems and structured creativity involved.”