Taissa Marchese

Taíssa Marchese (artistically known as Taíssa Poliakova Cunha), a Portuguese-Russian pianist, recently completed her Doctorate in Music and Musicology at the University of Évora — where she teaches Piano and Chamber Music — having passed with distinction and honour. Previously, she also completed a Master’s degree in Music at the University of Aveiro, where she received the prize for best student of the course of 2017.

As a soloist and chamber musician, Taíssa has received several awards, performed at prestigious national and international festivals — such as the Criasons III Festival (Lisbon, 2021), the 39th Londrina Music Festival (Brazil, 2019)and the “Dinastia” Music Festival (Kyiv, Ukraine, 2014) — and as a soloist with some of the most renowned orchestras in Portugal, Brazil, and Ukraine, including the North Orchestra, the Londrina State University’s Symphony Orchestra, and the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra. She maintains an active performance career, giving solo recitals and participating in chamber music, opera, and theatre productions. Her repertoire spans a wide range of styles, with a special focus on Romantic, 20th-century, contemporary, and Portuguese music.

She has participated in national and international conferences, such as the 11th International Conference on Orthodox Sacred Music in Finland and the NOVA Contemporary Music Meeting in Lisbon.

In addition to her performance work, Taíssa also develops a significant teaching career, with experience as a piano teacher and collaborative pianist at various institutions in Portugal and Brazil. Her discography includes projects dedicated to Portuguese music, notably Portuguese Tributes to Beethoven (2022) and Trio de Damas (2024) — the latter was nominated for Best Classical/Erudite Album at the 2024 Play Awards.