Since being awarded in over 20 international competitions, Chicago-born guitarist Marisa Sardo has emerged as one of today’s most exciting young artists to see perform live. Born in the United States of America from Italian parents, she holds a dual-citizenship and is an active musician in music scenes all over the world. Her unique programs include a variety of diverse music, including music from Europe, African music, music from South America, music written by women, world premieres, and music written for her. She began playing at the age of 4, and at a young age, she started competing in and winning local competitions. In 2022, she was one of the only classical guitarists to win 1st prize in the New York Laureate International Music Competition. In 2021, she won 1st prize in the Twisted Spruce International Music Competition. In 2019, she won 1st prize in the Grand Prize Virtuoso International Competition, and performed in Amsterdam and Salzburg in the winner’s concert tour. She also was the 2nd prize winner and only American competitor in the 2023 Tabula Rasa International Guitar Competition, 2nd prize winner in the 2022 IYMC International Classical Music Competition, and 3rd prize winner in the 2021 University of Memphis International Guitar Competition. She has performed in numerous venues around the world as a guest soloist, including the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, Austria, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Netherlands, San Simone church, and Accademia Chigiana concert hall in Siena, Italy, various venues in Milan, Italy, Museu da República in Rio de Janeiro, Casa Museu Ema Klabin and Escola Municipal in São Paulo, Museu de Arte in Salvador, and other venues throughout Brazil and South America.

Marisa has been selected as a guest artist in multiple concert series around the world for solo concerts and masterclasses, including Violão e Ponto in São Paulo in 2023, the MSU Denver Classical Guitar Concert series in 2022, the PeakFrequency Classical Music Series at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs in 2022, the Chicago Guitar Festival in 2022, and the Associazione Culturale Alirio Diaz Concerto di Chitarra in Costacciaro, Italy in 2018. She has also performed in multiple operas as the on-stage performer, including Beatrice and Benedict and Le Avventure du Roi Pausole. Marisa has been featured on several radio programs and podcasts, including the Rádio Nacional de Brasília, The Writing of the Book Podcast, Shoutout LA, and she has also had a television program broadcasted about her musical life at the TV Senado in Brazil. Marisa released her debut album with Frameworks Records in 2023, which included groundbreaking works by Sor, Mertz, von Sehrwald, and more. Marisa actively works with modern composers to commission new music for the guitar. Some of her commissions include Guitar Sonata No. 2 by Anton von Sehrwald, Consortium by Samuel Parnin, and A Sardonic Fantasia by Thatcher Harrison (in progress).

In addition to performing, Marisa is also an active teacher. She is the classical guitar and music theory instructor at Arpeggiato Music School and NEMPAC music school, and she held the Associate Instructor position for classical guitar at Indiana University from 2020-2022. She teaches in English, Italian, and Spanish to an international student body.

Marisa received a postgraduate Performer Diploma from New England Conservatory in 2023. She received her Master of Music degree from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University in 2022. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University in 2020, and she also studied at the Civica Scuola di Musica in Milan, Italy in 2018, and at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Italy in 2018, being the youngest person that year to receive a Diploma di Merito. Past teachers include Eliot Fisk, Anne Waller, Mark Maxwell, Senio Diaz, Paola Coppi, Oscar Ghiglia, Richard Matthews, Nathan Fischer, Daniel Duarte, Ernesto Bitetti, and Sergio Assad. Marisa plays on custom-made rosewood guitars by Marshall Brune, Wilson Burnham, and James Baur.