Lara Saldanha
Pianist
Bio
Pianist Lara Saldanha has been praised for her versatility, fresh programming, and communicative gifts as both a performer and teacher. Lara is equally at home as a soloist and collaborator in the worlds of new music, standard repertoire, and historical performance.
New music highlights include the U.S. premier of Montsatvatge's Babel 46 with Opera Middlebury, Metropolis Ensemble's Biophony series, and appearances with Sandbox Percussion, Chelsea Symphony, Leschetizky Association, Mannes American Contemporary Ensemble, and Round Top Festival. Standard repertoire highlights include concerts at PS 21 in Chatham, NY, Princeton Sound Kitchen, Valley Cottage Young Masters Series, Rites of Spring Festival, Music Iowa City, Icicle Creek, National Federation of Music Clubs, Weill Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Bohemian National Hall. As a historical performer, Lara has studied harpsichord and fortepiano and appeared as a soloist in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with Kollective366. Lara debuted in India, her country of origin, at the National Center of Performing Arts in Mumbai, Kala Academy in Goa, and Pune Music Society. As a vocal pianist, Lara has worked with the Bard Vocal Arts Program, Opera Middlebury, Art of Song at Toronto Summer Music, Manetti Shrem Opera Program at Festival Napa Valley, Opera Saratoga’s outreach programs, Cincinnati Song Initiative’s Fellowship, and Dellarte Opera.
Lara recently moved to Chapel Hill after a decade in New York City. She is currently an Adjunct Professor of Piano at Meredith College and vocal coaches as the Repetiteur for UNC Opera. She has taught at Mannes, Stony Brook, and Bard. Her private studio in New York City had a waitlistand. Lara is grateful to her teachers: Christina Dahl at Stony Brook (D.M.A.,) Vladimir Valjarevic at Mannes (P.D.P.L. and M.M.,) Alan Chow at Northwestern (B.M./B.A.,) Serguei Milstein at the Geneva Conservatory of Music in Switzerland, Inna Terekhov, and Neya Korsantia.
2026-2027 Performances
October 14th, 3 p.m.
Moeser Hall, UNC Chapel Hill
Pianist for masterclass for Renee Fleming presented by Carolina Performing Arts. Works by G. Puccini and H. Leslie Adams with UNC voice students
October 14th, 8 p.m.
Meredith College
Faculty recital with Dr. Jean Park. Two-piano works by Brahms, Rachmaninnoff, and Bolcom.
October 23rd, 7:30 p.m.
Ruggero Piano, Raleigh
Recital with Dr. Jean Park. Two-piano works by Brahms, Rachmaninnoff, and Bolcom.
October 25th, 3 p.m.
Montpelier Arts Center, Laurel, MD
Art song recital with Abbegael Greene, mezzo-soprano. Works by Mahler, Coleridge Taylor, De Falla.
November 7th, 8 p.m.
Moeser Hall, UNC Chapel Hill
Pianist for European Travelogue. Opera scenes with UNC voice students with works by Mozart, Donizetti, Lalo, Copland, Puccini, and more.
November 8th, 3 p.m.
Moeser Hall, UNC Chapel Hill
Pianist for European Travelogue. Opera scenes with UNC voice students with works by Mozart, Donizetti, Lalo, Copland, Puccini, and more.
January 9th, 2027, 5 p.m.
Steinway Greensboro
Recital with Dr. Jean Park. Two-piano works by Brahms, Rachmaninnoff, and Bolcom.
April 13, 1 p.m.
January 21st, 7 p.m.
Taylor Bott Rogers Hall, Campbell University
Recital with Dr. Jean Park. Two-piano works by Brahms, Rachmaninnoff, and Bolcom.
Recital with Tori Conner, oboe. Works by A. Morris
April 9th, 7:30 p.m.
Moeser Hall, UNC Chapel Hill
Kurt Weill's Street Scene, presented by UNC Opera
April 10th, 3 p.m.
Moeser Hall, UNC Chapel Hill
Kurt Weill's Street Scene, presented by UNC Opera
All Videos
Alban Berg, Sonata op. 1
Beethoven, Sonata no. 9 in A major op. 47, mvt. I
Do not believe it, friend Rachmaninoff
Press
An Advocate for Music Education
Lara Saldanha: Passionate About Using Music for Social Causes
Article by Luis Dias
Published in Navhing Times, January 2018
Republished on the author's blog
Music for a Cause
Love and the Pilgrimage to Petrarch
Coming Back to Her Roots
Pianists Shin, Saldanha Love Learning at BMC
Published in the Transylvania Times, August 2010
Teaching
Lara considers teaching and performing to be symbiotic halves of her craft. She has been teaching pre-college, university, and adult students for over a decade. Her NYC private studio had a waitlist and she has taught at Mannes, Stony Brook, and Bard.
Lara believes that music lessons can an invaluable contribution to the development of a young person. Her pedagogy emphasizes teaching the process of craft, which can be applied to any disciple: deliberate practice, analytical thinking, good listening, time management, persistence, confidence, and public presentation. She prioritizes building music literacy early on, so the student has agency over their own learning process. Even the youngest student will start to build skills in reading rhythm, notes, and expressive notation. She value regular public performance both because it builds structure and motivation into lessons, and it provides a platform for even the youngest learner to experience public “speaking.” Her goal is to instill a curiosity for music that the student will carry with them for the rest of their lives.
As part of their learning process, Lara's students participate in monthly studio classes and in-person recitals. Studio accomplishments include performances at Carnegie's Weill Hall, admission to Luzerne Music Center and the Met Opera Children's Chorus, and passing over 60 Royal Conservatory of Music Examinations.
For more information about private lessons, please see the studio policy document below.
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