My name is Stefania Surace and I was born in 1976. I'm a pianist and I write my own compositions. They are rather short in duration and could perhaps be described as 'neo-classical' in style.
Music accompanied me throughout my childhood and adolescence; however, it was quite late in my life when I started devoting myself to this art. My life had previously embarked on a completely different path...
At the age of 18, I left my village in Calabria to study political science at the L.U.I.S.S. University in Rome. After 4 years, and with a degree in my pocket, I left Italy for Belgium, after winning a grant from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I spent a year in Bruges at the prestigious College of Europe where I studied politics, history, economics and law - everything to do with the European Union. My path seemed mapped out before me: to find a job in Brussels, or elsewhere within the institution, in research centers, or the media... but it was not to be my destiny.
Suddenly, I found myself dreaming about music every night. In the morning, with all those musical notes in my head, I started playing the piano again. The instrument, which I had completely abandoned at the age of 18, gradually became my main focus of interest. My classical piano training was coming back to me, but I'd forgotten a lot in all those years of silence. I returned to the study of music theory and the rigid curricula of the Conservatoires. Afterwards, came the recording of three piano albums: Segnali dalle Nuvole, Tracce di sogno alla luce del giorno, and Fatamorgana. The latter was produced in 2014 thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign.
At the same time, I began giving concerts in Italy and abroad, the main stages of which were as follows:
In 2012 at the Mercati di Traiano in Rome. In 2014, at the invitation of the Italian Consulate, in Erbil in Iraqi, Kurdistan. In 2015, at the invitation of the College of Europe, I played at the Bruges Municipal Theatre and at the same year, at the Spoleto Piano Festival. In 2016 at the "Officine Miramare" in Reggio Calabria. In 2018 at the Villa Leopardi in Rome.
I have also written a novel, "Panni Sporchi", published in 2018 by Dante & Descartes.
Another chapter in my life is piano teaching, to which I have devoted myself passionately for many years. In Bern, I taught at the Unitre. I currently give lessons in Basel, Switzerland and the surrounding area, to speakers of Italian, French, English, and German.
I continue to compose my own work, and I find a lot of inspiration living in the countryside, close to nature. I sometimes imagine these individual pieces as being part of a single composition; a single story that emanates from my soul. When I sit down in front of my piano and remain silent for a few moments, I have the feeling that I`m right at home. I tell myself, that this is my Heimat, the place that I can always return to, the home country that everyone carries within.