Born in Turin (Italy) in 2003, Maria Clara began studying the cello at the age of five.
Decisive is the meeting, at just 15 years old, with Antonio Meneses, who selected her for the advanced courses at the Walter Stauffer Academy in Cremona. In 2023 she obtained the Stauffer Artist Diploma and now she continues her studies with Frans Helmerson.
Since 2021, she has been a student at the Chigiana Academy under the guidance of Antonio Meneses, where she earned the Diploma of Merit and was recently selected for the "Young Italian Musical Talents in the World" project in collaboration with CIDIM.
At just 17 years old, she was admitted with special merits to the Bachelor of Arts in Music in Asier Polo’s class at the Conservatory of Italian Switzerland where she graduated in 2024.
Since 2012 she has been awarded in national and international competitions.
Most important are: first prize at the Verão Classic Festival Award in Lisbon in 2023, first prize at the New Year's Competition in Vienna in 2022, with her debut as a soloist with the Wiener StadtOrchester, performing Elgar Cello Concerto; in 2021 first prize at the G. Mahler Cello Competition and first prize à l’unanimitéat the Cap Ferret International Competition; in 2020 first prize at the Paris International Competition, with debut at the Wiener Saal of the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and first prize at the King's Peak International Competition; in 2019 second prize at the Antonio Vivaldi International Competition in Vienna; in 2017 first prize at the 18º Valsesia Musica Juniores International Competition.
She made her debut as a soloist at just 10 years old with the Leopold Mozart Sinfonietta as part of the Atelier Giovani project promoted by the Unione Musicale of Turin. Since then, she has performed regularly as a soloist and in chamber ensembles for several concert seasons in Italy and abroad.
She has attended masterclasses with internationally renowned musicians, including Frans Helmerson (Kronberg Academy), Mischa Maisky, Steven Isserlis, Sol Gabetta (Accademia Stauffer), Jérôme Pernoo, Mario Brunello, Peter Bruns, and Troels Svane.
She currently performs on a Luiz Amorim cello, made in Cremona in 2024.
