The COSTA RICA PIANO FESTIVAL is one of the most important cultural initiatives of recent years in Costa Rica, focusing on the artistic development of young local and international pianists.
We offer a space of personal and professional growth to young pianists as well as musical performances of the highest level for the Costa Rican audiences.
We are an international platform that promotes the talent of the new generations, focusing on a world-class artistic formation within a space of coexistence, learning, personal development and fun.
TEAM
LANZO LUCONI
FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Born and raised in San Jose, Costa Rica, Lanzo Luconi has been the recipient of multiple scholarships, competition prizes, and festival awards around the world. He has performed in prestigious concert halls of Costa Rica, Europe, and the United States, where he made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2008 and was honored with the International Outstanding Professional Artistic Performance Award.
He has been invited to perform in many notable events including the Scarlatti World Marathon, the Kosciuszko Foundation Winner’s Recital, and the 6th Musical Composition Seminar, where he performed music by Costa Rican composers. Other engagements include performances at MusicFest Perugia in Italy and with the World Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Lanzo belongs to one of the earliest generations of concert pianists from the Instituto Superior de Artes, the premier pre-college arts academy of Costa Rica. His formal music studies began under the guidance of Dr. Alexandr Sklioutivsky, Dra. Tamara Sklioutovskaia, M.M Ludmila Melzer, and Dr. Luis Monge. After completing his undergraduate studies at the National University of Costa Rica, Lanzo moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he obtained his master’s degree at Carnegie Mellon University under the guidance of the renowned pianist and professor Enrique Graf.
Mr. Luconi is a devoted educator, continuously making extraordinary efforts to provide top quality educational opportunities, proving the undeniable positive impact in our society. He believes that the talent and passionate dedication of young musicians must be celebrated and shared with audiences worldwide. His students have won numerous national and international competitions, scholarships, college auditions, festivals and special performances.
Beyond the stage and teaching studios, Luconi has a great passion for learning and developing new projects, continuously pursuing studies in the fields of psychology, pedagogy, communication, business, and entrepreneurship.
In 2014, Lanzo founded the Costa Rica Piano Festival, which is the first of its kind in Central America, created to provide international musicians with the best learning opportunities through lessons with world renowned artists, competition, solo and orchestra performances, and valuable seminars, while enhancing Costa Rica’s growing music culture. This successful initiative led him to create other successful international projects such as the Costa Rica Chamber Music Festival, Music Entrepreneurship Seminars and consult as a business and cultural advisor for several companies, music studios and independent events.
He has taught masterclasses and participated as a speaker in numerous events from prestigious institutions like MTAC, HSPVA Houston, Booker T. School for the Performing Arts in Dallas, Lone Star College Montgomery, University of North Texas and the Music Entrepreneur Conference at Harvard University. He is also a frequent guest in the world famous podcast The Authenticity Show.
Lanzo is a faculty member at the Opus119 Conservatory of Music and teaches privately in his home studio.
LUIS MONGE
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Luis Monge is a Costa Rican pianist and composer with academic studies in Mexico, Costa Rica, Germany, and New York. Among his tutors are Karl-Heinz Diehl, Wilhelm Killmayer, Ludwig Hoffmann (Superior School of Music-Munich) and Gyorgy Sandor (Julliard School-NY). His early sensitivity and affinity for diverse Latin American music styles and jazz allowed him to develop, not only improvisation, but also arrangement and composition skills.
He has taught at universities in Germany, New Jersey, the United States, Costa Rica, and given master classes at universities in Guatemala, Mexico and Vilnius/Lithuania. Currently, Mr. Monge teaches piano and improvisation at the National University of Costa Rica and the Higher Institute of Arts. He is an active soloist, accompanist, and composer, as well.
His career includes solo concerts and recordings with classical music and chamber music collaborations with recognized artists of modern Latin American music and Latin jazz. As a co- founder of the modern music and jazz quartet Swing en 4, he has recorded four CDs and has toured South America, Cuba, Canada, and Europe. He has been continuously researching on African roots in the music cultures of the Americas, and obtained his Music Ph.D. in 2015 from the National University of Costa Rica. He was also the president of the Association of Composers and Authors of Costa Rica (ACAM) from 2009 to 2017 and is co-founder and board member of the Latin American Composers Alliance (ALCAM). His compositions have received awards in Costa Rica and Belgium. He has ongoing audio productions with a variety of his piano solo compositions and other orchestral works.
DAVID MORALES
Administrative Assistant
David is a pianist, composer and industrial engineer, currently studying at the National University of Costa Rica. His compositions include piano and orchestral works in various styles. David has been the recipient of multiple awards, including the 2018 Lithuania Contemporary Music Competition.
His teachers include Alexandr Sklioutovski, Luis Monge, José Pablo Quesada, Ludmila Meltzer and Tamara Meltzer.
David is an experienced piano instructor at Bansbach Academy of Music in San José, Costa Rica.
COSTA RICA QUEST
Logistics and Operations
Costa Rica Quest possess vast experience managing international groups that extends from cultural and academic programs to sports and fitness events. They are in charge of logistics and operations, making sure accommodations, meals, transportation, and all other aspects of the festival run smoothly and timely.
For more information about sports and cultural programs please visit:
PABLO BRENES
Graphic Design & Advertisement
Pablo Brenes, partner and founder of ChepeStudio, a company of graphic design and advertising focused on provinding services in areas of sports, health and culture nationwide.
Throughout his career he has had the privilege of working for large nationally renowned brands in diverse industries such as automotive, healthcare, customer service and home appliances.
Entrepreneurial by nature and explorer of new horizons, Pablo plunges with great experience in the conceptualization and development of advertising campaigns within your company.
For more information at:
INÉS GUÁNCHEZ
Director of Marketing
Originally from Venezuela, Ines moved to Costa Rica at a young age, where she began her piano studies. At the age of 15, she moved to Minnesota to study under Alexander Braginsky at the University of Minnesota, where she would eventually attend for college and receive two Bachelors and two Masters degrees in the areas of Piano Performance and Mass Communications, where her research focused on the effects of music in messages on audiences.
Ines has performed in venues and received awards across the United States, Central America and Europe, including a performance with the National Symphony of Costa Rica at the age of 14. She is currently part of the Duo Avila, a piano and violin duo specialized in programming music by Latinx and female composers. Because of her strong roots in classical music, Ines’ previous marketing experience includes working in musical institutions such as the Cedar Cultural Center, Minnesota Orchestra, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and Minnesota Public Radio (MPR).
MARIFÉ QUESADA
Production and Community Manager
Born and raised in San José, Costa Rica, Marifé Quesada is an interdisciplinary artist whose artistic practice focuses on musical theater performance, on-camera acting, music production, composition and vocal performance. She is currently studying at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, at the New Studio on Broadway. Marifé is also passionate about business and management in the arts, as she is pursuing a Master’s degree in Production and Performing Arts Administration at NYU. In her young career, she has served as Founding Artistic Director in projects such as Crescendo Producciones’ “Les Miserables”, has performed at the Costa Rica National Theater’s “Jazz Beat” series as a soloist, has released her original music on Spotify under ‘Marifé’, and she is currently in the midst of her Off-Broadway debut at Tisch New Theater’s production “Offstage”. Marifé is also an experienced vocal coach, and is training young artists to pursue a career in Musical Theater.
AL FOCO FILMS
Audivisual Production
PUNTO Y APARTE
Communications