Sheet music by Christos Tsitsaros

Born in Cyprus, pianist/composer Christos Tsitsaros received his first formal instruction with Nora Karasik at the Greek Academy of Music of Nicosia. At the age of 13, he won first prize in the National Competition of the Conservatory of Athens. Upon graduating from high school, he moved to Poland where he studied at the Frédéric Chopin Academy of Warsaw. Two years later, as a result of winning the Gina Bachauer Institution Competition in Athens (1981), he continued his musical studies in Paris and graduated from the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris, obtaining the Diplôme Supérieur d’Exécution with distinction. A scholarship from the A. G. Leventis Foundation enabled him to pursue further development at the School of Music of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, where he received an Artist Diploma and a Master in Music degree (1989). Subsequently, he entered the School of Music of the University of Illinois where he attained a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance (1993). His mentors include pianists Jan Ekier, Aldo Ciccolini, Germaine Mounier, Jean-Claude Pennetier, Leonard Hokanson, György Sebök, and Ian Hosbon.

Christos is also quite active as a composer, having won the composition competition of the 1992 National Conference on Piano Pedagogy, which launched an ongoing relationship with Hal Leonard Corporation. His published works include Autumn Sketches, Poetic Moments, Songs Without Words, (Hal Leonard), Cinderella Suite, Songs and Dances, and Nine Tales (Frederick Harris Music). He has also written concert works, which he regularly performs in concerts.

In addition, he is contributing composer for the Hal Leonard Student Piano Library and editor for the Schirmer Performance Edition. Several of his compositions have been selected by numerous examination systems, including the National Federation of Music Clubs, the RCM examinations of the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto), and the Gina Bachauer International Junior Piano Competition. In 2001, he was artist-in-residence at the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico; the same year, he gave his New York debut recital at Weill Carnegie Hall. He regularly appears in workshops and conferences as a performer and lecturer, and performs as soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician in Europe, the United States, Russia, and Canada. He has participated as a clinician and lecturer for the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, the World Piano Pedagogy Conference, the Music Teachers National Association Conference, and the International Conference on European Music Education (St. Petersburg, Russia).

Christos Tsitsaros is currently Professor of Piano Pedagogy at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. He also serves as Piano Chair for the Illinois State Music Teachers Association.