About this Event
Show: 3:00-4:30 p.m.
Doors: 2:30 p.m.
Tickets:
General - $30 adv. / $35 door
Youth 13-17 + Post Secondary Student - $20 adv. / $25 door
12 & under - Free
Free Parking in the St. Thomas parking lots behind the church (access from Cherry St).
Dropoff and accessible parking available at front driveway of church.
This facility is wheelchair accessible.
Questions - contact: [email protected]
Instagram: @classicsniagara
https://sites.google.com/view/classicsniagara
marisasardo.com
Described as “one of today’s most exciting young artists to see perform live” (Twisted Spruce Music Foundation) and “with impeccable technique and a sensitivity overflowing with subtlety,” (Cartagena Guitar Festival), internationally-acclaimed Italian-American guitarist Marisa Sardo has emerged as an extraordinary activist, teacher, and concert artist “with her remarkable control of the guitar and exquisite dynamics” (Texas Guitar Society). Marisa is an active musician in music scenes all over the world, having performed in 5 continents and over 25 countries as a featured solo performer. She has performed in numerous world-renowned venues as a guest soloist, including the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Casa Museu Ema Klabin in Sao Paulo, Concerti del Tempietto in Rome, Casa Gentil in Bogota, El Sawy Culturewheel in Cairo, and Higashi Ward Cultural Center in Hiroshima, among others. Her unique programs include a variety of diverse music, including music from Europe, African music, music from South America, music written by women, world premieres, and music written for her. She began playing at the age of 4, and at a young age, she began a professional career as a musician and concert artist. Her first concert given for an international audience was at 6 years old, and now at 28 years old, her outreach has achieved global recognition.
Marisa has been awarded in over 20 international competitions. Her ear-catching repertoire and style of performance have been recognized in both competitions exclusive to guitarists, and general music competitions. In 2022, she was one of the only classical guitarists to win 1st prize in the New York Laureate International Music Competition. In 2021, she won 1st prize in the Twisted Spruce International Music Competition. In 2019, she won 1st prize in the Grand Prize Virtuoso International Competition, and performed in Amsterdam and Salzburg in the winner’s concert tour.
Beyond the center-stage, Marisa has also performed in multiple operas as the on-stage performer, including Beatrice and Benedict and Le Avventure du Roi Pausole. She has also been featured on several radio programs, podcasts, and magazines, including the Rádio Nacional de Brasília, The Writing of the Book Podcast, Shoutout LA, MusiCurate Magazine, where her story was featured on the cover of the October 2025 issue, and she has also had a television program broadcasted about her musical life at the TV Senado in Brazil. Marisa released her debut album with Frameworks Records in 2023, which included groundbreaking works by Sor, Mertz, von Sehrwald, and more. Her second album The Reign of Her was released in 2025, and features all women-composers. Marisa actively works with modern composers to commission new music for the guitar. Some of her commissions include Guitar Sonata No. 2 by Anton von Sehrwald, Consortium by Samuel Parnin, Suite Circular by Andrea Zurita, and A Blank Page with Notes by Jake Adams.
In addition to performing, Marisa is also an active teacher. She is the classical guitar and music theory instructor at Arpeggiato Music School, and she held the Associate Instructor position for classical guitar at Indiana University from 2020-2022. She teaches in English, Italian, and Spanish to an international student body.
In 2025, Marisa started a new management company–Sardo Art Management–and actively works as a talent agent managing artists across contract negotiations, bookings, branding, and career development. Passionate about music management and dedicated to empowering other artists, Marisa continues to champion a deep understanding of international markets and audience engagement, and now brings these skills to artist representation. Current Sardo Art Management clients include Aurora Orsini, Texas Guitar Quartet, and Isaac Bustos, among others.
Marisa received a postgraduate degree from Koninklijk Conservatorium in Brussels, Belgium in 2024, and she received another postgraduate degree, a Performer Diploma, from New England Conservatory in 2023. She received her Master of Music degree from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University in 2022. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University in 2020, and she also studied at the Civica Scuola di Musica in Milan, Italy in 2018, and at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Italy in 2018, being the youngest person that year to receive a Diploma di Merito. Past teachers include Raphaella Smits, Antigoni Goni, Eliot Fisk, Anne Waller, Mark Maxwell, Senio Diaz, Paola Coppi, Oscar Ghiglia, Richard Matthews, and Sergio Assad. Marisa plays on custom-made guitars by Marshall Brune and James Baur.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
St Thomas Church, 99 Ontario Street, St. Catharines, Canada
CAD 0.00 to CAD 33.28
