BRUSA, Elisabetta

  Born in Milan, Italy, in 1954 and naturalised British in February 2018, Elisabetta started composing at the very young age of 5 and created over 30 piano pieces as well as a string quartet before starting Composition studies at the Music Conservatory in Milan under the guidance of Bruno Bettinelli and graduating in 1980 with Azio Corghi. From 1976 to 1985, she also frequently traveled to the UK to be mentored by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies in Dartington and Hans Keller in London. Among the numerous awards she obtained are the 1st prize of “The Washington International Competition for Composition for String Quartet” with her “Belsize” String Quartet in 1982, and the “Fromm Foundation Fellowship” and a “Fulbright scholarship” in 1983, which allowed her to attend Composition courses held by Hans Werner Henze and Gunther Schuller at Tanglewood (US). From 1988 to 1990, she was awarded Fellowships from the MacDowell Colony (US) for artistic residencies to work on her first “Symphony” for large orchestra and other works.

Elisabetta Brusa was a full-time member of the faculty at the G. Verdi Music Conservatory in Milan, where she taught Composition and Orchestration from 1985 to 2018. Previously, she had taught at the conservatories of Vicenza, Mantova and Brescia.

Naxos has published 4 CDs of her works for orchestra which can also be heard on Youtube and Spotify. Elisabetta Brusa is married to the conductor Gilberto Serembe.