Cosimo Colazzo, born in Melpignano (Lecce, Italy) in 1964, composer, pianist, orchestral conductor, is the author of a vast body of works, and has won prizes in national and international competitions. His music has been performed in various European countries, in the United States, in Latin America, in Japan, and it is published by Rai Trade – Contemporary. As a pianist, he has given concerts in Italy, in various European countries, and in the United States, and has engaged with contemporary and twentieth century musical styles, bringing particular interpretive and artistic contributions to the work of composers such as Lopes-Graça, Miaskovskij, Schulhoff, Ustvolskaya, Mompou, etc. He is a member of the research team of CESEM (Centro de Estudos de Sociologia e Estética Musical), at the Universidade Nova of Lisbon. At present he is a Professor in Composition at the Conservatorio di Musica, Trento (Italy), having been Director of that same Conservatory from 2005 to 2011. He is a faculty member and artist in residence, since 2012, at the Italian School of Middlebury College (VT), in the United States.