Ms. Tania C. Stefania Birardi

Member

Biography

C. S. Tania Birardi

Emilia Fadini: "Tania Birardi… una perla rara" (at the inaugural concert of the Early Music Courses promoted by the Monti e Mousiké Association of Parzanica, Lake d'Iseo Bergamo, 2011).

Emilio Suvini (conductor): "[…] la sua anima forte e vivace crea un gesto: espressivo, comunicativo, incisivo ed elegante" (2018).

Biography

Tania Birardi is an eclectic and multifaceted concert artist who commands the entire spectrum of historical and modern keyboard instruments from the clavichord and fortepiano to the harpsichord and modern piano. As a member of Early Music America (the first Italian woman to join the organization) and the IAML (International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres), she seamlessly combines an international performing career with original manuscript research and a deep commitment to humanitarian causes.

Tania's artistic identity rests on rigorous manuscript decoding and historically informed performance practice. Having graduated in harpsichord and piano from the "Niccolò Piccinni" Conservatory in Bari, one of her fondest memories is participating in the premiere staging of Fellini's Gianburrasca following Nino Rota's recovery of the manuscript. She later moved to Milan to attend advanced artistic perfection courses in historically informed keyboard interpretation with Emilia Fadini (serving as her final pupil) at the Scuola Musicale di Milano—a historic institution awarded the Ambrogino d'Oro, the highest civic honor of the City of Milan ”where she deepened her knowledge of European treatises in ancient languages for both keyboard and voice. Additional formative harpsichord encounters included studies with Enrico Baiano and Jean-Marc Aymes.

Complementing her early music training is a robust pianistic background rooted in the tradition of Ilonka Deckers-Küstzler assimilated through a nearly twenty-year collaboration with Gianluca Petagna. Furthermore, she studied orchestral conducting as the final pupil of Maestro Emilio Suvini, founding and directing the JOI  Orchestra for Peace (Abreu System) from 2018 to 2020, and earned a scholarship in 2018 to shadow Riccardo Muti during his production of Verdi's Macbeth in Ravenna. As a coloratura soprano specializing in a cappella repertoire from Gregorian chant to early Baroque, she refined her vocal path under Walter Testolin, while masterclasses in historical dance with Deda Cristina Colonna-Preti, Robert Streiner, Dino Verga, and Bill Goodson shaped her physical presence and gestures on stage.

Tania performs internationally both as a soloist and with orchestral ensembles in venues that champion ethical and sustainable cultural preservation, such as the Morellino Festival, Serate Musicali di Milano, and Palazzo Marino in Musica. Her repertoire ranges from early keyboard origins to contemporary creations, including recording unpublished works by Giovanni Maria Sabino for the UNESCO Club of Bisceglie (2012) and premiering Ettore Righello's "Scherzo in B-flat" (2018).

Since 2017, the Scuola Musicale di Milano (Ambrogino d'Oro) entrusted her with a pioneering course in which she integrated the onomatopoeic language of comic books with ancient manuscripts and historically informed performance practice on period instruments,a world-unique project designed for teenagers and adults alike, preparing students for the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) in London.

Tania has been an active voice in international early music forums, participating in global roundtables hosted by REMA-EEMM and EMA, as well as the REMA 2023 International Summit. Every year on March 21 (Early Music Day), she hosts a live concert-lecture broadcast on Instagram. Her work as an artistic director includes co-founding "Il Pianoforte al centro della città "Questione di FILing" in partnership with the Polytechnic University of Bari, as well as directing the International Transport Networks Conference. A dedicated supporter of humanitarian causes, she frequently directs performances in benefit of organizations such as the Red Cross and AIRC (featured guest, September 2025). Her recent academic contributions include presentations at Ravello LAB (October 2025), the General Assembly on Cultural Heritage & Digital Culture in Rome (December 2025), and published research in Territori della Cultura (European University Centre for Cultural Heritage, Villa Rufolo).

Mindful of the synergy between body, mind, and art, she practices yoga and meditation, writes poetry in French and English, knows Italian Sign Language (LIS), and holds diverse passions spanning photography, cinema, theater, fashion, new technologies, chess, wildlife and vegan patisserie .