photo by Richard Blinkoff

photo by Richard Blinkoff

Pianist Alissa Leiser is recognized as both a soloist and collaborative artist of technical skill and interpretive command.  She has performed at Alice Tully Hall, the Ravinia Festival, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, The National Gallery of Art, Bargemusic, and the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series in Chicago. Her orchestral appearances have included the New Jersey Symphony, the New Orchestra of Boston and Orchestra New England. She has been heard on several radio and television broadcasts including WQXR, WFUV, and WAMC in New York. Her CD entitled Sounds of America with flutist Adrianne Greenbaum, was featured on National Public Radio as part of the Presidential Inauguration celebration in 1992.  Her festival appearances include the Grand Teton Music Festival, Mohawk Trail Concerts and Music from Salem. 

An avid supporter and performer of new music, Ms. Leiser has premiered the works of such composers as Harold Meltzer, Edward Barnes, Eric Sawyer, and Lewis Spratlan and Polina Nazaykinskaya.  A CD including some of these works was produced in 2012 for Albany Records. 

Ms. Leiser holds undergraduate and advanced degrees from The Juilliard School where she studied with William Masselos. She was chosen to participate in the Lincoln Center Student Program, performing Schumann’s Kinderszenen in inner city and suburban schools. Upon graduation, she was awarded the Ruth N. Rosenman Memorial Scholarship. Her other teachers have included Jane Carlson, Benjamin Kaplan, Carl Schachter and Leon Fleisher.

Ms. Leiser has been a valued and sought after teacher for over 20 years. She is proud to have influenced a generation of young pianists. She has taught at Mount Holyoke College, Smith College and most recently Amherst College, where she taught from 1998-2015. 

Ms. Leiser resides in  New York City and Provincetown, Massachusetts, where she  performs with the Lighthouse Chamber Players and is co-director of Long River Concerts in Roxbury, CT.