Elise Pittenger, Cello

Elise Pittenger is cello professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), where she
has also coordinated the Chamber Music area and the Cello Ensemble (GruVi) since 2017. A
recognized pedagogue, Elise has taught classes and masterclasses at various universities
throughout Brazil, with recent appearances at UNICAMP, UNESP, USP, UNIRIO, FAMES, UFSJ,
UFRN, as well as festivals such as the Curitiba Music Workshop, the Matias de Oliveiro Pinto
Festival, the Artes Vertentes Festival, the Flausino Valle String Encounter, among others. In
addition to her work in UFMG's undergraduate and extension programs, she supervises
students in the Graduate Program, focusing on projects in Brazilian music for cello, pedagogy,
and contemporary music. She has also organized important events at UFMG, such as two String
Conferneces in 2019 and 2021; four editions of Horizons, a festival in collaboration with the
University of Münster (Germany) in 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023; the Abracello (Cellists’
Association of Brazil) Meeting in 2022; and the ‘UFMG Cellos’ Reunion, which celebrated the
centenary of the UFMG School of Music in 2025.
Between 2011 and 2015, Elise was principal cellist of the Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra,
performing important solos and collaborating with a wide variety of conductors and soloists.
She has also performed as a soloist with several orchestras in Belo Horizonte, such as the Minas
Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sesiminas Orchestra, and the UFMG School of Music
Symphony Orchestra. She has extensive experience as a chambre musician, with regular
performances in Belo Horizonte in collaboration with pianists Rodrigo Queiroz and Luiz Gustavo
Carvalho, as well as colleagues from UFMG and the Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra. Elise
is quite well-known in the contemporary music scene in Brazil, having presented numerous
national and world premieres with the Ensemble Plurisons and the Duo Qattus, a percussion
and cello duo with percussionist Fernando Rocha. With these projects, she has also participated
in international collaborations in Germany, the USA, and Spain.
Before moving to Brazil in 2010, Elise, originally from Baltimore, USA, was a member of the
Haven Quartet, a string quartet that runs a social project in New Haven, USA. She also
participated in important festivals such as the Banff Institute, Tanglewood Institute, Domaine
Forget, the Tafelmusik Seminar in Baroque Music, and the ‘Tradition and Innovation’ seminar
with Yo-Yo Ma and the ‘Silk Road Ensemble’. Elise holds a doctorate from McGill University,
where she studied with Matt Haimovitz and was a member of the Ucelli cello group. She holds a
Master's degree in Music Performance from Rice University and a Bachelor's degree in
Literature from Yale University.