Marina PiccininiInternational Masterclasses
The Marina Piccinini International Masterclasses (MPIMC) offers an intensive week of artistic inspiration and development in a supportive and collaborative setting which includes masterclasses, workshops, lectures, concerts, and exhibits. Founded in 2008, the classes have taken place at the Peabody Institute, the New World Center in Miami Beach, on the Potash Hill Campus of the Marlboro Music Festival, and in 2024 held in Canton Uri, Switzerland.
The central focus of the intensive is on musicianship at the highest possible level. Marina Piccinini, assisted by her wonderful collaborative pianists, presents a daily masterclass “Beyond the Score: Expression through Interpretation™” Also in residence each year are guest artists in masterclasses, workshops, discussions, and recitals, with a focus on technique, orchestral repertoire, physical awareness, and movement, history, and current-day career issues.
Good Beats is committed to advancing musical education and excellence and has set up the “Good Beats Scholarship Fund,” which will support gifted students requiring financial assistance every year.
Marina Piccinini International Masterclass
Congratulations to Our 2025 Scholarship Recipients!
Ivan Smaltsuga
Isla Coronado
Jorge Rodríguez
2025 Masterclass Photo Gallery
Hear What our Three Scholarship Winners Have to Say!
We are incredibly proud of our students and all they have accomplished! Take a moment to read their interviews below to gain a deeper understanding of who they truly are and to learn how the Masterclass experience has positively influenced and shaped their lives in meaningful ways.
Ivan SmaltsugaMy name is Ivan Smaltsuga, I am a rising sophomore at Peabody Institute under the guidance of Professor Piccinini. I was born in Ukraine in 2005 and moved to China with my parents at the age of twelve where I attended an international school. I am from a family of classical musicians and I believe that music is a universal language which is the driving motivation for my studies at the conservatory. I believe in life and the beauty of minute everyday moments. My dream is to give, and I hope that one day I can give back what was once given to me and make someone’s dreams come true.
As a student of Marina’s I was curious to get to know more about my professor. What is the area that she lives like? What view does she wake up to every morning when she is home? What inspires her? Questions as such and much more. :)
Throughout my studies over the years I have noticed that musical and character development lessons very often go hand in hand. I think the most important lesson I carried out is that to do more you sometimes need to be less. Being an artist is not about being yourself but it is about serving the art. And finally, living and experiencing life is the most important one could do to serve their craft.
A surprising lesson about life I learned was to find something or someone you need to never stop searching who you are! And just live a little :)
In the course of this masterclass I got acquainted with incredible musicians and personalities from very different places and each with a very unique story. Seeing and meeting such people has significantly broadened my perspective on what it means to be a musician and how to become a solid individual in our industry. These stories and new friends once again reassured me that everything is possible.
Good Beats, thank you for making my participation at MPIMC possible. My life, my thinking, my aspirations, and my character have changed and developed in ways I could have never imagined them to! And I met many like-minded friends.
Isla CoronadoMy name is Isla Coronado, and I am from Mission, Texas. I hold a bachelor's degree in Music Education from Texas A&M University–Kingsville and am currently pursuing a master's degree in Flute Performance at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. I wanted to attend MPIMC because I knew I would be exposed to world-class teaching and performance. Looking back on the experience, I gained so much more than I expected. I learned what it feels like to perform at my best and how to continuously raise my own standards in a healthy, positive way.
As if being surrounded by the serene Swiss mountains wasn’t inspiring enough, working with Marina Piccinini—along with the other participants, who truly inspired me beyond measure—helped me rediscover my love for the flute with fresh eyes and a renewed heart. Since returning home, I often find myself revisiting the lessons from the masterclass—approaching my daily practice with new ideas and a more focused, microscopic lens, while also remembering to treat everything on the page as an opportunity for expression. Similarly, watching Professor Piccinini work with students of all levels—and seeing their growth over just one week—deepened my sense of purpose as both a performer and a teacher.
There are moments in every musician’s life that reignite their passion and remind them why they chose this path of lifelong learning and rediscovery. For me, MPIMC was one of those moments. In the future, I aspire to teach at the collegiate level, perform, and provide free resources and music classes in South Texas, where I grew up. MPIMC inspired me to be strong-minded, resilient, and dedicated to what I love. And in moments of doubt, it taught me to ask myself: “Why walk when you could fly?"
Jorge RodríquezI am Jorge Rodríguez, a Honduran flutist based in Switzerland, where I completed my bachelor's and master's degrees at the Hochschule für Musik Basel. I am currently continuing my studies at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, Austria. In August, I will begin working as co-principal flute in the Staatsorchester-Staatsoper in Hanover.
I wanted to attend this masterclass to be able to acquire new knowledge, tools, and new ways of interpreting music. Perhaps the way this masterclass helped me was by making me much more pragmatic and consistent when playing in public. As a performer, I learned to try to push the boundaries of my musical ideas so that I can transmit something deeper and more special when I play. Thanks to Marina Piccinini's incredible help, I feel that this is something I have been able to achieve during this masterclass. It is always a gift of life to have the opportunity to meet flute players, but above all, wonderful people.
I will definitely continue auditioning in order to secure a permanent position in a professional orchestra.
I would also like to thank Good Beats for their incredible support in providing me with this scholarship to participate in this masterclass.