Shigeru Kawai Artist

Diego Caetano is a Brazilian-American pianist who has performed widely in the United States, Brazil, Chile, Europe, Asia, and Africa as a soloist and chamber musician at venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Caetano has worked with famed conductors, including Michael Palmer, Neil Thomson, Paul Hostetter, Guilherme Bernstein, Daniel Guedes and Rodrigo de Carvalho, and has featured in recitals and concerto appearances at venues, including the Grand Teton Music Festival, Durango’s Conservator Music of the Mountains, Brasília’s International Music Festival and the Louisiana International Piano Series. As an advocate for contemporary music, Caetano has premiered works by composers including Robert Spillman and Marlos Nobre.

Diego Caetano continues to teach constantly, and his students have won prizes at national and international levels. He has given lectures at numerous national and international conferences on Brazilian composers’ pedagogical works, effective practicing techniques, and performance anxiety.

Caetano is a member of several successful groups — Duo Lispector with violinist Evgeny Zvonnikov and Resch – Caetano Duo with tenor Richard Resch. His most recent release his “French Connection: Violin Sonatas of the 20th Century.”

Dr. Caetano is the winner of more than fifty national and international piano competitions. Highlights include Città di Massa Concorso per Giovani Musicisti, the Bucharest Pro Piano International Piano Competition, the International Piano Competition HR Princess Lalla Meryem, and the Bonn Prize International Music Competition. He has also received numerous honors, including the Best Interpretation of Brazilian and Spanish Composers, as well as the Prix d’Excellence in Performance.

Dr. Caetano’s studies are broad, graduating with a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder, a Master of Music degree from the University of Wyoming, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Universidade Federal de Goiás. During that time he has studied under the guidance of leading musicians, including Bob Spillman, Dr. David Korevaar and Lílian Carneiro de Mendonça.

He is a co-founder and Artistic Director at Ávila International Music Festival in Ávila and was President of the World Piano Teachers Association – Texas Chapter between 2016 and 2021. Today he is an Assistant Professor of Piano at Sam Houston State University.