Behind the Music of Elisa Miconi

Despite not being born in a family of musicians, Elisa's musical talent manifested itself since she was a little girl. During preschool and elementary school, her natural inclination towards music was evident in her music classes, where she would play one of those plastic Yamaha recorders that were so popular in schools in the 1990s. Her musicality, sense of rhythm and dynamics were prematurely developed. 

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Elisa got her hands on a guitar for the first time when she was 11 years old. Her dad bought her a nylon string Yamaha C-60 for Christmas, and, soon after, she started taking lessons with a classical guitar player and teacher Ugo De Panfilis. With Ugo, she prepared to audition for the Conservatory of Music of L'Aquila "Alfredo Casella", which she entered a couple of years later. At the conservatory, she studied classical guitar with Maestro Filippo Rizzuto and Maestro Riccardo Fiori, and she studied choir repertoire and music with Maestra Rosalinda Di Marco. From the same institution, she obtained a Solfege License, studying with Maestro Claudio Contrevi, and a 5-year Diploma in Classical Guitar.

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While attending the Conservatory and high school at the same time, Elisa bought an electric guitar and started her own rock band, Madness Waters, with her friend, bass player and mechanical engineer, Francesco Pignatelli. With the band, she played numerous shows, went on tour and recorded four demos, one of which sponsored by Icarus School of Music of L'Aquila. After high school, she attended the University of L'Aquila, where she got a "110 e lode"—the highest score and laude one could achieve—Bachelor Degree in Linguistic and Intercultural Communication, majoring in English and minoring in Spanish. In the meanwhile, she was still playing, recording and touring with Madness Waters.

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After graduating University of L'Aquila, Elisa auditioned for and got accepted into Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. Before moving to the United States, she took jazz guitar lessons with Italian guitar player Gianfranco Di Giovanni at Icarus Music Academy in L'Aquila, Italy, where she got the chance to attend a clinic with TV-famous Italian guitarist Luca Colombo and get a private lesson from U.S. American guitar player Neil Zaza, hosted by Icarus and guitar player Michael Petruzziello. She then moved to the United States, in May 2015, for her first semester at Berklee College of Music.

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During her time at Berklee, Elisa had the opportunity to attend clinics and shows by renowned musicians such as Steve Lukather, John Mayer, Maria Schneider, Mike Stern, Joe Walsh and Victor Wooten. She studied blues, jazz, funk and fusion guitar with Boston-based and well known guitarist Bruce Bartlett, rock guitar and improvisation with also Boston-based guitarist and session man Scott Tarulli, and performance and classical guitar styles with classical guitar player and Chair of the Guitar Department at Berklee College of Music Kim Perlak. She studied general conducting techniques with former Broadway conductor Eric Stern, conducting for film and TV techniques with George Monseur, and took private conducting lessons with conductor and music educator Peter Cokkinias. She learnt jazz composition techniques with Berklee faculty Scott Free, Bob Pilkington, Omar Thomas and Jackson Schultz. She partecipated in several ensemble classes led by Italian bassist and Berklee faculty Lello Molinari. By taking Lello's "Music From Italy" ensemble twice, Elisa could learn how to arrange pop and folk songs in a jazz fashion.

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In May 2019, Elisa graduated Berklee College of Music, achieving a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Composition and Guitar Performance, plus a minor in Conducting - Contemporary Track, Magna Cum Laude. She is currently teaching multi-stylistic electric, steel string and classical guitar to people of all ages, interests and skill levels, and she is also open for and taking up on rock, pop, jazz and musical theater opportunities and gigs in the Greater Boston Area.

Between October and December 2019, Elisa ran a successful crowdfunding campaign, selling over 300 pre-orders of her debut album "The Myth of Perception" and thus collecting the funds necessary to record the album.

In July 2020, Elisa published a book for beginner guitarists in two languages, English and Italian, with Edizioni A.L.E., in the United States and in Europe. Elisa has also been an active member of Jennifer Batten's Guitar Cloud Symposium since its launch in August 2020, and through GCS she got to know and study with Jennifer Batten herself, Vicki Genfan, Nili Brosh, Gretchen Menn, Daniele Gottardo, Angela Petrilli, Steve Vai, Steve Lukather, and Mundo Jullierat among others.

Over a year and a pandemic later, Elisa was finally able to record "The Myth of Perception", which came out on June 10, 2021.

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