BIO

Maria Chiara Casà, born on September 8, 1994, in Canicattì (AG), is a Sicilian composer, orchestrator, and music educator with extensive experience in both artistic and academic fields. She graduated from the “A. Scarlatti” Conservatory in Palermo in Piano, Orchestral Conducting, and Composition—studying the latter under M° Giovanni D’Aquila—and earned a diploma in Composition for Applied Music at the “Santa Cecilia” Conservatory in Rome. She has collaborated with prestigious institutions, film production companies, and television networks, distinguishing herself for the versatility of her work.

Her compositions are regularly performed at a national and European level. Her musical language explores avant-garde post-Darmstadt techniques, with particular attention to spectralism and neotonalism.

In 2024, she composed the soundtrack for the film Casa en Flames, directed by Dani De La Orden, recorded with the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Sofia and mixed in Rome. That same year, she composed one of the main themes for Mediaset’s Top Crime channel after winning an invitation-only competition for composers. She also won a competitive exam for the position of Music Consultant at Rai’s Rome headquarters but ultimately declined the role to prioritize her freelance career as a composer and educator.

Also in 2024, Maria Chiara taught Score Reading and Composition for Applied Music at the "Arcangelo Corelli" Conservatory in Messina, while in the previous year, she taught Elements of Composition for Music Education at the “Luigi Canepa” Conservatory in Sassari.

In March 2024, her orchestral composition Colori won the Composition Competition of the Palermo Conservatory and premiered at the Teatro Massimo of Palermo on March 5, 2024. Among her recent cinematic projects, she contributed to the productions of Prima la Vita (2024), directed by Francesca Comencini, Viola come il mare 2 (2024), and Le indagini di Lolita Lobosco 3 (2024).

In previous years, Maria Chiara participated in several projects, including the soundtrack for Rapito (2023), directed by Marco Bellocchio, Le Déluge (2023) by Gianluca Jodice, Brennero (2024), a TV drama for Rai 1, Boris 4 for Disney+ (2022), La vita che volevi for Netflix, directed by Ivan Cotroneo, and many others. She has worked with composers such as Giuliano Taviani, Carmelo Travia, Marco Werba, Tommy Caputo, Santi Pulvirenti, Fabio Massimo Colasanti, and Fabio Massimo Capogrosso. She has also collaborated in major soundtrack recording studios in Rome, including Stone Recording Studios, Digital Records, and Forum Studios. Additionally, she supervised the music for the television series L'Italia chiamò and composed original scores for several documentaries aired on Rai channels, such as Mille in cammino (2023), I fratelli di Campobrun (2024), Il paese dei Bau (2024), and U ‘mmitu (2025).

Her career also includes international productions, such as the soundtracks for Dig Me No Grave (2023), Dimension Slip (2023), and Deserters (2023), along with numerous accolades, including the Best Soundtrack Award at the Madonie Film Festival for Biangardi, la creazione più bella, a score for the namesake project by and starring Salvatore Riggi. She also won Best Soundtrack at the 48h Film Project Italia 2022 with No Plant B, directed by Michela Piccardi, Best Soundtrack at the 48h Film Project Italia 2024 with Caterina, again directed by Michela Piccardi, and the Manfredi Award in 2023.

Throughout her career, she has collaborated with various orchestras for both film and absolute music, including the Sicilian Symphony Orchestra, the Czech National Symphony Orchestra in Prague, the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Sofia, and the Italian Cinema Orchestra in Rome. She has composed theatrical works such as Una proposta di legge indecente (2023) and Il Piccolo Principe (2019), the latter published by Casa Musicale Sonzogno and awarded First Prize for Best Music Theatre Work at the “Per spartito preso” Competition by Amici della Musica di Palermo in 2019.

In the field of contemporary music, she has participated in numerous concerts. She conducted the premiere of her Consolazione Mirabile (2015) in the presence of Sofia Gubaidulina, and her Fabaria (2017), a piece inspired by the folk vocal traditions of her hometown, was performed at the Teatro Massimo of Palermo, selected for the "Next Generation" showcase at Rostrum 2017, and later performed at the Bozar Theatre in Brussels.

Maria Chiara has received multiple commissions from the Teatro Massimo of Palermo, one of Italy’s most renowned opera and symphony institutions. In 2017, the Teatro Massimo commissioned her to compose the music for the children’s opera In attesa ti racconto, premiered on October 29 of the same year. Designed to engage young audiences, the opera was performed by the Teatro Massimo ensemble with Maria Chiara herself at the piano.

In 2022, she composed Instant Opera on commission from the Teatro Massimo, an opera for a youth orchestra, children's choir, and narrators, premiered on November 27, 2022, in the Teatro Massimo’s Grand Hall under the direction of Maestro Michele De Luca. This work was commissioned as part of the Opera City 2022 theater season.

Beyond these specific commissions, Maria Chiara has also collaborated with the Teatro Massimo as a solo pianist in concerts such as the Chopin Marathon in 2017 and participated in special events in the Contemporary Music season.

She works with prestigious music publishers, releasing her compositions through internationally recognized publishing houses. Notably, her works have been published by Casa Musicale Sonzogno in Milan and Universal Edition, which have featured some of her most significant compositions.

Her work ranges from chamber ensemble concerts to large-scale film productions, always with a focus on musical innovation and sonic research.