Letizia Pent is an Italian pianist based in Toronto, currently completing her Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver remotely. Born into a musical family in Turin, she began her musical journey at the age of five with her father—a teacher, writer, and composer—and studied voice with her mother, a soprano at Teatro Regio di Torino. Her musical education spans three continents: after completing her studies and receiving her Diploma from the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Turin, she studied in Brussels through the Erasmus program at the Royal Conservatory with Piet Kuijken, and subsequently earned her Master of Music in Piano Performance at Southern Oregon University under Dr. Alexander Tutunov. Currently, she is pursuing doctoral studies with Dr. David Fung at UBC.
As a performer, Letizia has appeared in solo recitals and festivals across Italy, Belgium, the United States, and Canada. She was a finalist in the Washington International Piano Competition and has performed at venues such as the Kennedy Centre in Washington, DC. Her background also includes fifteen years of ballet and modern dance training and five years as a background actor at Teatro Regio di Torino, experiences that inform her approach to musical expression and stage presence.
In her teaching practice, Letizia works with students of all ages, including neurodivergent learners, through a student-centered methodology that prioritizes expressivity before technical drill. Her approach is grounded in a robust classical foundation integrated with research in psychology and pedagogy, focusing on identifying a student’s communicative intent before developing the necessary technical facility. By helping students translate musical signs into physical actions and communicative intent, she ensures long-term retention and adaptability, maintaining a flexible environment that responds to the individual’s emotional and physical experience.
Her doctoral research explores the use of storytelling through programmatic music as a pedagogical tool to help students connect meaningfully with repertoire. This evidence-based approach allows her to implement innovative, equitable teaching strategies tailored to each learner’s specific strengths. To further personalize the learning process, she composes and arranges original repertoire aligned with student interests. Offering instruction in Italian, English, and French, Letizia synthesizes her background as a performer and researcher to help students cultivate an independent musical voice and develop tools for autonomy that extend into their daily lives.
View her recent solo performance below: