Laura Ballestrino is a Spanish pianist and composer born in 2000 (Móstoles, Madrid). She began playing the piano at the early age of 5, and since then, she has cultivated her career as a distinguished concert pianist. In recent years, she has achieved international success, receiving the 1st Prize at prestigious piano competitions such as Jeunesses Musicales Spain, Ciudad de Albacete, Antón García Abril, Gran Klavier, María Herrero, and more awards at Compositores de España, Intercentros Melómano and Ibiza Competition, among others. She is also a recipient of the 2024 Yamaha Music Europe Foundation scholarship.
Throughout her career, she has performed in some of Spain’s most renowned concert halls: Auditorio Nacional de Música, Teatro Monumental, Auditorio Miguel Delibes, Ateneo de Madrid, Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Caja de Música en CentroCentro, Teatre Metropol, Círculo Logroñés, etc. She has made her debut with Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León, Orquesta Internacional Virtuosos de Madrid, Orquesta de la Universidad de Granada and Georgia Tech Symphony Orchestra, and she has performed with conductors like Sebastián Mariné, Mariusz Smolij, Gabriel Delgado and Chaowen Ting. Her name has appeared in music festivals such as Piano City Madrid, Diacronías, Alicia de Larrocha, Kuraia, Fringe Torroella L’Estartit and COMA. Laura has toured all around Spain with organizations like Juventudes Musicales de España, Artistas Intérpretes o Ejecutantes (AIE), Fundación Orfeo and Fundación Ibercaja.
She also develops her career abroad, performing several times at the Solitär of Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg as well as overseas. At the age of 22, Laura was invited as a guest artist by the Spanish Embassy in Washington D.C. to meet with Georgia Tech University in Atlanta (GA), where she gave piano masterclasses, lectures, recitals, and a concert as a soloist with the GT Symphony Orchestra.
In addition to her activity as a classical pianist, Laura explores her dimension as a composer. She currently works as the composer and producer of the Original Soundtrack of the videogame Archaelund. She also composes and performs original jazz fusion music for piano, often being included in the repertoire of her concerts. She has recently released her EP Borealis, a collection of original works for piano, in collaboration with the label Novus Promusica. Click here to access the scores of Laura Ballestrino’s original compositions.
Educational background
In 2018, she obtained the Extraordinary End-of-Degree Award at the Rodolfo Halffter Conservatory, where she completed her professional studies under María García. She made her debut with the conservatory’s Symphony Orchestra at the age of 15, performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor at Teatro del Bosque with the conducting of Alexandre Schnieper.
In 2022, she graduated from Madrid Royal Conservatory under the tutelage of Professor Elena Orobio. While studying at Madrid Royal Conservatory, she won the “Jesús de Monasterio” Chamber Music Prize with Dúo Armos, as well as the Soloist Competition, debuting at the Teatro Monumental with Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major under the baton of Sebastián Mariné and the “Mariana Martínez” Classical Orchestra.
She completed her Master’s Degree in 2024 at Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio under the guidance of Cuban pianist Leonel Morales, her mentor since 2019. She is currently continuing her studies with Leonel Morales and Leo de María at Forum Musikae School of Music, where she has recently won the Chamber Music Competition with Quinteto Dumka.
In addition, Laura has received masterclasses and advice from great pianists such as Galina Eguiazarova, Natalia Trull, Pascal Nemirovsky, Jingge Yan, Enrico Pace, Philippe Raskin, Frank Fernández and Josep Colom, among others.
Major Awards
1st PRIZE «Ciudad de Albacete» at the XLIV National Competition for Young Pianists Ciudad de Albacete (Albacete, Spain). 2025
1st PRIZE «Ciudad de Teruel» at the X International Piano Competition Antón García Abril (Teruel, Spain). 2024
3rd PRIZE at the XXII International Piano Competition Compositores de España (Las Rozas de Madrid, Spain). 2023 *Member of the WFIMC
Spanish Music Prize at the XXV Ibiza International Piano Competition (Ibiza, Spain). 2023
Contemporary Music Prize at the XX Soloist Competition Intercentros Melómano (Alicante, Spain). 2021
Spanish Music Prize at the XXI International Piano Competition Compositores de España (Las Rozas de Madrid, Spain). 2021
1st PRIZE at the VII International Piano Competition Gran Klavier (Alcalá de Henares, Spain). 2021
1st PRIZE at the XI International Piano Competititon María Herrero (Granada, Spain). 2021
1st PRIZE at the 99th competition Jeunesses Musicales Spain (Madrid, Spain). 2021
Other accomplishments
Winner of the Chamber Music Competition with Quinteto Dumka at Forum Musikae Music School (Madrid, Spain). 2025
Winner of the Scholarship Yamaha Music Europe Foundation 2024 (Madrid, Spain). 2024
Winner of the Soloist Competition at Madrid Royal Conservatory (Madrid, Spain). 2021
Winner of the Virtuoso Diploma at Musical Arts Madrid School of Music (Madrid, Spain). 2021
Winner of the Chamber Music Competition «Jesús de Monasterio» with Dúo Armos at Madrid Royal Conservatory (Madrid, Spain). 2021
Extraordinary End-of-Degree Award at Rodolfo Halffter Conservatory (Móstoles, Spain). 2018