Brazilian pianist Érico Freire Bezerra is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Accompanying and Chamber Music at the Eastman School of Music, under the guidance of Dr. Andrew Harley. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Rio Grande do Sul Federal University in Brazil and his Master’s degree from Illinois State University, where he held a Piano Accompanying Assistantship and received the Lela Winegarner Scholarship for international graduate students. His previous mentors were Dr. Tuyen Tonnu and Dr. Ney Fialkow Érico has been a prizewinner in numerous piano competitions including at the Orquestra Sinfônica de Goiânia Young Soloist Competition where he performed Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major with orchestra. As a collaborative pianist, Érico is actively engaged in both instrumental and vocal repertoire, holding staff pianist positions in many festivals and competitions in Brazil and the United States. Since 2015, he has served as staff collaborative pianist at Rio Grande do Sul Federal University in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

In June 2022, Érico was one of four pianists accepted to Toronto Summer Music Academy Art of Song Program studying with Wolfram Rieger. In December, he will join the opera coach staff at MOSI. Érico is a recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship, and currently holds Graduate Assistantships in Studio Accompanying and Orchestral Keyboard at Eastman.