Gabriela Montero
Piano Lab

Refine your craft as a career concert pianist with a personalized, mentorship-driven Artist Diploma.

Imagine a year-long program of one-on-one piano instruction, career mentorship, and personal guidance with one of the industry’s most versatile and creative solo artists. That’s the Gabriela Montero Piano Lab by OAcademy.

Open to 9 outstanding pianists from around the world, ages 18 and above.

Applications will open late 2025

Why choose Piano Lab?

The Gabriela Montero Piano Lab is designed to connect rising pianists to professional musical life by learning from one of the world’s leading soloists and composers — someone who not only plays at the highest level but has also built and sustained a multi-dimensional, international career in music.

Drawing upon three decades at the forefront of the concert world, Gabriela’s guidance for each Piano Lab Fellow is individually curated and deeply personal, taking each participant on a holistic journey.

Conceived as a compliment to other training programs and education, the Piano Lab gives Fellows rare insight into the life, career challenges, and decision-making journey of a leading concert soloist.

About Gabriela Montero

“Montero’s playing has everything: crackling rhythmic brio, subtle shadings, steely power in climactic moments, soulful lyricism in the ruminative passages, and, best of all, unsentimental expressivity.”

The New York Times

The internationally acclaimed Venezuelan pianist, composer, and improviser Gabriela Montero embodies the age-old spirit of the socially engaged virtuoso-composer and improviser. A Grammy-nominee and Latin Grammy winner as both pianist and composer, Gabriela Montero is a Chopin Competition Laureate and the first artist to be appointed Honorary Consul of Amnesty International in recognition of her musically creative work in the field of human rights. She regularly appears on the world’s most celebrated stages – from the Vienna Konzerthaus to Wigmore Hall, from the Hollywood Bowl to Carnegie Hall – and plays with the world’s most distinguished orchestras and conductors. Her chamber partners include Martha Argerich, Martin Fröst, Gautier Capuçon, and – at the 2009 inauguration of US President Barak Obama – Itzhak Perlman, Anthony McGill, and Yo-Yo Ma.

Photo Credits: John Smith

See full BIO

OAcademy Artist Diploma

Tailored to the busy lives of rising musicians on-the-go, the OAcademy Artist Diploma is a fast-track professional certificate that prepares rising artists for the complex demands of an evolving performance industry. In addition to the Gabriela Montero Piano Lab’s core mentorship elements, Fellows benefit from enhanced resources offered through OAcademy, including networking opportunities, personal growth modules, entrepreneurship classes, and more.

All Fellows who complete core modules and projects of the Lab are awarded an Artist Diploma.

The experience

In-person residencies
Two immersive residencies with Gabriela Montero

Fellows meet in Europe (Geneva) and the United States (Maryland), with all local expenses covered

Individual lessons
Dedicated personal mentorship

Up to 12 hours of individual lessons (online or in-person) with Gabriela Montero

Open invitation
Mini-residencies

A chance to visit Gabriela Montero’s physical studio in Europe and the United States for 1:1 in-person training

Creative process
Access to practice studio

Exclusive online access to Gabriela’s practice studio on a discretionary basis, shadowing the creative process of a professional artist

Masterclasses
Peer learning

Regular access to observe Gabriela’s sessions with Lab peers in a masterclass setting

Attend performances
Guest invitations

Whenever possible and by arrangement - an invitation to attend Gabriela Montero’s performances

Supplemental growth channels
Access OAcademy's integrated training

Open invitation to audit classes of OAcademy Music Conservatory and The Global Leaders Institute for Arts Innovation

Explore OAcademy extraordinary teachers & mentors
Faculty

Who should apply

The Gabriela Montero Piano Lab is open to pianists worldwide of 18 years old and above. Pianists must exhibit solid professional potential, but no degree is required to apply.

Remember, Gabriela Montero is a creative artist whose expertise will benefit imaginative, creative, and dynamic young musicians. The audition process will diligently select the most suitable 9 “matches,” those applicants most likely to benefit from the GMPL’s creative ethos.

”Finding my own way as a pianist in today's world feels much calmer with the possibility of asking Gabriela Montero for her advice and experience. Her enormous artistic overview is a huge inspiration and a real help for me. I am deeply grateful”!

Katharina Hack, Piano Fellow ‘24

Meet OAcademy Fellows

Get to know the next generation of international concert pianists
Piano Cohort

Contact & Help

If you have any questions about your application, please contact OAcademy Head of Learning Joana Boechat at apply@oacademy.live