Hayes School of Music

Dr. Islei Mariano Correa Hammer is a Brazilian native pianist who has played with the most varied ensembles in Brazil, Europe, and the United States. She is a winner of several national prizes as a pianist in Brazil. A recent prize includes the first place at the West Virginia University Chamber Music Competition, in 2020, with her Schwantner Quartet (piano, flute and two percussions). Her most recent performances include West Virginia ADCA conferences in Charleston and Morgantown, WV, Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan, and the National Concerts at Carnegie Hall, NY.   

 In Brazil, Islei worked as a collaborative pianist for the most important music organizations ranging from choirs, orchestras, and opera companies. She has collaborated with the Amazonas Theatre Choir, the Amazonas Opera Festival, the Lyrical Choir of Minas Gerais, the Symphonic Orchestra of Minas Gerais, and opera productions at Palacio das Artes in Minas Gerais. As a teacher, Islei taught piano, collaborative piano, chamber music and music theory at the University of Amazonas, and at the State University of Minas Gerais, as well as Class Piano at WVU.  

 Islei has graduated with honors at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and had the opportunity to study in Germany, where she pursued two Artist Diploma degrees, one in Weimar and another in Stuttgart. She completed her master’s degree in Brazil and is currently concluding her Doctorate in Musical Arts in collaborative piano at West Virginia University. At WVU, she was a Graduate Assistant where she collaborated with the WVU Chamber Singers, Musical Theatre School, Voice Studios, and Ballet. Additionally, she also worked as piano instructor and collaborative pianist at the Community Music Program from WVU. For the past 2 years, she worked as music director and choir conductor at the Highland Avenue United Methodist Church in Fairmont, WV.