Biography

Consistently on an adventure, pianist Ilse Pastor indulges her musical wanderlust with an itinerary that is constantly challenging, varied and fresh. As a solo pianist, she has appeared at the Davis University Retirement Community, The Carlton Senior Living, Delta of Venus Cafe, UC Davis Latitude Restaurant and Market, Sacramento’s WellSpring Women's Center, and Twitch.

 

 Always a passionate dynamic musician, Ilse’s Peruvian roots and background in human memory led her to develop a varied musical repertoire, one that reaches across age and culture. Her drive to play for the public has led Ilse to become a regular performer at The University Retirement Community, Delta of Venus Cafe and Twitch. Outside of the solo realm, she played piano and directed the choir for St. Paul Lutheran Church in Woodland, played in all-women latin group "Raíces," and actively performs with latin music international ensemble “Bomba Fried Rice.”

 

An Aggie herself, she earned her B.S. in Cognitive Neuroscience and Professional Writing from UC Davis, she was a UC LEADS Scholar and won multiple presentation awards for her original research on technology breaks, affording her further opportunity to research the effects of media multitasking on children at UCSF. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic she decided to retire from research and pursue her career as a professional pianist. Upon this decision, she started taking lessons with expert classical and jazz performer Ron Foggia, who continually grants the knowledge to further her music studies and skills.

 

 Currently she owns and operates the Brainiac Pianist Music Studio in Davis, named as such in honor of her background studying the human brain, as well as her belief that playing music is a skill that can be developed at any age aside from talent. The animal and nature lover residing in Davis, Ilse happily strolls around the city with her dog Mishka, filling her mind with the beauty that surrounds her.