Dr. Alicia Valoti named Fulbright U.S. Scholar for 2025–2026

The College of the Arts and Media and the School of Music are proud to announce that Dr. Alicia Valoti, associate professor of viola, has been selected as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar for the 2025–2026 academic year. She will travel to Florence, Italy, to continue her research on the little-known 19th-century composer Ferdinando Giorgetti, expanding international knowledge and appreciation of his work.

The Fulbright Scholar Awards are one of the most prestigious academic fellowship programs in the world, providing American scholars the opportunity to teach and conduct research abroad. The program not only fosters global academic exchange but also plays a vital role in U.S. public diplomacy. Among its alumni are Nobel Prize winners, Pulitzer Prize recipients, and MacArthur Fellows.

Dr. Valoti’s research has focused on re-scoring and performing unpublished or rarely published works by Giorgetti, who was the first viola professor at the Conservatorio di Firenze "Luigi Cherubini", where Dr. Valoti earned her first master’s degree in viola performance. Although Giorgetti’s compositions are rich in virtuosity and detail, they remained largely unknown due to his physical disability, which prevented him from performing and promoting his work during his lifetime.

While on sabbatical, Dr. Valoti re-arranged Giorgetti’s Gran Quintetto op. 27 for both orchestra and string quintet, performing her adaptation in Italy, Ecuador, and the United States. Her archival work also led to the rediscovery of a “missing” violin prelude and two additional Giorgetti manuscripts, previously overlooked in the conservatory’s archives.

With support from the Fulbright award, Dr. Valoti will return to Florence to complete new scholarly editions of these works, preparing them for publication and performance. Her work will not only enhance the violin and viola repertoire but also serve as a valuable pedagogical resource, reflecting Giorgetti’s meticulous approach to technical instruction.

As part of her project, Dr. Valoti also plans to produce the first professional recordings of these pieces, bringing Giorgetti’s music to a broader global audience.

The college congratulates Dr. Valoti on this significant achievement and looks forward to the academic partnerships, cultural exchanges, and artistic contributions that will emerge from her work abroad.