As a child, she lived in Brazil, Switzerland, and Canada before moving to New York City to study at the Juilliard School.
Two years later, at the invitation of Julius Baker, she moved to New York City to study with him at the Juilliard School on scholarship, where she attained both a bachelor's and a master's degree.
[2] She has worked with such conductors as Alan Gilbert, Seiji Ozawa, Kurt Masur, Pierre Boulez, Leonard Slatkin, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Peter Oundjian, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Myung-whun Chung, and Gianandrea Noseda.
Widely recognized as one of the world's leading flute virtuosos, flutist MARINA PICCININI combines flawless technical command, profound interpretive instincts, and a charismatic stage presence—qualities which make each of her performances a memorable event.
Deeply committed to the music of the present, recent seasons have been highlighted by significant world premiere performances of concerti and solo works by Michael Colgrass, Paquito D'Rivera, Matthew Hindson, Miguel Kertsman, Lukas Foss, Michael Torke, John Harbison, Marc-André Dalbavie, David Ludwig and Roberto Sierra.
A devoted chamber musician, Marina Piccinini has collaborated with the Tokyo, Brentano, Mendelssohn, and Takács string quartets and with the Percussion ensemble Nexus.
Most recently she completed a European tour which included such prestigious halls as Amsterdam's Concertgebow, Cologne's Philharmonie and the Barbican Centre in London.
She was cited by Musical America as a "Young Artist to Watch", and in 1991 she became the first flutist to win the coveted Avery Fisher Career Grant from Lincoln Center.
She is the founder and director of MPIMC (Marina Piccinini international Competition) and a long time resident artist at the Marlboro Music Festival.
Marina Piccinini has commissioned and premiered pieces by leading composers, including Concerti by Paquito D'Rivera (Gran Danzon), John Harbison (Flute Concerto).
Other works include Toshio Hosokawa (Arabesque) John Harrison (Mark the Date) Tebogo Monnakgotla (it is the lark that sings...) Marc-Andre Dalbavie (Nocturne) Roberto Sierra Since 2001, Piccinini has served as Professor of Flute at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
In 2022 MPIMC began yet another relationship, hosting live classes at the Potash Hill Campus of the Marlboro Music Festival and School.
In 2023 MPIMC hosted a mini Pop-Up Online session "All about Auditions" Piccinini has given masterclasses around the world in various Institutions, Festivals, and settings.