Nicoletta Todesco is a guitarist, composer, and educator based in New York City. She is a versatile performer, known for including singing in her guitar concerts.

Nicoletta performed in numerous ensembles in the U.S. and abroad. Recently, she collaborated with the Trinity Church of Wall Street’s NOVUS NY ensemble and Heartbeat Opera in their acclaimed production Lady M. She plays in a duo with flutist Laura Gracia and in a trio with soprano Emily Donato and flutist Helen Park.

A native of Italy, Niki—as her friends call her—graduated with honors at the Conservatory of Trento and then completed a Master of Arts in guitar performance at the Conservatory of Bologna. In 2017, she moved to the U.S. to further develop her own voice at the Yale School Music under the guidance of Benjamin Verdery.

The Cockroach Diaries is a journey into the mind of a classical guitarist dealing with loneliness, creativity, and ambitions in New York City at the height of the pandemic.

Stuck in a foreign country and deprived of the possibility of performing for live audiences, the artist begins a conversation with a periplaneta americana living in the hidden crevices of her room. This unexpected relationship leads her into a quest for her own voice that will drive her away from musical scores to discover a new, empowered self.

Through classical and electric guitar, poetry and singing, The Cockroach Diaries is an intimate and explosive song cycle that leads the audience inside an artist’s inner spaces during a time of healing and self-discovery.