Born in Bilbao, Spain, Estibaliz Gastesi graduated Suma cum Laude from the Conservatorio Superior de Musica Liceo de Barcelona. She earned a Master and Artist Diploma in Piano Performance from the Hartt School of Music and is currently a doctorate candidate at the University of Arizona where her studies have included coursework in ethnomusicology. Ms. Gastesi recently received recently a grant from the Program for Cultural Cooperation Between Spain's Ministry of Culture and United States Universities in order to conduct research on her dissertation, "Basque Keyboard Music in the 18th Century." In the summer of 1997 she received support from the UA Dean of Fine Arts Fund for Excellence to complete fieldwork in the Basque immigrant community in Boise, Idaho where she explored the significance of ethnic music to contemporary understanding of identity and affiliation.