Eliane Delage

Eliane Delage is a Brazilian-born composer, guitarist, and educator based in New York City and New Jersey. She began playing guitar professionally at the age of 17 and has since built a multifaceted career blending performance, composition, education, and community-building.

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She studied at the Guitar Institute of Technology (I,G&T) in São Paulo, Brazil, and later attended the Musicians Institute (MI) in Hollywood, California, earning an Audio Engineering Diploma and receiving the Yajio Taiso Composition Scholarship in 2003.

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In 2007, Eliane was recognized by the Daily News as one of “NY’s Guitar Heroes” for her work teaching kids and teens through the NYC Guitar School, where she has been on faculty since 2007. She also taught at Avenues: The World School in Manhattan from 2022 to 2024, bringing her unique blend of creativity and mentorship to an international student body.

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As a composer, Eliane’s music has been featured at Carnegie Hall with the Association of Classical Musicians and Artists (ACMA), where she premiered her original composition “Loud as a Shout” in 2022, her arrangement of “Carmina Burana” in 2019, and her arrangement of “Aquarela do Brasil” in 2024. Her upcoming work, “The Room Before the Music,” will premiere at Carnegie Hall in spring 2026, serving as a poetic prelude to her arrangement of Bach’s Suite No. 1 for Cello on guitar.

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In 2013, she founded the Eliane Delage Guitar Ensemble (EDGE), a collaborative platform for ensemble performance and composer–performer partnerships. EDGE regularly performs in venues across New York City, offering students and professionals the opportunity to grow through music in community.

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In addition to original compositions, Eliane is an accomplished arranger, known for her genre-bending interpretations. She has reimagined classics like Autumn Leaves for two guitars in a tango style, and Dave Brubeck’s Rondo à la Turk as a vibrant guitar duet. Her ensemble and personal releases also feature inventive arrangements, including 1980s hits transformed for the Euro Glam Project with Eliane Amherd—such as Final Countdown in flamenco style and Never Gonna Give You Up reworked as a jazz standard.

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Eliane has released four albums: Romance Selvagem (with Brazilian singer Meco Filho), Christmas on Brazilian Guitar (instrumental solo), Hot Tea? (guitar duo with Marcela Penalva), and Butterflies in the Winds of Change (guitar duo with Jackie Forzano). Her singles include All Guitars and Me (2014), Time After Time (featuring Jackie Forzano), Christmas Time is Here (featuring Eliane Amherd), and her solo works Black, White, Brown, Red, Yellow and Magenta and I’m Feeling Good.

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Currently completing a portfolio with the Juilliard Composition Program, Eliane has composed new works for flute, viola, and harp, including an upcoming submission for the Éxi Chéria Commission. Her latest project, “Seeds of Sound: Creative Notes in Bloom,” is an ever-evolving composition that invites youth ensembles to interpret emotional themes and contribute to a growing musical legacy through collaborative storytelling.

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In July 2023, Eliane was featured in W 42nd St. Magazine, where she shared her journey in an article titled “West Side Story.”