Of Corsican origin, Alma Ambrosi-Santamaria was born in 1998 in southern France. She began her piano studies at the age of four at the Antibes Conservatory under the guidance of her father. A former student of Rose Lejour and Pierre Barbizet, he took charge of her training for the first decade of her development. 

From 2012, she simultaneously studied at the Musikschule Konservatorium Zürich in Kim Forster’s class and completed her training in Antibes, before continuing at the CRR in Aix-en-Provence with Michel Bourdoncle. She made her orchestral debut in 2016 performing Beethoven’s Triple Concerto. 

In 2018, she moved to Italy to study with Riccardo Zadra, who instructed her in the technical principles from Vincenzo Scaramuzza. She further deepened her understanding of these pianistic principles in Federica Righini’s piano technique classes.

After completing her Bachelor’s degree, she pursued a first Master’s in Performance, followed by a second Master’s in Pedagogy under Filippo Gamba at the Musikhochschule Basel.

Alma has attended masterclasses with renowned artists such as Benedetto Lupo, Arcadi Volodos, the Trio Wanderer, François-Frédéric Guy, Konstantin Lifschitz, Alexandar Madjar, Abdel Rahman El Bacha, Lilya Zilberstein, and Elisabeth Leonskaja. She has performed with the Cannes Orchestra, conducted by Julien Masmondet, and with cellist Frédéric Lagarde.

Early on, Alma chose to steer clear of the international competition circuit, as the concept did not appeal to her. Nevertheless, she actively performs in recitals, with orchestras, and in chamber music settings, covering repertoire from all eras. The years 2024 and 2025 saw her focus specifically on French music.

Since 2024, Alma has held a teaching position at the Musikschule Konservatorium Zürich, where she was once a student herself. 

She speaks French, English, Italian, German, and Russian.