Born in Lisbon, Taíssa Poliakova Cunha began her musical studies at the National Conservatory of Lisbon. She obtained her bachelor’s degree cum laude from the Superior Conservatory of Music of Castilla y León (Salamanca, Spain, 2013), where she studied with Miriam Gómez-Morán and Alberto Rosado.

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She completed her master’s in music at the University of Aveiro in Portugal, receiving, upon completion, the award for Best Student of the master’s in music that year (2017). She also studied privately with the renowned professor Oxana Yablonskaya (from Juilliard School, New York) between 2012 and 2017.

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Taíssa has performed across Europe with solo recitals and in duo with Portuguese violinist Matilde Loureiro. Together, they won First Prize in Chamber Music at the “Prémio Jovens Músicos” Competition (Lisbon, 2008) and received an Honorable Mention at the “Concertino Praha” Competition (Czech Republic, 2009).

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She was awarded in several piano competitions, including the Special Prize at the 16th International Piano Competition Santa Cecília (Portugal, 2014), First Place and Best Interpretation of a Portuguese Work at the 10th Piano Competition of Póvoa de Varzim (Portugal, 2015), among others. She performed with the Kiev Symphony Orchestra at the 3rd “Dinasty” Music Festival in Kiev, Ukraine (2014), which earned her a Vox Populi award by public vote.

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She worked as a Collaborative Pianist at the University of Aveiro, working with Voice, Choir, Strings, Saxophone, and Brass from 2014 to 2017.

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She participated in various national and international festivals, notably the 1st International Piano Festival of Amarante (2015) and the EPTA Meeting of Pianists and Piano Teachers of Portugal (2017). She performed solo with the Sinfonietta de Braga orchestra (2022) and with the North Orchestra (2023) and maintains a regular concert activity with solo recitals and chamber music concerts, opera, and theatre, covering a wide range of repertoires.

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She lived in Brazil for two years (2017-2019), where she performed as a soloist, chamber musician, and soloist with orchestra (OSUEL, 2018) in various cities across the country, in addition to teaching regularly in Londrina and Maringá.

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Upon her return to Portugal, she worked as a Piano Teacher and Collaborative Pianist at the Colégio Moderno Music School in Lisbon (2019-2020) and as a Collaborative Pianist at the Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco (2020-2024). Currently, she is a Piano Professor at the University of Évora (since 2021), where she is also pursuing a Doctorate in Music and Musicology.

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Her discography includes a CD of Portuguese chamber music dedicated to Beethoven (2022), and another, stemming from the “Trio de Damas” project, honouring Portuguese pianists Nella Maíssa, Helena Sá e Costa, and Olga Prats — the latter was nominated in 2024 for the Play Portuguese Music Awards in the category of Best Classical/Erudite Album.