Maria Rago’s journey to finding her life’s mission — composing music — started with what most would call a moment of folly. The Italian pianist and composer was 24-year-old with an Italian literature degree in her native Caltanissetta, Sicily, when she went with a friend to a concert by the cellist Giovanni Sollima. All of a sudden, in the middle of the performance, Rago turned to her friend and declared, “I want to be a musician.”

Astounded, her friend replied, “Come on, be serious,” she recalls. Rago was certain. “I am telling you — that’s what I want to do,” she told her friend. Fast forward to today, and Rago is a professional composer who lives in Hoffman Estates in suburban Chicago, and boasts a successful musical resume.