Something about me!

I started my career as an orchestra conductor in 2014, conducting my first professional concert at the Varna Opera House, in Bulgaria. I have collaborated frequently since then with this theatre and have been invited to conduct many symphonic productions with them. This has included the opening and closing concerts of the local Easter Festival and in 2016, the concert to celebrate the golden jubilee of the career of the famous Bulgarian pianist Jenny Zaharieva. Zahrieva later commented that I was ‘A talented and extremely perceptive conductor’ and that she was very impressed with my ‘Work with the orchestra, particularly for my achievement of a delicate sound and my care for the musical details and phrasing.’

I was born in 1979 and I began learning to play the piano at the age of nine, through the encouragement of my parents, who enrolled me in a music school in the area where I lived. My family did not come from a musical background, and even though I was fascinated by the world of music from the beginning, initially it was just one hobby amongst other typical hobbies for a child of my age. One day, rummaging through the few classical music records in our house, I found one with a recording of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony: I placed it on the turntable and I listened to it. The memory of that moment is still vivid within me. I was left transfixed on the rocking chair in our living room, whilst the notes of this symphony – at today still my favourite – captivated me, revealing to me a world that until then was unknown. From then onwards, I enthusiastically explored as many other compositions as possible, discovering that I was attracted particularly by the symphonic repertoire and becoming increasingly curious about everything concerning music, as this became my primary focus. Clearly, the mere playing of the piano became soon insufficient to fulfil my growing musical interests, and from then the desire to become an orchestra conductor developed early and rapidly.

I completed my piano studies between 2005 and 2008, during which time I earned the traditional Italian music Diploma and also an Academic Masters degree in music. In 2004 I completed my degree in History of Music at the ‘Sapienza’ University of Rome, having undertaken a thesis on Luigi Dallapiccola, examined by Pierluigi Petrobelli. In 2008 I was accepted into the orchestra conducting course of the ‘Santa Cecilia’ Conservatory in Rome. After a year, I continued my studies with Francesco Vizioli at the ‘San Pietro a Majella’ Conservatory in Naples, from which I graduated in 2010.

However, it was my encounter with Raffaele Napoli – who had been a student of Sergiu Celibidache – that gave me a fresh perspective. Thanks to him, not only have I had the chance to become better acquainted with Celibidache’s work but, above all, I have absorbed the principles of his conducting technique and of the phenomenology of music. All this has had a significant influence in general on my understanding of music, and in particular on my orchestra conducting. I have then received much inspiration from Gianluigi Gelmetti in the summer masterclasses of the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, as well as from Markand Thakar in the US at his conducting seminars with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra.

Early on, I have realised that in my profession mere musical competence is not enough and that – differently from instrumentalists – a conductor must show broader skills, including effective communication with others. Therefore, I have sought to enrich my formation by exploring disciplines dealing with communication at different levels and I have taken courses in neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), emotional intelligence, and body language.

In Italy, I take great delight in collaborating with the Sanremo Symphonic Orchestra and with the Roma Tre Orchestra, the latter being a youth orchestra connected to the university and which is extremely rewarding. Nevertheless, I am active primarily abroad and, in particular, I have built a special relationship with Bulgaria, as this is the place where I started my professional journey, and where in 2017 I conducted my first opera, all at the Varna Opera House. It is with their orchestra that I have developed a special collaboration since 2014. Ultimately, it is symphonic music which I love the most and towards which I feel the closest affinity, but I have also started to explore opera.

I currently live in Rome, where – besides studying music scores and teaching – I practice yoga and enjoy reading, drinking fine tea and my pipes.