Biography

I started playing drum kit at the age of 3 as I was inspired by watching DVDs of the band ‘The Police’. I was really impressed by Stewart Copeland – the drummer – and I asked for a drum kit as a Christmas present. From that day on I never stopped playing the drums, and when I was 8, I decided to explore the world of percussion.

At the age of 9, I started to play percussion in the Youth Orchestra of Santa Cecilia Academy. In this orchestra, I had the chance to play with amazing conductors, composers and musicians such as Antonio Pappano, Ennio Morricone, Nicola Piovani, Stefano Bollani, and Giovanni Sollima. I will never forget when I was called on stage as the youngest musician in the orchestra to blow out the candles with Antonio Pappano for the Santa Cecilia anniversary. It was an incredible feeling and Pappano’s true passion for music has been a real inspiration!

At the age of 12, I joined the Santa Cecilia Conservatoire in Rome, Italy. I studied there for 3 years and was the only student taking two courses at the same time: classical percussion and jazz drum kit. During a master class in Switzerland, I was offered a place at the Purcell School, UK. When I called my parents to tell them about the great opportunity, they couldn’t believe it was true! This is where my musical experiences in the UK started, and since then I have never left London and the UK, where I now have friends, studies and hopefully a future!

After Purcell, I studied Timpani and Percussion at the Royal Academy of Music where I gained both my Bachelor and Master of Arts. At RAM, I thoroughly enjoyed playing a variety of music styles, including playing drum kit on a vast number of musical theatre shows and jazz vibraphone in collaboration with the RAM jazz department. And I feel incredibly lucky to have had the chance to play with world leading orchestras, such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic, the Philharmonia Orchestra and others.

At the Academy, I was honoured to win the two Zildjan prizes – awarded to the student with the highest mark in the final exam – and am lucky enough to have reached the finals of the Yamaha International Percussion Competition and to have been awarded as the most promising player in the Young International Percussionist of the year competition held by Southern Percussion.
What I most liked about my musical experience abroad was the possibility to meet musicians from all over the world thanks to having won full scholarships for programmes in Europe and in USA, such as EUYO (European Union Youth Orchestra), Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara (California), Yellow Barn in Putney (Vermont).

My dream is to become an excellent orchestral player and, at the same time, a solo percussionist with a special interest in chamber music, especially percussion ensembles.

During my free time, I love playing tennis, football and beach volleyball, especially with my brother, as we have only a few moments during the summer to spend quality time together. Moreover, I love listening to music as much as I can and I particularly like fusion, jazz and some rock music. Music has such a positive effect on my mindset too, and I love playing drum kit and piano when I feel I need some time to myself.