Sergio De Simone

Professorial Staff - Piano

Music

Email: S.DeSimone@trinitylaban.ac.uk

Biography

Born in Florence, Italy, Sergio De Simone is laureate of numerous international piano and chamber music competitions, including the V. Bellini International Piano Competition, the Premio Trio di Trieste International Chamber Music Competition and the Beethoven International Piano Sonata Competition (Memphis, Tennessee). Sergio has performed extensively as a soloist and chamber musician in Italy, Spain, France, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and the USA for prestigious concert societies. Examples include La Società dei Concerti in Milan, Amici della Musica in Florence, Sagra Musicale Umbra, Verdi Theater in Pisa, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Biennale Musica of Venice, Harris Auditorium in Memphis, Tennessee (USA), International Music Festival in Torroella de Montgrì-Barcelona, Mills College Hall in Oakland, California (USA), Settimana Musicale Chigiana, Valli Theatre in Reggio Emilia, Bellini Theatre in Catania, Winter Festival in Sarajevo, Tartini Atelier in Ljubljana and the National Theatre in Sarajevo.

He has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Romanian State Orchestra, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, Meadows Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Strumentale-Città di Prato, Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana and Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Solisti di Città Lirica Orchestra of Pisa and Intersezioni Festival Orchestra, conducted by Jonathan Webb, Anton Nanut, Paul Philips, Alessandro Pinzauti, Augusto Vismara, Giuseppe Camerlingo and Daniele Giorgi, amongst others. His chamber music repertoire is vast and ranges from duo to quintet. He dedicates part of his activity to contemporary music both as solo and ensemble performer. Since 2000, he has been ‘pianist in residence’ at the Chigiana Academy in Siena for the Composition Summer Course given by Azio Corghi and Giorgio Battistelli and the Film Music Course given by Academy Award winner Luis Bacalov.

For more information, visit Sergio De Simone’s website.

Qualifications/ Educational Background

Sergio De Simone graduated from the A. Boito Conservatory of Music in Parma with full marks, summa cum laude and honourable mention. His musical development was deeply influenced by the cellist of the Quartetto Italiano, Franco Rossi (with whom he studied chamber music) and by Joaquin Achucarro with whom he studied at the Chigiana Academy in Siena, (where he was awarded the Diploma of Merit as well the Guido Agosti, SIAE, and the E. Contestabile scholarships) and at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas (USA) as a recipient of the Joel Estes Tate Scholarship and where he was winner of the the Von Mickwitz Prize for Piano Performance. He also has attended masterclasses with Murray Perahia, Aldo Ciccolini, Philippe Cassard, Bruno Canino, Pier Narciso Masi and Christopher Elton.

External Appointments

Sergio is currently Professor of Piano at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, Potenza State Conservatoire ‘Gesualdo da Venosa’ and Sesto Fiorentino Music School, where he is also Director. Sergio has been invited to give piano and chamber music masterclasses and summer courses by Split Music Academy (Croatia), Music Academy of Sarajevo (Bosnia), Perugia Music Fest (Italy), Roncofreddo in Musica (Cesena, Italy), Musica e Mare (Marina di Pietrasanta, Italy) and Luke Sorkočevića Art School, Dubrovnik (Croatia), for the Achucarro Foundation and in universities in the USA: California State University, Fresno; University of California, Santa Barbara; Southern Methodist University, Dallas. Sergio is Artistic Director of Intersezioni festival in the historical villas of Florence.