Giacomo Susani
Italy
Giacomo Susani (Padua, Italy 1995) started playing the guitar at the age of 7 and eventually studied under the direction of Stefano Grondona in Italy where he graduated with the highest marks and honours in 2013. He is currently continuing his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London, with Michael Lewin, where he has completed his Bachelor of Music, gaining First Class Honours and Bache Fund Prize, and is now studying for his Master’s degree. On his entrance to the Academy he was awarded the prestigious Julian Bream Trust Scholarship, after an audition with Julian Bream himself.
Over the years he has taken part in masterclasses and attended advanced courses with leading guitarists such as Paul Galbraith, Oscar Ghiglia, David Russell, Carles Trepat, Fabio Zanon. He has regularly taken part in guitar competitions from an early age, always obtaining excellent results and, on many occasions, winning the first prize. Among the most recent prizes: 1st Prize – London International Guitar Competition, Special Prize for the best performance of a newly commissioned piece – Guitar Masters Competition in Poland, 2nd Prize – Gianni Bergamo Classical Music Award in Switzerland and ESTA Prize for the best performance of a contemporary piece – Forum Gitarre Wien Competition, all of them awarded between September and November 2016. In the same year he was also selected by the International Guitar Foundation for a series of concerts across the UK. In 2017 he was awarded 1st Prize at the Ivor Mairants Guitar Award in London after which he became a Yeoman of The Musicians’ Company. Shortly after, he won the Ian Fleming Award (Help Musicians UK) the Star Award (Countess of Munster Musical Trust) and 1st Prize – David Russell Guitar Award.
As a performer he regularly appears on important venues as a soloist, soloist with orchestra and in chamber ensembles. Since 2017 he has been a part of the EuroStrings Scheme, a collaborative project which will bring him as a guest artist to several festivals around Europe. In 2015 the recording studio Stradivarius published his first solo CD “Giacomo Susani plays Petrassi, Bach, Tansman, Weiss”, which obtained excellent reviews, most notably in “BBC Music”, “Gendai Guitar”, “Il Fronimo”, and “Amadeus”. Besides performing, he works in the field of composition, writing and premiering in London most of his works. He is also the Artistic Director of Momùs-More Music, a Musical Association based in Italy which promotes and organises classical music concerts.