Alessandro Schillaci
Double bass
Alessandro Schillaci began his musical studies at a young age, first focusing on classical guitar and later, under the guidance of Maestro Sebastiano Nicotra, on double bass. He continued his training with Maestro Daniele Roccato, first at the Conservatory of Perugia, where he graduated with top marks and honours, and subsequently at the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia in Rome, where in 2013 he obtained a second-level diploma in Musical Disciplines with a grade of 110 cum laude.
During his formative years, he attended several masterclasses, studying with some of Italy’s most important performers and teachers, including Antonio Sciancalepore and Giuseppe Ettorre. In 2007 he won First Prize at the chamber music competition of the 3rd “Voces Intimae” International Festival in Paola. In the 2008–2009 season he was selected for the Italian Youth Orchestra (OGI), where he further refined his orchestral repertoire with Maestros Alberto Bocini and Franco Petracchi.
He is a founding member of Ensemble Ludus Gravis, a group closely linked to the double bassist and composer Stefano Scodanibbio, dedicated to the performance and dissemination of contemporary repertoire for double bass ensemble. With this ensemble he has performed at major contemporary music festivals such as Musica d’Oggi (Madrid), Rassegna di Nuova Musica (Macerata), Angelica and Bologna Modern (Bologna), Gaida Festival (Vilnius), Music of Changes (Klaipėda), Imago Dei (Vienna), Lux Aeterna (Hamburg), La Biennale di Venezia, Borealis (Bergen), Unicum (Ljubljana), Scarlatti Contemporanea (Naples), and Ravenna Festival. He has recorded for Wergo (Galina Ustvolskaya’s Dies Irae) and for ECM (Stefano Scodanibbio’s octet for eight double basses), under Scodanibbio’s direction.
He has performed world premieres by Hans Werner Henze, Stefano Scodanibbio, and Sofia Gubaidulina. In 2013 he was appointed principal double bass of the Orchestra da Camera di Perugia, collaborating with conductors and soloists such as Enrico Bronzi, Gemma Bertagnolli, Alexander Lonquich, Hugo Ticciati, Karl-Heinz Schütz, and Tamas Varga. In 2014 he joined the string orchestra I Solisti Aquilani as principal double bass, working with internationally renowned artists including Krzysztof Penderecki, Mischa Maisky, Vladimir Ashkenazy, and Mario Brunello.
He has performed in major Italian concert seasons such as Serate Musicali (Milan), GOG (Genoa), IUC and Filarmonica Romana (Rome), Scarlatti (Naples), and Amici della Musica (Palermo). In 2015 he was selected for the double bass section of the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini. In 2020 he began a two-year specialization in early music at the Conservatory “Bruno Maderna” in Cesena, focusing on historical performance practice and completing a thesis on Domenico Dragonetti, graduating in 2023 with top marks and honours.
He collaborates as principal double bass with several Italian ensembles, including the Orchestra da Camera di Mantova, the Il Colibrì Orchestra da Camera di Pescara, the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana, and the Filarmonica Gioachino Rossini.
Alessandro will participate in Trame Sonore 2026 as a member of the Orchestra da Camera di Mantova.
