Building on the 40-year experience of specialised training centred on the exceptional artistic figure of Franco Petracchi, the Stauffer Academy looks to the future and presents a new specialized training programme: the Stauffer Performance Diploma in Double Bass, which will be taught by Alberto Bocini, Professor of Double Bass at the HEM (Haute Ecole de Musique) in Geneva, a leading figure on the musical scene of the instrument.
A versatile and polyhedric artist, Alberto Bocini has always combined the rigour of classical training with the exploration of different styles, genres and modes of expression. Principal Double Bass for five years at the Santa Cecilia National Academy Orchestra in Rome and for fifteen years at the Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, he also collaborated with numerous other ensembles, including La Scala in Milan, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Solisti Veneti. In 2012 Bocini left the orchestral activity and devoted himself more intensely to the chamber and solo repertoire, teaching and composing for his instrument and showing how much the double bass can still offer in terms of stylistic evolution, developing with a wider identity through genres and innovative technical solutions.
The Stauffer Performance Diploma in Double Bass will consist of a three-year specialized course, structured in ten monthly sessions per year, with lessons, workshops, artistic projects and numerous performance opportunities. A special feature of this new course will be the co-presence of a series of artistic figures of the highest caliber who will join Alberto Bocini as Guest Professors for masterclasses and artistic projects. The aim is to offer a professionalizing training programme through which the students will be able to explore and deepen in the broadest possible way the technical/expressive potential of the instrument in a wide range of musical genres and styles, gaining insights and ideas for their future careers.
Alongside the Stauffer Performance Diploma, the Academy will continue to offer the High Specialisation Course in Double Bass, traditionally structured in eight monthly sessions per year, aimed at specific needs such as, for example, the preparation of competitions or concerts, or, more generally, to advance the students’ technical and professional skills. The course can also be attended in preparation for the admission to the Performance Diploma programme. The two modules are designed to interact with each other and with the other courses of the Stauffer Academy; the integrative activities organised for the Performance Diploma course will also be available to the students of the High Specialisation Course.
“The mission of the Stauffer Academy is to help students develop their talent and contribute to their artistic growth in the most effective way. In order to do that, we make great efforts to tailor our educational offer on the unique and peculiar characteristics of each emerging artist. The musical world has changed a great deal in recent years, and it is in rapid and continuous evolution; any young musician wishing to successfully pursue a performing career needs to count on a wide range of skills, not only musical, and on the opportunity to access and become part of a global network of artists, stages and music operators. In this sense, the Academy wants to be an open, dynamic place, connected with international music entities, to help young musicians find their artistic universe and develop the necessary technical and interpretive tools to convey it” says Angelica Suanno, Director of the Stauffer Academy. “The performance, conceived as an essential experience in the musical training path, will be central in the new programmes, and great attention will be paid to creating opportunities for public performances both within the Academy and through external collaborations.”
The choice of Alberto Bocini is one in continuity with the School ideally represented by Franco Petracchi, with whom Bocini studied for four years at the Stauffer Academy and to whom he succeeded as Double Bass Professor at the Geneva High School of Music. At the same time, it brings a strong element of innovation, thanks to the distinctive eclecticism, versatility and curiosity of this artist, who ranges easily from the traditional repertoire to the new music, crossing genres and styles and interacting with great musicians of international standard, both as a performer and as a composer.
“This appointment fills me with great joy and gratitude” – declares Alberto Bocini. “It is an honour to receive such a huge musical legacy, and I am ready to work hard and commit myself passionately to the success and achievement of our students, following the path of excellence traced by Maestro Franco Petracchi in forty years of teaching. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Stauffer Foundation and its President, Dr. Alessandro Tantardini, and to M° Petracchi for his endless support and guidance. His dedication to music, to the double bass and to creative research have always been an inspiration to me as well as to several generations of double bass players and musicians around the world. I just want to add that finding “home” in a place as steeped in history and musical tradition as Cremona, is a living dream: I can’t wait to get started!”
Registrations will open at the end of April; at the same time, full information regarding admissions and attendance of both academic programmes (Stauffer Performance Diploma and High Specialisation Course), as well as the names of the Guest Professors scheduled for the 2024-2025 Academic Year, will be available on the Academy’s web site (www.stauffer.org).