Samuele Galeano (Italy)

A young and versatile musician from Messina, he has long been active on the national and international music scene as both a violinist and a conductor.

At the invitation of Maestro Riccardo Muti, he served as Concertmaster of the "L. Cherubini" Orchestra from 2009 to 2015. In this role, he performed on some of the world’s most prestigious stages—including the Musikverein in Vienna, the Opéra Garnier in Paris, the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, the Philharmonie in Cologne, the Teatro Real in Madrid, and the Palau de la Música in Barcelona, among many other venues—and appeared at renowned events such as the Salzburg Festival, the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, and the Ravenna Festival.

He has collaborated with conductors and soloists including C. Abbado, K. Nagano, J. Conlon, D. Renzetti, J. Kovatchev, W. Marshall, A. Lonquich, M. Argerich, A.-S. Mutter, V. Repin, L. Zilberstein, U. Ughi, S. Accardo, M. Campanella, S. Krylov, D. Geringas, S. Isbin, H.J. Schellenberger, and F. Bartolomey (longtime principal cellist of the Vienna Philharmonic).

His extensive orchestral work also includes serving as Concertmaster for the Philharmonic of the International Piano Festival of Brescia and Bergamo, the Sicilian Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestra of the Teatro Vittorio Emanuele in Messina; he has also collaborated with ensembles such as the Orchestra of the Teatro San Carlo in Naples and the Teatro Regio di Parma.

He is equally active as a soloist and chamber musician; a winner of twelve national competitions and a scholarship recipient at the 18th "Città di Vittorio Veneto" National Competition, Samuele has performed Concerto No. ...S. Prokofiev’s No. 2 with the “Mihail Jora” Philharmonic Orchestra of Bacău (Romania) and the Vidin Philharmonic Orchestra (Bulgaria), and Tchaikovsky’s Concerto with the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra and the Shumen Philharmonic Orchestra (Bulgaria).

Trained under the guidance of Beatrice Antonioni, he obtained his violin diploma at the age of just 16 with top marks, honors, and a special mention, subsequently earning a Second-Level Master’s Degree in Musical Disciplines with a score of 110 *cum laude*. He pursued advanced studies at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena with B. Belkin, the Mozarteum in Salzburg with E. Schmieder, and in Vienna with D. Schwarzberg, as well as with Klaidi Sahatci (concertmaster of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich) and F. Manara (concertmaster of the Teatro alla Scala Orchestra). He also obtained a diploma in orchestral conducting from the “A. Scarlatti” Conservatory in Palermo under Maestro C. Caruso, graduating with top marks, honors, and a special mention; he attended the three-year advanced conducting course at the Accademia Musicale Pescarese under Maestro Donato Renzetti and later refined his skills with Daniele Agiman and Matteo Beltrami at the Accademia del Teatro Coccia in Novara.

In July 2020, he was chosen by Maestro Riccardo Muti as an active conducting student at the Italian Opera Academy in Ravenna and was selected as one of the 18 competitors for the prestigious Cantelli Prize, conducting the Orchestra of the Teatro Regio di Torino. Working alongside Maestro Donato Renzetti, he assisted with opera productions such as *Un ballo in maschera* at the Teatro Municipale in Piacenza and *La fanciulla del West* at the Teatro Lirico in Cagliari. In the summer of 2017, he was invited to give a masterclass at the “1st Mediterranean Violin Class Meeting” at the Ionian University in Corfu (Greece); subsequently, in Lanciano, he served as the strings instructor for orchestral advanced training courses during the *Estate Musicale Frentana* festival. Alongside his concert career, he teaches at the “A. Corelli” Conservatory of Music in Messina and serves as Artistic Director of the “I Concerti al Santuario” concert series.