Valentina was born in Pietrasanta (Italy) of a German mother and Italian father. Initially a pianist, she started to study double bass with Gabriele Ragghianti in late 2009, graduating with Honours from the “Istituto Musicale L. Boccherini” in Lucca in October 2014. She then gained her Master of Performance (Honours) at the Royal College of Music in July 2016. Valentina also focused her attention on composition, graduating in March 2014 with Honours. She has participated and played in master classes with Thierry Barbè, Dan Styffe, Rinat Ibragimov, Jiri Hudec, Giuseppe Ettorre, Paul Ellison, Joel Quarrington and Donovan Strokes. Valentina has won several awards and prizes such as the “Riviera of Versilia” competition and the “Fortunato Magi” double bass scholarship, both in 2014, and she was a finalist in important national and international competitions such as the “Migliori Diplomati D’Italia” (best young Italian music graduate) 2015 and “Double bass international competition Galicia Garcia Graves”. In June 2016 she took first prize in the “RCM double bass competition”. Valentina also won several orchestral audition such as the OGI, the Gustav Mahler Jugend Orchester 2015, Gustav Mahler Academy 2016, BBC SO training scheme and the “Gran Teatro Giacomo Puccini Torre del Lago Orchestra” (Lucca). She was recently chosen to play for the academic year 2015/16 in the RPO Scheme experience. Between 2013 and 2016 Valentina has played, mainly as principal or co- principal, with several symphonic and chamber orchestras, including the Northern Youth Symphony Orchestra Manchester, the Orchestra Primavera, Camerata strumentale di Prato, the BBC SO, the Arché Orchestra and The RCM Symphony and Chamber Orchestra. She also has wide experience in solo performance. She has been a member of the Orchestra Filarmonica Pucciniana for the Torre del Lago Puccini Summer Festival since 2014. She recently gave a soloist performance with “I solisti veneti” with Maestro Claudio Scimone (double bass concerto in A major by Domenico Dragonetti and the Fantasia sui temi della Sonnabula by Giovanni Bottesini) and she won the prestigious scholarship granted by this Academy (Proliber). Recently, Valentina was invited to play in the German world wide Zappa music festival Zappanale 2017, with her vibraphone and double bass duo.
Currently, Valentina lives and works in London and has been awarded a one-year scholarship at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire, London, to continue her advanced studies. She has also won a scholarship from the “Animando” music association in Lucca for a research project investigating the music of Giacomo Puccini’s ancestors. She is kindly supported by the Talented Unlimited Charity under the patronage of Canan Maxton.
Most of Valentina’s time is spent studying, working as solo performer and seeking personal music projects such “The Girls in the Magnesium Dress”, “The Polianilich trio” with 2 double basses and one bassoon that focuses on the music of Giacomo Puccini, and a duo with the pianist Michela Spizzichino, with whom she concentrates on the double bass solo repertoire, standard and contemporary, enriched with a selection of original compositions and transcriptions. She also works as a composer and arranger. One of Valentina’s works for double bass and piano, “E soffitto e pareti...a Journey in the Madama Butterfly Opera”, was premiered at the PRAGUE BASS Festival 2016 and was played by her former teacher Gabriele Ragghianti.
