Resident ensemble: Collettivo_21
The course is also open to all double bass players who want to explore the contemporary repertoire for double bass with Florentin Ginot.
During the course, there will be meetings dedicated to listening to and discussing the pieces presented with the teacher, moments in which Clara Iannotta and Florentin Ginot will talk about their own work, individual instrument lessons, concerts, work with the ensemble, and there will also be convivial and informal moments in which to discuss the topics that emerge from the meetings in an atmosphere of sharing and mutual listening.
There will be individual lessons with Florentin Ginot on the contemporary repertoire for solo double bass. Those interested will also be able to work on improvisation and the use of electronic materials (such as pedals) in double bass performance. In addition, the ensemble’s rehearsals and reading sessions will also be open to double bass students.
It will also be possible to collaborate with the Collettivo_21 ensemble in the performance of one or more pieces for variable/performative ensembles written by the composers of the course.
A final public concert, organised by Foresty International Music Festival, is planned.
Students of the composition masterclass will also have the opportunity to write a piece with an open form and instrumentation, including improvisational and/or performative nature, which will be performed by the Collettivo_21 ensemble and double bass students.
During the course, lectures will be given by Clara Iannotta, Luca Guidarini and the Collettivo_21 ensemble. The lectures will focus on the teacher’s production, the aesthetics and technical realisation of the amplification of acoustic instruments, and the relationship between composer and performers.
In addition, on the first day of the course, the ensemble will present a concert featuring music by Clara Iannotta, Zeno Baldi, Kaja Saariaho, and Giulia Lorusso.
Florentin Ginot is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of his art, not only as a remarkable soloist and a leading interpreter of contemporary music, but also in pioneering collaborations with artists across genres and disciplines.
Praised as “charismatic” (Le Figaro), a “breathtaking virtuoso” (Diapason) and “a name to remember” (Le Monde), the double bassist has established himself both as a soloist and with Ensemble Musikfabrik, of which he has been a member since 2015.
He has established a new repertoire for his instrument through close collaborations with composers such as Georges Aperghis, György Kurtág, Rebecca Saunders and Helmut Lachenmann. He has appeared as a soloist at venues including the Berlin Philharmonie, Kölner Philharmonie, Cité de la Musique in Paris and L’Auditori Barcelona as well as part of the Berliner Festspiele, Festival Présences and Manifeste Festival in Paris, Festival Musica in Strasbourg, Sacrum Profanum in Kraków, Ultima Oslo and La Biennale di Venezia.
Since 2019, Florentin Ginot has instigated a series of collaborations with artists from diverse traditions to look beyond genre boundaries and create hybrid projects between contemporary music, electronic music and world traditions including producer Helge Sten aka Deathprod, composer Stefan Prins, Palestinian songwriter Kamilya Jubran and actress Valérie Dréville.
With his first solo album, Bach – Biber, released in 2022 on NoMadMusic, Florentin Ginot brings his unique genre-busting perspective to classics of baroque repertoire, arranging solos and sonatas by Bach and Biber for double bass and synthesizer. France Musique praised the album as “absolutely stunning”, adding that “his adaptation of Bach’s chaconne for violin leaves us speechless”.
The 2023-24 season includes his solo debut at the Philharmonie de Paris, with a live presentation of his Bach – Biber project, as well as performances at Jazzdor Strasbourg and the Festival St-Denis. He will present the world premiere of a new solo piece by Clara Iannotta in Florence and Cologne, as well as appearing in duo with electric guitarist Yaron Deutsch.
Increasingly active as a multi-instrumentalist and composer, Florentin Ginot will also present his compositional debut Disturbance, combining modular analogue synthesizers with traditional instruments. The full-length work will be developed during a residency at the AIR programme in Krems, Austria and premiered in March 2024 at the Théâtre de la Cité internationale in Paris. From 2023-2025 he will be associate composer at the National Choreographic Centre of Caen.
Florentin Ginot graduated from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris, and was a Laureate of the Banque Populaire Foundation and Mécénat Musical Société Générale. In 2020 he was named “Music revelation of the year” by the Arts Journalists Syndicate. He is also the founder of HowNow, a production company developing staged presentations combining contemporary music with dance, theatre and circus.
Clara Iannotta is an Italian composer and curator based between Berlin and Paris.
Her music is commissioned and performed by renowned international ensembles, soloists, and orchestras.
Iannotta has been a fellow of the Berliner Künstlerprogramm des DAAD in 2013, Villa Médicis (Académie de France à Rome) in 2018–19, and the recipient of several prizes including the Ernst von Siemens Composers’ Prize 2018, Hindemith-Preis 2018, Una Vita nella Musica Giovani 2019, Premio Abbiati 2021. Her three portrait albums A Failed Entertainment (Edition RZ), Earthing (Wergo), and Moult (Kairos) were all awarded a place on the Bestenliste der deutschen Schallplattenkritik (German Record Critics’ Award). She is a member of the Academy of Arts in Berlin and Munich.
From 2014 to 2024, Iannotta served as Artistic Director of the Bludenzer Tage zeitgemäßer Musik. She is currently the artistic director for music programming of the Festival d’Automne à Paris and a member of the Kuratorium of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation. From 2025, she is Professor of Composition at the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSMDP).
Collettivo_21 is a contemporary music ensemble founded in Piacenza (Italy) in 2015.
The ensemble has premiered works by Frederic Rzewski, Maurizio Azzan, Claudio Panariello, Alessandro Perini, Luca Guidarini, Giorgio Colombo Taccani, Luca Ricci, Alessandro Bono, Matteo Tundo, Arshia Samsaminia and Sara Stevanovic.
Collettivo_21 has been invited to perform at festivals and events such as: Music Biennale Zagreb; Crossroads Festival Salzburg (now Limina Festival); Sound Spaces Festival in Malmö; Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte di Montepulciano; Contrasti Festival Trento. It has collaborated in the launch of the project 4est, in collaboration with Alessandro Baldessari and supported by Volvo Car Italia and Volvo Studio Milan.
The ensemble has collaborated with the research group DALM (Dialogical Approaches to Living Music) of the Department of Musicology and Cultural Heritage at the University of Pavia, coordinated by Professor Ingrid Pustijanac, taking part in meetings with composers Marco Momi and Franck Bedrossian and presenting two concerts for the 21st Century Music season (2022 and 2023).
From 2017 to 2020 Collettivo_21 was the organising ensemble of the Incó_ntemporanea Festival in Piacenza, hosting composers and performers such as Frederic Rzewski, Alessandro Perini, Claudio Panariello, Duo Dubois, Giovanni Sollima, Silvia Cignoli and others.
Since 2023 it has been the organiser of the Foresty International Music Festival.
Collettivo_21 is the resident ensemble of the Foresty International Music Festival, where it performs and collaborates with composers and performers including Brian Archinal, Franck Bedrossian, Pierluigi Billone, Francesco Filidei, Camilla Hoitenga, Mauro Lanza, Yan Maresz, Marco Momi, Francesco Palmieri, Alessandro Perini, Salvatore Sciarrino, Mariangela Vacatello, Giovanni Verrando and others.
Attendance as a full-time student requires a course fee of €300 for double bass players.; free access for auditors (subject to availability). Lessons begin on 22/07/2026 and end on 28/07/2026 (total no. 6 effective days). The course will be held in English. Lessons will be held at CDM’s premises.
The cost of the course includes:
Deadline for registration is: 04 May 2026.
A registration fee of €50 must be paid at the time of application.
Payment details:
Account holder: Associazione Montaldeo Musica
IBAN: IT02V0326848450052776248700
BIC/SWIFT: SELBIT2BXXX
Reason of payment: Name and Surname – Compositio Masterclass – Foresty International Music Festival 2026
By the 7 May you will be informed about the selection of the participants to the masterclass; in case of non-selection, the registration fee of €50 will be refunded. Payment of the course fee, amounting to €300, must be made by 11 May. The accommodation fee, amounting to €300, must be paid by bank transfer one week before the start of the course. Any payment and bank charges are the responsibility of the participant.
In the event of late payment, for which bank transfer date of sending is decisive, a late payment fee of €75 will be charged.
Casa San Michele offers accommodation in an affiliated facility, a large shared flat, for the duration of the course. The facility has 3 single rooms, 3 double rooms, 1 triple room and 2 shared bathrooms. Preference for single rooms will be given in chronological order of registration (upon notification of preference). The organisation reserves the right to change the room allocation based on specific and particular needs, communicated in advance. If necessary, the flats are available to those who wish to stay the night before the start of the course (upon reservation) at an additional cost of €25. The night of the last day of the course is included in the price. The cost includes accommodation in a shared flat with a room equipped with bed linen (not towels), use of the SPA and CDM study areas, and 3 dinners during the course, served at the CDM facility. Water, fruit and snacks are always available in the CDM common area; other consumptions will be considered extras.
The remaining meals are at the discretion of the participants: the facility is equipped with a basic kitchen and a small pantry (coffee, pasta, oil, salt and other essentials). Two partner restaurants are located a short distance away (one within walking distance, the other 3.4 km away; if necessary, the organisation can offer a transfer service to and from the restaurant (included and upon reservation). Rubber slippers (non-slip), a towel and a swimsuit are required to use the SPA.
Any extras can also be paid for on site by bank transfer or cash. Please note that there are no tobacconists, pharmacies, grocery stores or ATMs in the village of Montaldeo; all necessary services are easily accessible by car or bicycle in the neighbouring villages.
Upon arrival, the transfer service from the stations can include a stop to purchase necessary items upon request.
For those who do not wish to use the accommodation service but prefer to find their own accommodation, the organisation still requires a contribution of €180 for the use of the facilities, spa, coffee, snacks and dinners.
The nearest railway stations are Ovada, Novi Ligure, Arquata Scrivia; a transfer service is available from the arrival station to Montaldeo at a cost of €15 per transfer (€30 round trip). The nearest airports are Turin, Milan, Genoa, with respective train connections. For those travelling by car, Google Maps shows the exact location by searching for “Casa San Michele Montaldeo”; the nearest motorway exits are Ovada (A26), Novi Ligure (A26/A7), Arquata Scrivia (A7).
In the event of cancellation of a course due to force majeure or failure to reach a minimum number of enrolments, both the enrolment fee and the course fee will be refunded.
The course fee, net of bank charges, will not be refundable in any other case.
The registration fee of €50 will be refunded only and exclusively in the event of non-selection or due to force majeure or failure to reach a minimum number of participants.
The accommodation fee will not be charged if the participant cancels (within one week of the start of the course).
Casa San Michele di Giulia Pastorino // Partita IVA: IT02568410068
