Roberto Sansuini
Curriculum vitae:
Born in Parma, he attends the Conservatory of his hometown, graduating in Trumpet, Music Didactics and Composition; for the latter discipline studying with Carlo Ballarini, Giorgio Tosi and Luca Francesconi. Subsequently, he obtains a Postgraduate Diploma in Composition at the Accademia Nazionale di S.Cecilia in Rome, under the guidance of Franco Donatoni. In 1993 he wins a scholarship for young composers announced by the S.I.A.E. (the Italian Authors and Publishers Society) and in 1995 he wins the 1st prize at the “Valentino Bucchi” International Composition Competition in Rome, with a piece for string quartet. This result, rather than motivating him, opens a long period of reconsideration of his compositional language, due to the extreme complexity his writing has reached, a complexity that he no longer feels represents him. This moment of “crisis” opens a phase in which his interest in jazz music and "alternative" musical expressions directs him toward the activity of arranger and transcriber, for small and large ensembles. The many and varied collaborations result in a large body of works (arrangements, transcriptions and original compositions) for various ensembles, as well as a wide complex of experiences ranging from contemporary music, jazz, music for documentaries and jingles. He has collaborated with many Italian musicians and ensembles from both classical and jazz areas. Among these collaborations, the most enduring began in 1997, with the saxophone quartet “Saxofollia,” for which he has wrote numerous arrangements, almost all of which have been recorded on CD. The year 2014 marks the beginning of a new and fervent creative phase and a full return to “contemporary classical” composition. Craftsmanship and the search for a modern but expressive and communicative musical language are the hallmarks of his compositional journey.
1995: 1st prize in the International Composition Competition "Valentino Bucchi" in Rome.
2007: 1st prize in the "Piacenza Jazz Arrangers", a big-band arrangement competition in Piacenza, Italy.
2006, 2007, 2008, 2015: finalist in the International Arranging and Composing Contest for Jazz Orchestra “BargaJazz”, Barga, Italy.
2019: finalist in the International Uuno Klami Composition Competition, Finland.
2020: 2nd prize in the Classic Pure Vienna International Composition Competition, Vienna.
2023: 2nd prize in the International Finzi Academy Composition Competition, Milan, Italy.
2024: 1st prize in the 11th Garth Newel International Composition Competition, U.S.A.
2024: “Honorable Mention” in the 1st Prof. Dr. İHSAN DOĞRAMACI International Composition Competition, Turkey.
2024: 3rd prize in the Uuno Klami Composition Competition, Finland
Together with Caterina Calderoni, he is the author of the teaching texts "The fugued bass with imitations" and "The Fugue", both published by the publisher Ricordi, Milan.