Biography
Giacomo Susani - Composer, Conductor, Guitarist
Premio Abbiati “Novità per l’Italia” 2026
Amadeus d’oro 2026
Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) 2025
“Susani’s musical thinking is profound and elegant, while at the same time emotionally engaging and permeated by magical, dreamlike atmospheres”
Amadeus, January 2026
Giacomo Susani is an Italian/British conductor, composer and guitarist.
His threefold activity has enabled him to develop a personal approach to composition and performance that has received international acclaim.
He has been active as a conductor since his debut in December 2024, when he conducted the first performance of his Concerto for 10-string Guitar and Orchestra "Lungo il Po" in Boulder, Colorado (USA), with the Boulder Chamber Orchestra. Since then, he has conducted several symphonic productions, including most recently a concert with the Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto in January 2026. He has also worked as assistant conductor on several opera productions in prestigious Italian theatres, including Teatro dell’Opera di Roma (D’Amico, La Vita Nuda), Teatro Coccia in Novara (Verdi, La Traviata) and Teatro Valli in Reggio Emilia (Rossini, L’italiana in Algeri), assisting conductor Alessandro Cadario.
As a composer, his music is commissioned, performed and recorded worldwide by prestigious orchestras, ensembles and soloists, including the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, the Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto (OPV), the New York Chamber Orchestra, the Takács Quartet, the Quartetto Goldberg, the Quartetto Indaco, singers Tim Mead, Alexander Chance and Daniel Norman, and guitarists David Russell, Jason Vieaux, Stefano Grondona and Nicolò Spera. His output encompasses solo, chamber, choral and orchestral music. Since 2026, he has been a published composer with Edizioni Curci (Milan).
His compositional activity gained international recognition following his First Prize in the prestigious Respighi Prize for Composition in New York, which enabled him to appear both as composer and performer of his "Fantasia for Guitar and Orchestra" at Carnegie Hall (Weill Recital Hall), accompanied by the Chamber Orchestra of New York in 2024.
As a guitarist, he maintains an intensive concert schedule throughout Europe and the United States. The early stages of his career were supported by prestigious foundations and organisations, including The Julian Bream Trust, The Countess of Munster Musical Trust, the Park Lane Group, The Worshipful Company of Musicians and the City Music Foundation. He has won numerous international prizes, most notably First Prize in the London International Guitar Competition (2016).
In 2025, he was awarded the title of Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) by the prestigious London institution by the same name, an honour reserved for former students who have distinguished themselves in their professional careers.
He has released five albums, including his most recent recordings: "A Screenshot of Now" (Linn Records | Outhere Music, 2026), featuring his compositions for voices setting texts by Chinwe D. John; "Under a Crescent Moon", featuring his compositions and arrangements for solo guitar (Stradivarius, 2026); and "Intrecci", also featuring his compositions and arrangements for solo guitar (Stradivarius, 2025), which was awarded the award Amadeus d’Oro.
He is Artistic Director of the musical season at Barco Teatro in Padua. Under his artistic direction, the season named "Scatola Sonora" received the prestigious Premio Abbiati “Novità per l’Italia”, in collaboration with Francesco Antonioni, for the Italian premiere of "Spit Crystal Yeast-rack", dripping by Alex Paxton, performed by the Ensemble degli Intrigati under the direction of Andrea Molino.
He studied conducting with Alessandro Cadario and Gilberto Serembe, furthering his studies with Rüdiger Bohn and Florian Ludwig; composition with Francesco Antonioni and Stephen Goss guitar with Michael Lewin and Stefano Grondona. From 2014 to 2018, he worked closely with guitarist Julian Bream as a Julian Bream Trust Scholar. He holds a PhD in Composition.