I was born and raised in Massa, a town in the beautiful region of Tuscany, Italy. Enclosed between the Apuan Alps Mountains (famous all over the world for their prestigious white marble) and the Mediterranean Sea, Massa is a quiet, provincial town with 60 thousand inhabitants. In spite of our small population, it’s incredible the amount of talented people who play there. There are more than ten music schools, countless bands, singers, musicians and teachers. We even have the great Massa and Carrara Orchestra, who recently played with many popular Italian acts and big international names like Sting, Kylie Minogue, Andrea Bocelli, Mario Biondi, and Giovanni Allevi. Growing up in such a stimulating musical environment and collaborating with so many young artists was absolutely crucial for my artistic growth.

My road from Massa to Boston passes through another beautiful Italian city, Perugia, where I won a scholarship for Berklee during the Umbria Jazz Festival. There, I met Joey Blake for the first time. Donna McElroy invited him to one of her lessons where he introduced us to the circle songs and after that day, my conception of singing and using the voice forever changed. I was completely amazed, I felt an overwhelming sense of emotion and joy, almost spiritual like. It was as if I was coming in touch with my soul for the very first time.

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