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Our teachers

Eric Buffat

Artistic Director

Composer, producer, arranger, pianist and author of highly successful songs, including Laura Pausini’s “Un’emergenza d’Amore”, Irene Grandi’s “in vacanza da una Vita” and Raf’s “Stai con me”. He has collaborated with artists such as Laura Pausini (for over 10 years, accompanying her on various world tours), Raf, Vallesi, Irene Grandi, Marco Masini, Jovanotti, Ramazzotti, Spagna, Michele Zarrillo, Pino Daniele and Phil Collins.

Vocal coach on Amici di Maria De Filippi alongside Rudy Zerbi, since 2016 he has been working regularly with Fiorello on the programme Edicola Fiore and the hugely successful Viva Rai Play, as a writer, composer and musical director, and on Viva Rai Due 2023.

Maurizio Tomberli

Director of studies

Pianist, singer, arranger, composer and since 2009 owner and educational director of the school “Walter Savelli musical laboratory – LMWS”. For over 30 years, he has associated his training activity as an author of books on teaching methods dedicated to the modern piano with that of a solo performer at a national and international level.

Since 2000 pianist and singer of the “Oversea Orchestra”, with which he has collaborated with artists of the caliber of Raf, Marco Masini, Laura Pausini, Pooh and many others.

Alexander Finazzo

Guitar

Guitarist and co-founder of Bandabardò, he has collaborated in the studio and live with many artists including Carmen Consoli, Max Gazzè, Daniele Silvestri, Gypsy Kings, David Sylvian, Piero Pelù, Dolcenera, Modena City Ramblers, Patty Pravo, Michael Manring, Paola Turci, Franco Battiato, Dario Fo, Giobbe Covatta, Goran Bregovic, Stefano Bollani, Caparezza, Roy Paci, Petra Magoni, Bob Ezrin, etc.

Riccardo Onori

Guitarist and songwriter

He is an Italian guitarist, composer, and music producer. A long-time guitarist for Jovanotti, considered a cornerstone of his band, he has collaborated with both Italian and international artists, including Stefano Bollani. Among the many collaborations over the years, notable ones include artists such as Max Gazzè, Alex Britti, Syria, Enrico Rava, Gianni Maroccolo, Ernestico Rodriguez, Marco Tamburini, Jarabe de Palo, Horacio Hernández, Michael Franti, Cesare Cremonini, Giuliano Sangiorgi, Luca Carboni, Planet Funk, Karima, and Paolo Buonvino.

Alex Mastromarino

Vocal Coach

Attore teatrale, cantante e ballerino italiano noto soprattutto come interprete di musical. Ha recitato per la Compagnia della Rancia nelle produzioni italiane dei musical The Producers con Enzo Iacchetti, Grease per la regia di Federico Bellone dal 2006 al 2008 e nel 2010 è Abu nel musical di Stefano D’Orazio e dei Pooh Aladin con Manuel Frattini.

In 2016 and 2017 he played Frankie Valli in the musical Jersey Boys, for his performance he won the Italian Musical Award as “best leading actor” in 2016 and the Persefone Award as “best musical actor” in 2017.

In 2017 he won the Festival Internacional da Canção Da Serra Da Estrela, held in the town of Seia in Portugal, with the song he wrote and performed Nothing can stop the run.

David Gobello

Producer and guitarist

Davide is guitarist, arranger and producer. He plays electric, acoustic, classical, dobro, mandolin, bouzuki and banjo guitar. He has collaborated with Fabrizio Moro, Gianni Morandi, Pierdavide Carone, Ami Stewart, Loretta Goggi, Fiordaliso, Lodovica Comello and many others.

He works for Rai broadcasts: Castrocaro, Domenica In, Ti lascio una canzone, with the masters Demo Morselli, Marco Sabiu, Leonardo de Amicis.

Giacomo Castellano

Guitarist

Giacomo is a Florentine guitarist, author and producer. After studying at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, he taught in important schools such as the Lizard in Fiesole and the Music Academy 2000 in Bologna, where he was head of the guitar department. He has collaborated with artists such as Vasco Rossi, Gianna Nannini, Elisa, Noemi and Piero Pelù, published two teaching methods and a solo album (Cutting Bridges).

Since 2024, he has been a member of Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM).
He teaches rock/metal guitar, improvisation and arrangement.

Tommaso Tomberli

Piano

Following in his father’s footsteps, he was immersed in music from an early age.
The pianist and singer performs in some of Florence’s most prestigious venues, such as the Four Seasons Florence and Caffè Paszkowski.
He has played in various theatres in Tuscany, including the Politeama Theatre, the Puccini Theatre and many others.
She has opened for several artists in the Italian music industry, such as Sissy, Ricchi e Poveri, Alfa and many others, thanks to the Pitti Pizza And Friends event in collaboration with Florence Academy.
A piano teacher at LMWS, she has attended training courses on composition and the use of vocal techniques.
Graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Commercial Music.
Composer of soundtracks available on all digital platforms.
Keyboardist and live arrangement coordinator for the band that accompanies the young artist Edoardo Brogi.
He has also played in bands abroad.

Irene Colzani

Singer

Successful singer in the Florentine scene teaches entry-level singing and piano at LMWS. She has participated in major TV shows including X-Factor and The Voice of Italy on Raffaella Carrà’s team. He currently performs with his band Funky Business and in other live and unreleased projects.

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Giulia Ulivi

Labor consultant

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Florence. Specializes in management and consulting in such matters as labor law, union law and social security law. Collaborates with the Court of Florence as CTU for labor law litigation and disputes. She mainly deals with large entities in tourism, the Cooperative world, the Third Sector and the management of self-employed workers or employees in the Entertainment sector.

Alceste Ayroldi

Structured lecturer, music critic, essayist and veejay, professionally active in the music industry since 1982 as a guitarist, singer and drummer. He teaches Entertainment Legislation and Author-Publisher Relations at Saint Louis College in Rome, and Music Research Practice, Music Industries and Academic Writing at the University of the West of Scotland. He has been a regular contributor to Musica Jazz magazine since 2010 and editor manager of the webzine Jazzitalia since 2000. He has served as artistic director of several Italian festivals, including Mast Groove Connection for the City of Bari, and collaborates with The Brass Group Foundation in Palermo, whose biographer he is. He has published various works, including books on entertainment legislation and the Italian music industry, and has interviewed more than 1,000 artists.

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Paolo Zampini

Flutist

Born in Pistoia, he studied flute in Florence and for over 45 years has carried out concert activities as a soloist and member of prestigious orchestras, such as the RAI Symphony Orchestra of Rome and the National Orchestra of Santa Cecilia. He has collaborated with world-famous composers, including Ennio Morricone, recording hundreds of soundtracks for cinema and theatre, and has worked with artists such as Fabrizio De André and Laura Pausini.

Since 1985 he has been one of Morricone‘s favorite performers, performing his music in international concerts. As a teacher, he has taught flute in various conservatories and from 2015 to 2021 he was director of the L. Cherubini Conservatory in Florence. In 2020 he founded the Duo AulosVox and since 2022 he has been President of the Tuscany Music Production Association.

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Paolo Vallesi

Songwriter

Paolo Vallesi is a singer-songwriter, musician and producer from Florence who rose to fame in the 1990s with hits such as Le persone inutili and, above all, La forza della vita, a song that won over the general public and topped the Italian and European charts. He has participated several times in the Sanremo Festival and released numerous successful albums, collaborating with artists such as Eros Ramazzotti, Biagio Antonacci, Enrico Ruggeri and Gianni Morandi.

Paolo Vallesi currently teaches singing, performance and stage presence, sharing his thirty years of experience in the world of music and entertainment with his students.

Fabio Vitiello

Drummer

He started playing drums when he was only 8 years old, developing a career that has taken him to Italy’s most important stages, such as the Lucca Summer Festival and Sanremo, collaborating with artists like Giusy Ferreri, J-ax, Fedez and Biagio Antonacci. After attracting international attention with his “Video Drum Remixes” on YouTube, he published in 2019 the drumming method “Vertical Drumming” which became a bestseller on Amazon. Fabio runs Drum Factory, a drum school in Basilicata, Italy, and collaborates with the Golden Factory Records, contributing to more than 15 million global streams.

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Our mission is to offer quality services in the music industry; from certified and international didactics to top quality audio and video productions and recordings.

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Contacts

Via De’ Ginori, 15 – FirenzeEmail: info@florenceacademy.itTel: 055354220Eric Buffat – 3473491074Maurizio Tomberli – 3479307261

Opening hours:

10:00-13:00, 14:00-20:00
10:00-13:00, 14:00-20:00
10:00-13:00, 14:00-20:00
10:00-13:00, 14:00-20:00
10:00-13:00, 14:00-20:00
10:00-13:00