GABRIELE DAMIANI

ACCOMPANIST

 

Gabriele (Gabs) Damiani, accompanist of the Wantage Choral Society since September 2025, is an accomplished all-round musician whose work spans conducting, organ, as well as piano performance. Equally at home directing ensembles, performing as a soloist, or accompanying singers and instrumentalists, he combines technical command with a deep musical sensitivity. An accredited Royal College of Organists teacher and ARCO prize-winner, Gabs specialises in Baroque repertoire, continuo playing, and performance practice, while maintaining an active schedule as organist, pianist, accompanist, and conductor across the UK and internationally. He is also co-founder of the Accademia Organistica in Trieste, promoting excellence in organ study and performance in Italy.

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Before establishing his current portfolio, Gabs served as Director of Music at Our Lady’s, Abingdon (OLA), where he led a team of fifteen Visiting Music Teachers and oversaw the school’s full academic and practical music programme. His earlier posts include Chapel Organist and Music Teacher at St Edward’s, Oxford, and organ scholarships at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, and Westminster Cathedral.

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Educated at the Verdi Conservatoire in Turin and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, he studied with Anne Marsden Thomas and attended masterclasses with P. Hurford, A. Marcon, L. Lohmann, and J. van Oortmerssen. His training included extensive work in counterpoint, conducting, basso continuo, and accompaniment — foundations that continue to inform his broad and versatile approach to music-making.