"The Maestro"

Welcome to "It's About Time"!

Join me today as I introduce you to Maestro Michele Gelemini!

Michele Gelmini is an Italian composer, entrepreneur, and chief executive based in Dubai.

He honed his craft studying Harmony and Counterpoint at the Conservatorio Luca Marenzio in Darfo Boario Terme, Italy, and went on to build an international career composing for broadcast media and film soundtracks across Europe, the United States, the Middle East, and Asia.

His accolades include the award for Best Original Score at the Feel the Reel International Film Festival (2018) for The Windsor Paradox. His portfolio spans the theme for MTV's MTV Up, the FashionTV track "Trillionaire"—which climbed to the Top 20 on the iTunes Italian Dance chart— years of compositions for the Mediaset music library, and, most recently, an original score for Abu Dhabi's Al Sadeem Observatory documentary Cosmic Odyssey, in which orchestral and electronic textures are woven together against vivid astronomical imagery.

In 2014, Gelmini founded MM Entertainment (Musica Maestro), a Dubai-based music consultancy providing piano and composition instruction, live entertainment for private and corporate events, and bespoke composition services. To date, the firm has delivered upwards of 70,000 sessions to some 1,800 clients throughout the United Arab Emirates.

Needless to say Michele has achieved a great deal since he venture forth from Italy so come join us because "It's About Time" to get started!

If you want to know more about Michele you can follow him on linkedin:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/musicamaestro/

SEO

Michele Gelmini — Composer, Entrepreneur & CEO in Dubai

Michele Gelmini is an acclaimed Italian composer, entrepreneur, and CEO based in Dubai, specialising in original music for film, broadcast media, and corporate events. With a career spanning Europe, the United States, the Middle East, and Asia, he is the founder of MM Entertainment (Musica Maestro), one of the UAE's leading music consultancies.

Musical Education & Background

Gelmini studied Harmony and Counterpoint at the Conservatorio Luca Marenzio in Darfo Boario Terme, Italy. His formal training laid the groundwork for a versatile composing career encompassing orchestral scoring, electronic music production, and commercial sound design for television, film, and branded media.

Film Scoring & Award-Winning Work

Gelmini received the Best Original Score award at the Feel the Reel International Film Festival in 2018 for The Windsor Paradox. More recently, he composed the original score for Abu Dhabi's Al Sadeem Observatory documentary Cosmic Odyssey, a project that blends orchestral and electronic music with immersive space imagery.

Television & Broadcast Compositions

His extensive portfolio includes the theme for MTV's MTV Up, the track "Trillionaire" for FashionTV — which reached the Top 20 on the iTunes Italian Dance chart — and years of original compositions for the Mediaset music library, one of Italy's largest broadcasting networks.

MM Entertainment — Dubai Music Consultancy

Founded in 2014, MM Entertainment (Musica Maestro) is a Dubai-based music consultancy offering:

• Piano and composition tuition
• Live entertainment for private and corporate events
• Bespoke composition services for media and brands

To date, the firm has delivered over 70,000 sessions to 1,800 clients across the UAE, establishing itself as a trusted name in the region's music and entertainment industry.

Follow the podcast on Instagram: 

@itsabouttimeiat

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

I want to become a composer for a living, you know? And as a 15 years old, I was expecting happiness and you know all the desperation. Oh my deal, my poor boy! My father wanted me to become a football player, uh my mom wanted me to become doctor, lawyer, god I you know, even man. Anything that a real a real job. I started to try to find what is the best place to compose music to get money out of it. What should I do to make this a living that is not just a freelancer that tries to walk out but it's gonna be recurring revenues? I just left my CD and I said uh uh it's just uh give it to Patrick, which I was uh use every time. And I left it there and five paid for the I worked seven years. So that's what I was doing. That was uh between basically I was paid to compose music for the television. I saw my music in the ads to 12-15 million people that most of the time I was the problem and not them.

SPEAKER_03 1:14

Hello everybody, and welcome once again to It's About Time. I'm your host, Chris, and today I have a very special guest for you. His name is Michele Gielmini, and he comes from Valcamonica, Italia. Michele, welcome and thank you for uh coming and joining me today.

SPEAKER_00 1:29

Thank you, Chris, very much for having me and inviting me to this beautiful podcast.

SPEAKER_03 1:34

So I haven't told everybody yet what you do, and uh and the reason I did it deliberately because I want for you to tell us your story. So I know that you are an accomplished musician, but not just that, you're also a composer. And above all of this, but this is my opinion, of course, and you're also an entrepreneur and a businessman. So you have been living in Dubai for the past uh 13 years, and we've known each other for 10. Yeah, correct. Correct. But before we get into all of that, tell me, Michele, how did your uh passion for music come from? Because you're also a very good soccer player. Really?

SPEAKER_00 2:16

Oh, yeah, I've seen you play soccer, man, and you're pretty good. Oh, thank you for that. So no, basically I started uh when I was eight years old, and uh it happened just by chance. And as I define myself as a music composer, more than a musician, actually. Yeah, so uh and it started all by chance with uh um sleepover to my uncle and auntie house uh in Camonica Valley, actually. And I was eight and I did this sleepover, and my cousins were all musicians. So they put me in front of a piano, and uh I started to learn my first songs, and uh I fell in love with the instrument. So I was like, Yeah, I want this at my home. And then my mom, of course, reminded me that we didn't have the money to buy it. So that's how it started. Also, by chance, I you know, um, I sometimes kids they are saying, you know, I saw my friend playing piano, I want also to try it, uh, and anything. And of course, my mom was worried in that time because she said, Are you going really to do this? Or is this like when you want to become an astronaut, when you want to do all this stuff as a kid, you know, kids um they start and finish interest in the lapse of weeks sometimes, you know? Yes, so yeah, so that's that's how it started. And uh my first uh thing was piano, and the second thing after it was to try to compose music um related to my feelings um at that age, eight, nine years old.

SPEAKER_03 3:55

So, wait a minute. So you started learning how to play the piano at eight.

SPEAKER_00 4:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 4:01

Did you take any professional education, schooling?

SPEAKER_00 4:05

So I started with a private piano lessons first in my town, uh, you know, in Camonica Valley, and uh with Domenico. So he was my first piano teacher. Oh, and uh this guy basically I did uh around a year classes, and then I prepared for going to the proper music school, which is the conservatory.

SPEAKER_03 4:24

That's you know where uh that one is hardcore, I know.

SPEAKER_00 4:27

You you 20x the yes, yes, the efforts, the knowledge, and everything. And so I did my exam and then I entered and imagine there. So I started as piano, as as an instrument to learn, and then after already a year, I was switched to composition because the director at the time saw that I had this predisposition of creating music and it was very basic. And I was the only kid to try to do those things. So he said, Have you tried the composition? I said, No, I know nothing about it. So he basically brought me to the class of composition, and there I went.

SPEAKER_03 5:06

Well, so so you were young, and and and at one point you decided that you know maybe this note will go better here. Is that how he realized it, or you started making your own music?

SPEAKER_00 5:17

So uh so the the process of composition, it's always taking choices. Okay, so this is a thing I learned after. Right? So at the beginning was simply like like I I play a wrong note on maybe a Mozart piece or what I was studying in a technical piece, and I said, Oh, I really like this note, you know, on a technical piece uh or a scale. Oh, I like this sound, and uh and I was trying to repeat it there with different patterns and stuff. So that's what I actually was doing, and uh, and I was trying, I remember to write it down, but I didn't have the knowledge or write it properly. Yeah, write the score, the music score. So that was the the thing that was missing in the beginning. That's pretty cool, man.

SPEAKER_03 6:00

So in in a in a sense, you were adjusting it up.

SPEAKER_00 6:03

Yes, exactly. Improvising it all. That's beautiful. Wow, at such a young age. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:10

Okay. So so from there, right, you you started uh learning the piano, and then you went to conservatory, and of course, you mastered whatever you were trying to learn at that point because you graduated from conservatory as uh sumacum laude, obviously.

SPEAKER_00 6:27

20 years old. So it it takes 10 years. So composition is a very tough um how you say, is a very tough subject. Uh it includes everything, like you have to learn all the instruments, you need to learn um why, uh, for example, in a technicism technicism, why does violin when he plays a chromatic scale is very difficult and on the piano is one of the easiest things to do. So you need to learn all the small things to be able to write, not only for the instruments you play, but also to the instruments that you don't know how to play.

SPEAKER_03 7:01

No. So in a sense, you need to learn everything.

SPEAKER_00 7:04

Yeah, about music. So when you go out from a composition uh, you know, subject and uh in conservatory, you know everything about music in terms of uh you know, a 360, you have a 360 degrees of the of the view of the of the of the music.

SPEAKER_03 7:22

Wow, man, that's that's uh fantastic. Okay, so you learned music and you graduated from conservatory school, and then what type what was your first uh um actually I want to know what was your first performance? Because they didn't keep you in the school forever, man. They had to unleash you out there.

SPEAKER_00 7:41

So the the real first uh I for you, yeah, yeah, for for me actually was um uh a recital, okay. Okay, so it was a recital in a church, it's a typical thing in our place, uh during Christmas. So I did that one, and uh I I I was I was a bit exaggerated because I I basically performed my own compositions, uh, and uh I always like to um to I'd say work with other students of the conservatory, so violinist, uh clarinetist, etc. And writing the music, even sometimes based on the people I know they would like to play with me, then just saying, Oh, I'm gonna write a clarinet flute uh piano composition or anything else. So uh I sometimes composed for specific uh instruments just because I knew that I can play with them, and uh that time I was quite a big thing. Um I think I was 18 or something, so that was uh day where I basically started to uh see the reaction from the people um of playing my own music.

SPEAKER_02 8:51

And did you like it?

SPEAKER_00 8:52

Oh, I enjoyed a lot. I mean, it was uh I was sick as hell, I was 39 fever, and then I got because of the you know uh of the tensions and the things, you know, my own music stress and uh and also it brought a lot of um jealousy, envious uh through the school because yes, I was acting like uh um I don't know how to say like I was I was really like full of energy, so I kissed the piano at the end of the concert and I did things that were not really academy stuff.

SPEAKER_02 9:25

It's okay, man.

SPEAKER_00 9:26

Yeah, it's fine, you know. Like that's beautiful, man. So so that that's what was happening, it was very fun. That that I really enjoyed, and uh yeah, that's uh that's how it happened.

SPEAKER_03 9:37

So this was you at uh 19, 18 years old.

SPEAKER_00 9:40

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:41

Very nice. I remember you showed me a couple of beautiful YouTube videos of some of your performances together with a violinist, yeah, and clarinet, yeah, flute, yeah, yes, and flute, yeah, correct. And they were they were stunning, man. I mean, I remember I show it to Xenia all the time, and it's just beautiful. I have them saved and bookmarked. Thank you. So you stayed you stayed in Italy until when?

SPEAKER_00 10:09

Till 27 years old.

SPEAKER_03 10:10

Okay, and uh what did you do while you were there?

SPEAKER_00 10:15

So the the thing that happened is that while I was growing up, so during my 14-15 years old, um, I was saying to my parents, you know, I I sat one day with them and I said, guys, I I want to become a composer for a living, you know. And as a 15 years old, I was expecting happiness and you know uh all the desperation. So oh my dear, my poor boy. Why don't you my father wanted me to become a football player? Uh my mom wanted me to become a doctor or lawyer, though.

SPEAKER_02 10:49

You know, they they used to taxi driver, even man. Anything that uh a real a real job, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 10:56

And then what I said is that okay, I I I got that, and uh also because in my family, as I told you, I had cousins performing and uh being musicians uh who graduated in guitar or cello, etc. Um, also they didn't have that much success in their own uh uh musical. There was this precedent, so you know, like everyone was like in the family, especially was concerned on that. And uh what I I actually did was already at 15, 16, I started to try to find what is the best place to compose music to get money out of it. Uh, what should I do to make this a living that is not just a freelancer that tries to walk out, but it's gonna be a recurring revenue. So, and that's how then I approached different people. Um, and I spent maybe sometimes because uh friends, new people, etc., I spent three, four hours at the phone with these people are people that compose songs for uh the biggest festival in Italy, like Sanremo. And so I asked them, like, uh, and and of course, when you ask them, uh, they are very happy to share. Uh, on the other side, they are like, oh, another composer that wants to try it out, and uh it will probably not work out. And I tried always to see how how to do, and until the day that at 20, I basically just put my CD with one-page CV, uh at the uh basically at MediaSet, which is the uh biggest uh national TV in Italy. Um, I just left my CD and I said uh uh please just uh give it to Paltrinieri, which was the producer at that time. And I left it there, and five days later they called me and uh we made a contract, and then I worked uh seven years there. So that's what I was doing. There was uh the dream basically. I was paid to compose music for the television. I saw my music in the ads seen by 12-15 million people, because was actually many of them in the peak uh of the time of the evening, you know, on the TV shows. So that was uh that was a great thing and uh great lesson of my life there because um I was quite lucky there. The um the environment was very, very clear. Uh no, you didn't have any shark inside the the company, and uh so meritocracy. You're good, you can keep forward, you're not good, we're not going to to renew your contract, or yeah. Exactly. So that that was quite a fair, and that was how was a very big help to to make me going forward, so yeah, that was the thing.

SPEAKER_03 13:41

Man, that's beautiful. I really like what you said. At one point, I looked to understand how could I make money, and and this is a point that I really like because it's something I have noticed in you, and and uh may people might think it's materialistic, but I see it as objective is you know you need to uh make money because uh otherwise you're gonna be just like the grasshopper playing music, enjoying life, and winter comes, and then you got nothing to do. Exactly, you know. So that right there, I think is something many artists forget because they they're like passionate, the passion, and the passionate. But you need to have an understanding that you gotta pay the bills, you you have to feed yourself somehow, and and this is really cool. And I'm gonna touch on this a little later, uh, because uh we need to still go through a couple of more years of years. Yeah, of course. So then, so then uh for after those seven years, how why did you decide to come to the UAE?

SPEAKER_00 14:43

So I was on LinkedIn and I received an offer from an artist agency in the UAE. And um, when I received that, I was like, should I try, should I not? You know, like the typical questions because I was happy there. I yeah, I didn't need to to to change. And also in the perspective of music, um, here there is not much in the UAE. Uh, especially at that time, there was really uh much less compared to to cultural into the music. So um today the things are much better, but 13 years ago was a bit less. And uh then you know, I spoke with the people in Italy that I were working for, and I said, Look, if what happens if I just go six months, I try out, and they said if you come back in six months, we you're going to continue to stay here, so no problem. It also I said no girlfriend, no problems of my parents or no family issues. Who's gonna stop me? Right, you know, like I can try no kids, no nothing, nothing, so I didn't have any responsibilities or you know, something that hooked me in Italy. I said, Let me try, maximum I will come back, you know. Like that would be the worst case scenario in case things go wrong. And then I came here and uh actually I became friend very quickly with a friend of mine called Michela, which is Michela. She's uh she's the one that actually helped me a lot at the beginning because as new culture, new language, uh, because in Italy we speak Italian, you know, and here it's English. So and these all new things, um, new uh type of mentality of the people. Of course, at the beginning was tough, uh, was tough to understand, to digest all of this. And uh and then she helped me a lot uh into understanding and uh and go through some tough times, especially at the beginning, that I faced. Um, and uh that's how basically things started. So in the afternoon I was teaching in a music school, and in the evenings I was performing in hotels. That's that's what I was doing in the beginning. And uh one thing to add, even when I was 16, 17, 18 years old, um, before being hired by uh a big company to compose music, uh, I was in the Saturdays and Sundays and in the festive days, I was always going to perform with a friend of mine uh to uh basically with Paola to perform into clubs and bars and stuff, always because it was a good gig for me. I enjoyed that and I was paid for that.

SPEAKER_03 17:20

That's fantastic, man.

SPEAKER_00 17:22

I know, like and and um you know recently I saw um uh Ennio Morricone that when uh uh actually he arranged very famous songs like Abronzatissima, he's the arranger of the song, and when he started to write music uh for movies, uh the whole uh composers and academy told him uh you sold yourself to the movies. So it's a thing that nowadays it's not anymore like that, but in the 60s was that. So yeah, so again, it's a question of choices also here, and I chose that.

SPEAKER_03 17:57

Any Morricone, man, is one of my loves. I I went to Dubai opera to see the the tribute done by his son. To this day, you know I talk about it all the time, and to this day, I it uh gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. It was gorgeous. But uh you touched up on tough times when you just arrived. Can I ask you what does it look like? And uh so how do you get through?

SPEAKER_00 18:26

Yeah, when you have a lot of um excitements for a new experience, sometimes you don't look at obvious things that happen that are in front of you, and you don't just want to look at them. Um, it can be something like uh my friend telling me, Oh Michele, don't trust this contract, there is no company stamp on it. And uh, because I was very excited on it, I said, Oh, come on, uh let's do it, let's do it, you know, and then suddenly the last day discovered that the contract is not valid, and then there is no job on that thing. So I was like, Why people should do something like that, you know, where present a paperwork and it's it's on on uh on a purpose, uh, missing something. I was and again, and that was uh one exactly practical thing that happened to me that um show how blind I was uh because of the excitement of doing that. And it's okay. The thing is that that I do in all those times is just to you know, wake up call. You get the wake-up call, I just restart again and then try to make it better even the next time. So uh I didn't give up. So this is the I I I continue to you know to push myself to make it.

SPEAKER_03 19:44

And you continue properly because when I met you, you already had your company set up. So I I didn't I didn't know you while you were playing for hotels and restaurants here in Dubai. I met you when you were already running your company, and I think you were running your company already for two years, maybe a little more three years, yes, correct. Two, three years. What why set up your own company?

SPEAKER_00 20:11

So I never seen myself to be an owner of a company or to have employees uh in my life. Um I thought, you know, what I enjoy is to write the music, and I'm gonna do that. And so what happened there is that the first month while I was teaching in the music school and performing, uh, I saw a big gap into piano lessons at home. So I I saw exactly in Dubai there was a huge, huge gap into uh, okay, there are many schools that provide uh piano lessons into the institutes, but I I tried myself to call some piano teachers at the time and say, okay, look, I live in JLT more than another area in Dubai. And most of the time was like, oh no, that area is too far from me, I will not cover it. So I saw that, you know, if there was some demand, I needed to cover it.

SPEAKER_01 21:06

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 21:07

So and and then with the music school, of course, I started to meet these parents and talk to the parents, and I discovered that some parents wanted to have the service at home, but there was no one providing it. So I said myself, okay, let me do one thing, let me quit this job and let me do it myself, you know. So let me open, do this investment, which actually I have to say, my brother also helped me out at the time on doing that. Your big brother, yes, my big brother.

SPEAKER_02 21:32

All right, for big bro.

SPEAKER_00 21:34

And then uh and then what happened is that I opened the at the time you you needed basically an LLC to just provide a piano lessons or even just uh you know a performance. So there was nothing freelancing like now that you have a lot. So you had to, you know, put quite serious money for the time for me. And I said, okay, let me let me do it. And uh and I started it and uh Uh the thing is that at the time I didn't know anything about marketing, about advertising, etc. You know, I just learned by doing it. So I just remember that Google AdWords at that time was costing me nothing like an euro, like four DRAMs per day. Uh, and I remember in four months I had already basically 26 clients with 51 um students of music that I was teaching, and you know, like so. And then I said, let me hire other people because I was eight hours a day, seven days a week, fully booked. So I said, Let me let me just hire you know qualified people because this was the other thing I saw that was missing a lot of qualified people on that thing.

SPEAKER_03 22:45

Very interesting. So then did you have a hard time finding the right people?

SPEAKER_00 22:49

Yes, the the it was not only hard, and today's harder than at the time, I have to say the pool decreased a lot of uh professional piano teachers here. The thing is that what I learned in the journey of 12 years having the company and uh and managing people is that most of the time I was the problem and not them. So, this is one of the things that you learn when you're on the field, as I want to say. Uh, because again, I didn't have any MBA, I didn't never study business, and uh so I I love to learn stuff, I love to read books about entrepreneurship and this stuff, and uh and one of the things that I learned by myself was uh you know to to understand how to manage better the people. And so I had to change myself to manage better people.

SPEAKER_03 23:43

This is fantastic, man. And yes, this is one of the qualities that that you inspire in me, the fact that you never stop learning. I have seen you mutate and evolve through through our friendship, through the time that we know each other, uh, going from your small business into what today is, I think, an example for anybody that would like to come to this country and set up any type of business, not just music, uh, the way you run it, the way you have it organized, uh the quality of the service that you provide. It's just uh phenomenal. And all of this, I have seen you learn because obviously you study music, and uh and I have seen you apply yourself to learning. You have really looked for the knowledge to better yourself, and this is inspirational, uh Michele. Uh it inspires me, it inspires my wife, and inspires all the people around you for sure. So this is this is beautiful, man. I'm so happy.

SPEAKER_00 24:44

Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 24:45

No, thank you, man. And then then and then after that, we met uh three you ran your company for three years, and uh by the time I met you, I remember uh that we talked about it, and we talked about your uh what you were doing, and um you were pissed off uh or or a little bit not really pissed off, but you got a little upset because your uh office lady, your admin, she was going back to Italy.

SPEAKER_00 25:14

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 25:15

So all of a sudden, the lady that was basically helping you manage your your PA.

SPEAKER_00 25:19

Yeah, the PA, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 25:21

Left you.

SPEAKER_00 25:21

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_03 25:22

And I know what it feels when your PA leaves you, man. It's like all of a sudden it's like, oh no, it's like installing a new, I don't know, calendar software or something. It's just doesn't work.

SPEAKER_00 25:34

A hundred percent, you know, like uh, and then uh I I follow a lot Elon Musk on those things where it's like most of the time you work to maximize the efficiency on things that should not exist already in the first place. So so you know that that's the thing that I learned also. So um yeah, so um I remember the time and uh came after other times where um you know I I had to change people or uh people, you know, because this basically this place where we are in the UAE, it's for most people a transition place. We we are exceptions, we are that we are here for many years. So um the the thing that I learned through the journey was exactly to make it better for everyone, and uh to learn always and to be open to any solution. And what I try to do now, because especially when I speak with friends in Italy, that they are in different fields, um, even musicians or composers, etc., is always um okay, you can see all the bad things happening, all the non-meritocracy systems that are anywhere in any field. At the end, you can't control those things. You should go through the things you can control. So I like always to give them some energy to continue to do what they are good at. Um, even if you're not good into the administrational side, or and so you you want to focus on your composing, for example, or on your teaching, whatever, um just to find the joy that gives you to do that thing. Because one of the answers that let me understood my my future was if today I have 10 billion dollars in my my bank account, what would I continue to do? And were two things write music and teach music or composition to the kids. So I know that that's the thing I will do at 70. So, you know, because I I I do it doesn't matter what, you know. So I really enjoy to see the growing, you know, like I I enjoy to see that one small advice can help someone to um basically save three months of trial and error on something. So that's that's what makes me feel happy. So that when I understood that, I said, okay, good. Now I'm gonna go everything to have this, you know.

SPEAKER_03 28:06

So yeah, and uh I know you're very passionate about your students. Uh I remember uh during COVID, you live streamed, no, during COVID, it was you live streamed uh your concert.

SPEAKER_00 28:19

Yeah, correct.

SPEAKER_03 28:20

And I was so happy to be able to see it, and uh it was amazing. And uh and I see all these kids walking on stage playing the piano, and the idea that they're there knowing what they know, and with the ability to perform in front of their parents, but as well as strangers, because there's many other parents in there that they don't know, it's thanks to you and your team. And this is beautiful, man. It's uh beautiful for these kids. And speaking of your students, um, can you tell me some of the stories that you had with your students? Some uh success stories, or maybe some unhappy stories? I don't know. It's uh up to you.

SPEAKER_00 29:00

So uh this one I think can be very um very good to share. Uh so um there is uh this family where father, mother, and uh two kids plus the uncle play all all plays very well piano. Every one of them plays really well, and they have one kid that you know is not struggling, but when I met uh this kid, I saw that he felt like, oh, everyone here is good to play and I'm not gonna make it. And the work I did in just the the time of two years, um, it was amazing. And even the mom nowadays she says to me, you know, like improved incredibly, is just because I gave him just the energy to fight this conviction that he has. So he he thought to be like that, but I could see that he could do much better than that. Uh, he could write his own music, he could do a lot of stuff. And what happened is that when I start to work on that, results came. Of course, something is not that doesn't come in three weeks, it takes it takes years to do it. And what happened is that now, so he's at the same level of everyone else, you know.

SPEAKER_03 30:18

Like are you sure he's not a little better?

SPEAKER_00 30:20

Yeah, much better.

SPEAKER_03 30:23

Very nice, maestro. He's very good. That's beautiful. And I remember one day we were having uh dinner, I believe, and you were so excited because one of your students got accepted to Juilliard.

SPEAKER_00 30:36

Oh, yeah, that's fun.

SPEAKER_03 30:37

Yeah, that's um sorry I'm mentioning it, but I just remember your excitement when you were telling me her story.

SPEAKER_02 30:43

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:44

And how happy and proud you were that thanks to you know, this the lessons and the schooling that you gave to this lady, she managed to pass all the exams and get accepted to Juilliard.

SPEAKER_00 30:54

Yeah, so the the thing is is this. So, what I share always, and because we are aware that uh 99% of the kids who are per playing today will not become professional pianists or professional composers, and it's okay because everyone takes their own uh thing. The only thing is that there are many researches now of 40-50 years uh where they shows that doctors perform much better if they played at least for three years an instrument. So there are many research that can be found anywhere related to this. So what happened there, and what I always encourage is like, for example, um there are curriculum of piano, okay, uh, which are um basically English curriculums, and those ones give if the kids do the exams to perform those music and they follow the rules on those ones, you basically get credits for universities, and doesn't have to be an university of music, like as you mentioned, Julius. Uh, you know, like can be any university, even medical university, for example. So wow, yeah, exactly. So it gave some credits. So that's the thing. So we had another student that got uh accepted in eight Ivy Leagues universities, and two of them was because of her grade eight, you know, exam of piano, because it gave her enough credits to join that. So that's the thing that I like to share, and that's why uh when I meet families that they want their kid to play piano or to learn music, it's things I I share because at least they know. Then we know that probably they will not do it, or maybe after three years they will not play anymore. Maybe they will like to do something else, interest change during teenaging. So, what I'm saying is uh I always like to share those informations, which even a non-musician or a non-composer can understand and takes decisions on that, you know, for the future of the kids. Of course.

SPEAKER_03 33:01

So, yeah, that's those are things that I think music schools should more share with their what influence have you seen the parents play on the musical education and interest in music of the kids?

SPEAKER_00 33:16

Uh I would say 100%. 100% yes, because uh who is the mom, the the typical person who calls me for uh piano lessons or call musica maestro, which is my company, uh are moms that played already piano when they were kids, and now they and they regretted to have stopped it, and now they don't want their kids to have the same experience, the same regret. Exactly. So, you know that so that's the main thing. So, and this is a big thing. So, usually parents who come with this intent, the kids actually are lasting longer, like seven or eight years. They do lessons and they play. Um, when you have parents that are in the same situation and just push, that's the where the kid steps back and will not it will not be willing. And the problem is that they don't only reject piano, they will reject music in general.

SPEAKER_03 34:20

Okay. That's very sad. Yeah, and but it is where it is, man. Yeah, of course, I understand. I remember COVID time, you had to reinvent yourself again, your company had to evolve once again and shed a new pair of wings uh from going door to door like you are, to changing to an online system. Could you tell me a little bit about how the process came to be?

SPEAKER_00 34:45

Yeah, so um I knew already and um um I had experiences in following different podcasts of music, etc., um, that already online lessons were running, you know, in the world, Australia, more than other places. And so when I thought that the situation would go worse, I said, okay, let me do one thing. Um, I I basically did the meeting with all my team, with all my teachers in House of Pianas, and we took different rooms and we tested different softwares. This was, I think, two, three days before they would do the, you know, um, they were closing everywhere. Yeah, you know, like so the quarantining. Exactly, all the things. And so what I did was let's find the best software, the easiest software to do. And then when they will do, when it stop us to go to the homes, let's do one thing. Let's simply um not ask them if they want to do online, let's just do it, you know. So it was not a question, it was we will continue online. That's it. So this was and I prepare the emails and the messages to to be sent to the to the families, and that's what uh what basically I did. And that retained at least 30% of the of the students, which you know, for a company, you know, um in COVID times specifically, so 220 families of students at the same time. So it was quite a big uh yes, big chunk. And and you know, like we lost 70% in the first week and uh absolutely reasonable reasons, you know, like uh you know, parents were telling me um I need to provide food for my kids first, and then you know, all these activities which are extra ones, like for example, piano lessons, we should wait to you know to do them uh or or to or to start them back, which I understood uh 100% at the time. And the funny thing that happened after that was that many families when they left and they went to back to live in Switzerland, Italy, Austria, USA, they continued online actually instead of finding a piano teacher there. So this is fantastic, and it lasted for many years, like uh uh student now, it's already four years online. So, you know, like so it's uh it's amazing how because especially uh someone says how can you do that? I can say in a technical reason, it's much easier to continue online if you already have the basics of positions of the hand and the basic technicals of the hands and and the and the fingers, the movements, etc. If you have that, then it's much easier to start online. If you start with a really small kid that didn't have any much lessons, it's much harder to do, but it's still it. We have one student that now is with us for uh seven, eight years. Uh Jawaher, her name is, and for example, in her case, she started during pandemic. Wow, and uh she had to do an online lesson, and uh so you know the mom was helping a lot, and uh so that's the thing, and that's where she's one of the few that, for example, can reach a level of you know becoming a professional pianist one day.

SPEAKER_03 38:09

That's fantastic.

SPEAKER_00 38:10

So, and it started uh in that situation, and that's why I always like to find the positive that you can control on those things because wrong things happen, uh mistakes happen during that. Uh, the thing that I'm happy is that we gave people, like in this case, moms and fathers, um, a view of how things could be uh you know still going on even during those times.

SPEAKER_03 38:40

So we evolved the company once again, you had to grow once again, and then obviously COVID finished, the world became sane again somehow, and uh and now I find myself seeing you looking at the stars.

SPEAKER_00 38:57

Yeah, correct.

SPEAKER_03 38:58

And for some reason I discovered that you're very passionate about astrology, astronomy, astronomy, sorry, no, it's okay, it's yes, astronomy because that's the science. Yes, yes, astronomy, and um tell me a little bit about that. How this passion connected here in the Emirates.

SPEAKER_00 39:19

So uh just a small note when I was kid or teenager, uh I always had this passion for uh understanding the constellations and the stars and stuff, and uh I I was always having in my pocket the the um the paper that you open and you can see the whole La map astral. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 39:42

The astral map.

SPEAKER_00 39:44

Yes, and so and and I remember sometimes when I was because to me going to clubs with my friends was very boring. So I was going out of the club and I was going to the because on the behind there was a lot of darkness, so where you can see, and you know, from northern Italy, especially during winter, you see everything. So I was reading it, but of course that was quite a weird thing to do at the time.

SPEAKER_03 40:07

Not at all, man.

SPEAKER_00 40:08

The thing is that I I I enjoy that, and so you know, I I I really like everything related to space and so on. And I always have trained to write something, you know, on the space side, and then it came an opportunity uh with Al-Saddim astronomy in Abu Dhabi. So basically they had these images taken from Abu Dhabi, from Al-Saddim observatory, and they saved these images and videos that they took from from there. And um one day I said, Why why there is no music here? And because you have these wonderful images and uh and nothing, and from there it started a project that you created an opportunity for yourself, yes, exactly. Yeah, this is fantastic. I didn't think about it. Uh when I saw it, I said, uh, why there is no music here? Because it was amazing. The images, the pictures, the quality, it was incredible. And from here, also, you know. So, and and uh yeah, exactly. I created the opportunity on myself. The thing is that what happened uh from that moment, it what ended up actually is that I traveled to Italy to uh perform basically to because I wrote the music and we had the best musician in Italy in terms of some musicians from La Scala of Milano, uh from the orchestra and stuff. And uh actually this the sound designer is is uh named Coliva. Coliva is the guy who uh is the sound designer of the muse. So, you know, like I wanted to have the best to get the best results ever for that.

SPEAKER_03 41:45

And you organized everything yourself, coordinated and managed everything.

SPEAKER_00 41:49

Yeah, exactly. Me and Julia, I have to say, Giulio Strumando, who's my friend, and uh he's uh an arranger, great arranger in Italy, and so we we basically because I couldn't do it myself all, so we did it together. So, you know, like he was following a part of the project, and I was following the composition was full mine, uh, but the orchestration and the stuff, so it was followed by together, and that was amazing because the you know, remembering the faces of these people that they know not much about music and seeing how it does, how it happens, and then how it evolves, because composing is taking choices, so you write it, you see what they want, because also you have to find a compromise between your creativity and what they're actually looking for, because you can't give this a different um result based on what they they perceive. Um, so you know, you always have to find this compromise, and I think there um I let the creativity go for go full, and then having the opportunity to work with really those are the real musicians, the real artists, you know, in the field uh playing the things I wrote and making it real in life. So that was wonderful project that uh you know it uh it went and um amazing. I mean, it's you know it's a joy.

SPEAKER_03 43:18

I haven't been to the observatory yet, but it's something that we gotta do because I need to listen to this. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And uh and I know you're making some vinyls out of it.

SPEAKER_00 43:29

Yes, exactly. So it's uh because it came out that nice that the idea was also to to create the vinyl, and uh, and there are vinyls of that, so and um it's amazing.

SPEAKER_03 43:41

Hopefully, he'll get me one with hope, with hope. One one for a gift. That would be amazing. So okay, man. So once again, uh you you did something amazing. Now your name's written on the stars.

SPEAKER_00 43:55

Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 43:56

That's great, man.

SPEAKER_00 43:56

Yeah, no, it's uh and and one thing that I want to add very Example um in 2018 I did a similar project but it was a short movie. Um it was um um Cine Production, the company, and uh uh in Hong Kong. And this movie, for example, I wrote the music, so you know, for the soundtrack, and the tough part of that project, what was it, was that no actor was talking during the short movie. So you have six minutes of only people silent, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 44:33

Charles Javelin style.

SPEAKER_00 44:34

Not really, because you have sounds, but there was no talk. So the whole story is uh, you know, by main character and other characters, and you know, like so you have the full thing. Um, the winds or paradox is the name. And uh, for example, in that one, I remember writing, trying to do the orchestra to to try to feel this feeling. And and that time the the director, Jason Joseph, he told me, like he gave me a file with all the feelings that he wanted, the music represents. As usually in the movies, you have basically um the talk removes a lot of the percentage of importance of music, but when you don't have talk, you have image, which is the most important, and then music, and that's it. And that time what happened is that he he wrote me all the feelings he he felt about uh in these seconds. I want something that is uh melancholy. Uh during this part I want something that is anger. So and I have to translate those feelings into technicals of music.

SPEAKER_01 45:37

Nice.

SPEAKER_00 45:38

And I wrote with orchestra, I tried at the end, I basically did the full soundtrack in piano only, yeah, piano only. And this comes from learning that removing most of the time is adding. So this is one thing that I learned even when I was studying composition, you know, most of the time, even if you analyze Giuseppe Verdi or you know, something, they do very simple things and they're very effective. So I did that, and actually I won uh the best original school award in London for this uh international film festival. So by removing the orchestra and putting just the piano, but I felt like I when I finished that, I felt I did something that you knew it.

SPEAKER_02 46:25

Yeah, you felt it inside. It was good, it was good. It was good.

SPEAKER_00 46:29

I felt like I did something good. Oh man, very nice. That's that's even an example where removing noise helped to to make it. If I would have kept the the version with the orchestra, I'm probably would not be have been so effective.

SPEAKER_03 46:44

The the the result, you know, you speak about noise now, and I want to flip the topic a little bit, particularly to talk about one of your hidden passions. And uh you are a professional competitor in flippers, yeah, pinballs.

SPEAKER_00 47:03

And pinballs.

SPEAKER_03 47:04

Yeah, correct. So tell me how you got into that, man, because uh I know we had the serious conversation, we talked about the business, and of course, music is also another passion of yours, and particularly I would like to say education, because I see you vibrate every time you teach the kids. But then I discovered recently that you went to Italy for a tournament, and then from there I'm like, you play pinball professionally.

SPEAKER_00 47:31

Yes, so well, uh actually, we we shouldn't say professional in terms of the fact that you know there is no, it's not a paid job that okay, but you have a ranking worldwide, yeah. There is a ranking, and I mean that, yes. Uh, so uh again, there was a part of my life where uh you want to find what really makes you happy or joy, and what I thought at the time was um what I was loving doing as a kid, because when you're a kid, especially below eight years old, you don't have many filters. You you just do stuff. Even you see this in piano lessons when you have a student five, four, five, six, seven years old, whatever you give them to play, they will play. When it starts eight, nine, ten, they start, I don't like this, I don't want that. So they start to build filter. So I said to myself, what did I enjoy to do a lot? And I remember that I was spending a lot of time and a lot of money with my mom in going across so across our house, there was a bar that had pinballs. 200 lire. 200. 200 lira, and uh you know, 500 liras after. And so I was putting the coin and playing pinball and putting the coin and playing pinball. I really I was I was really obsession about that, the pinball. And um, so what happened after that is that after a while, I said, Oh, I loved to do that when I was a kid, I should get it back, and then I started to get it back, and uh and basically I discovered that there are uh tournaments and stuff, and I said, Oh, let me try just go. So uh here in UAE, there is one place called Tilt that is where I go usually to do tournaments. Um, the guy David, he's organizing it uh every every month, usually a tournament. I'm quite happy because I won five tournaments in a row.

SPEAKER_02 49:23

They don't want you anymore there. Exactly. I should miss the let the other ones win a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 49:29

I shouldn't miss that one. The most uh and and and uh and the good thing is that I went also to Austria to play some tournaments in Vienna and uh in Bologna, in Italy. And what I like of the environment is that it's very, very uh genuine people because are just real passionate. A lot of nerds, people, like you can see a lot of uh of nerds there.

SPEAKER_03 49:53

As if we're not nerds, man.

SPEAKER_00 49:55

No, we are the only thing is that you you see really a high level there. Uh the only thing is that these are all genuine people and uh very friendly, and uh and it's nice to meet new people and uh and find out new new things, you know. So um I I I enjoyed a lot and I I loved also the results I got because reaching ninth over 80, uh, you know, in in Vienna, where you have some Europeans, I would was uh was very very good achievement in both of the of the tournaments. So I I like I enjoy it. And the only reason I go is because while I'm playing pinball, I don't think anything else. I don't think work, I don't think responsibilities, I don't think stuff. So I really see that as something that makes me really brings me to another world where I can I can enjoy.

SPEAKER_03 50:45

Where you can become a kid again.

SPEAKER_00 50:47

Well, I can become a kid again.

SPEAKER_03 50:48

This is a good that's why I penned miniatures, man. It brings me back to that. So Michele, I I wanna I wanna thank you first of all for taking the time. I know you're very busy because I see you once every six months, maybe. So I know you're very busy, and uh aside from thanking you for taking the time to be here, I also want to tell you that it's uh it has been a blessing for me to have you in my life. Um you know my life and you know my story a little bit, but from the moment I met you and you entered into it, you brought music back again. And music has been something that I've always loved since I'm a little kid. And okay, I don't play the piano. Doesn't matter. Your presence in everything that we have ever done has turned into a musical parade between our friends playing, uh somebody singing. Um we have uh Andrea that used to play with us as well, and uh and it it has it has brought so much joy that those memories I don't think will ever disappear. And not only that, the the inspiration to continue to learn music. I I'm I learned how to play the banjo, and uh I'm learning how to play the guitar now as well as the clarinet on the saxophone. So I know there uh it takes time, but one of the things I'm doing the most right now is singing, and it's all thanks to you. You provided me as well as a vocal for a vocal coach uh at one point, and she started me uh onto the right path, and from there I took over myself. But um, I want to thank you for bringing music back into my life. Uh music, melody, and and the joy of it.

SPEAKER_00 52:32

It it's actually was it was fun, for example. Uh, and also you I we have to say that you have a lot of instruments at home uh from everywhere in the world. So uh that that helps. And so, you know, like when we gathered, I remember one time we gathered, we played together. Um, there was someone playing accordion, and uh, I was playing the piano and then uh hampan and uh oh yeah, man, that was crazy banjo with the banjo, so we with and the violin and the accordion, the girl like this with the 20 kilo accordion on.

SPEAKER_03 53:05

Yes, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 53:06

So that's uh that I mean that that's amazing. How you know, like, and that's very like like yeah, what we were doing at your home. I mean, it's amazing, unbelievable, because also having the instrument helps, and you know, like it creates uh a wonderful vibe, you know, on between the people because it does you communicate through a language that is common international and worldwide.

SPEAKER_03 53:30

So correct. So, Michele, thank you so much again for for joining me and being here today. It's really a pleasure to have you and to see you again.

SPEAKER_00 53:39

Thank you very much, Chris. It was really a pleasure talking with you here. Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_03 53:43

So, everybody, make sure you go check out Musica Maestro and meet Maestro Michele.