Ivan Calestani

He graduated in 1995 with honors and praise at Parma Conservatory under the teaching of Leonardo Doss, then he studied with S. Azzolini, K. Thunemann, D. Damian, M. Turkovic. Ivan obtained the Diploma of Merit at the Academi Chigiana of Siena in 1995.

He collaborated with the Orchestra Filarmonica Toscanini (conductor L. Maazel) from 2002 to 2004, with the orchestra A. Toscanini in Parma, Haydn Orchestra, Orchestra of San Remo, Pomeriggi Musicali, Verdi Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica del Friuli Venezia Giulia, Teatro Regio di Parma, Italian Classical Octet, Divertimento Ensemble and Junge Österreichische Philharmonie. From 2004 to 2011 he held permanently the role of second bassoon and contrabassoon in the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari and deputy principal bassoon.

Versatile instrumentalist, from 1995 to 2004 he collaborated in various plays, both as a musician and as a music director. Together with the actress Maddalena Crippa, he has worked in all the most important theaters of Italy and in 2002, invited by Luciano Berio, they inaugurated the new Parco della Musica in Rome. Since 2002 he has been regularly working as a guest with the Orchestra of Italian Switzerland, and currently, in Austria, he works with the Radio Symphonieorchester Wien, the Tonküstler Niederösterreich, the Wiener Koncertverein, the Haydn Akademie, the Grosse Recreation Graz and Camerata Salzburg.

He is extremely devoted in early music with old instruments (baroque and classic bassoon) and is currently studying with Alberto Grazzi and Sergio Azzolini. In addition to the Anemos quintet, he has recently worked with the the Ensemble Zefiro, Ensemble Matheus, Accademia Bizzantina, the Baroque Orchestra “Harmony of Nations”, with the Ensemble Claudiana (director Luca Pianca), with the Ensemble Affinità and in June 2011 he performed at the festival of Rottweil (Germany) with Sergi Azzolini. He currently lives in Vienna and works as a freelancer. During the last years, he has also been concentrating his activity on the construction and sale of reeds for bassoon, contrabassoon, baroque bassoon and classical bassoon with great feedback of musicians from all over the world.