Protto Where Italian songwriting meets chamber music. Piano, voice, cello, clarinet

We need a stage or performance area of at least 4 × 3 metres, two armless chairs, two music stands and a power socket near the stage. For events within driving distance we bring our own digital stage piano. When we travel by plane or train, we ask the venue to provide a tuned acoustic piano or an 88 weighted-key digital stage piano with stand and sustain pedal. We need about two to three hours for setup and soundcheck.

We'd like to know the size of the room and expected audience, which piano is available (acoustic or digital) and, if acoustic, when it was last tuned, the stage area, load-in access and parking, and the timing of the event. Please also let us know about any sound limiter or noise restrictions, and whether the event is indoors or outdoors.

For intimate rooms we can perform fully acoustically. For larger spaces we rely on the venue's PA system and sound engineer (vocal, cello, clarinet and piano microphones). We don't provide lighting; a simple warm stage light is all we need.

Yes, we're happy to play background music before, after and between our sets. We connect our own device to the venue's sound system and can play a curated playlist that suits the elegant, acoustic mood of the concert, or one chosen by the client.

Cello and clarinet use small clip-on condenser microphones (DPA 4099, phantom power), so the musicians can move freely without stands in front of them. Vocals use a condenser microphone on a boom stand. Our digital stage piano goes into the desk through two DI boxes (left and right); with an acoustic piano, miking is left to the sound engineer. We need three separate monitor mixes: piano/vocals, cello and clarinet.

A quiet room to change and warm up is appreciated, along with water on stage. For events far from home we may ask for a meal and accommodation; we'll agree the details when booking.

As PROTTO, the highlights have been festivals such as Borgate dal Vivo, concerts for Unione Musicale with Fondazione OMI in Turin, and an event at Teatro Brancaccio in Rome, supported by the international pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, where I recited one of my own poems and performed my piano compositions. As a pianist, I've played at private events at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo and at the Auditorium Giovanni Agnelli in Turin, as resident pianist of a symphony orchestra alongside Andrea Bocelli. I've also toured festivals as keyboardist for the Italian singer-songwriter Anna Castiglia. Playing on those stages is something you never forget.

We love any event where people really listen: theatres, concert series, festivals and elegant private events. Our music shines in intimate settings, where the audience can catch every word, every silence and every smile.

My path has never been a straight line. I trained as a classical pianist at the conservatory while earning a degree in mathematics, and for several years I worked as a mathematician in credit risk. Music never stopped, though: I started writing songs and performing live, and eventually music became my full-time life. Since then I've released three EPs and three singles, plus an EP of chamber songwriting, and a new EP is on its way. Today I work as a songwriter, composer, arranger, pianist and poet, with two published poetry collections, and I also teach music, bringing maths and music together in schools. Everything I do comes from that mix, and PROTTO is where it all meets on stage.

My roots are in experimental, independent Italian songwriting blended with classical music, but my influences are wide: The Beatles, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Frank Zappa and Blur, along with punk, blues, jazz and electronic music, a passion that comes from my mathematical side. If I had to pick one favourite, it would be Frank Zappa, for his fearless way of mixing genres. And the greatest song of all time? "A Day in the Life" by The Beatles: a pop song that turns into an orchestral experiment, exactly the kind of contamination I love.

We arrive two to three hours before the performance to set up and soundcheck. We play a single continuous set of 60 to 75 minutes, designed as one journey from beginning to end.

Yes, we're happy to play outdoors, but we ask for a covered and shaded area that protects the instruments from sun, rain and wind, a flat level surface and a power supply close to the stage. Cello and clarinet are sensitive to temperature and humidity, so evening performances work best in summer.

We perform our own programme, built as a complete show: original songs, instrumental compositions and our chamber arrangements of great classics. We don't take song requests, so the concert keeps its shape and identity.

As a journey they didn't expect. Our concerts balance irony and poetry, so the audience moves from tears to laughter, from deep emotion to a smile, often within the same song. People tell us they came for a concert and left having lived an experience. The lyrics are in Italian, but we can provide translated texts as a printed programme, so every listener can follow the stories.

Yes. Besides the Chamber Trio, I perform solo with piano and voice, ideal for smaller rooms, private events or tighter budgets. The spirit of the show stays the same: songs, irony and poetry.

Yes. We're based in Turin, Italy, and perform across Italy and Europe. Within driving distance we bring our own stage piano; when we travel by plane or train we ask the venue to provide one.

Our programme combines three elements: original songs in Italian, entirely instrumental pieces I composed for the trio, and our own chamber arrangements of great classics. Henry Mancini's "Baby Elephant Walk" is played in full. Elsewhere, famous themes appear as intros or playful quotations woven into our songs: Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue", Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker", Grieg's "Anitra's Dance", Mozart's "Turkish March", Bach's "Badinerie" and Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring". It's a varied journey that works for every audience, whether or not they speak Italian.

Absolutely. The music speaks first: piano, cello and clarinet carry the emotion of every song. We can also provide translated lyrics as a printed programme, so the audience can follow the stories, and between songs I introduce them in English.