Damiano
Cottalasso

Damiano Cottalasso began his music studies at the age of 8. He studied violin at the Genoa Conservatory of Music “Niccolò Paganini,” where he earned his master’s degree in 1988 with full marks and praise.

He participated in masterclasses with renowned violinists, including Franco Gulli (a teacher at Indianapolis), Regis Pasquier, Pierre Amoyal at the High School of Music in Saluzzo (Italy), and Berl Senofsky at the Peabody Institute of Baltimore (USA). Cottalasso won several violin competitions at a young age, followed by an orchestral competition in Genoa, Turin, and at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, where he performed in opera, ballet, and symphonic concerts with world-renowned conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Daniel Barenboim, Claudio Abbado, Zubin Mehta, Valerij Gergiev, Georges Prêtre, Myung-whun Chung, among others. He also performs chamber music with different groups, including the Concertmaster of the La Scala Orchestra.

In 2008, he joined the Managing Board of the Filarmonica della Scala, and in 2017, was appointed as the Artistic Coordinator of the institution. He collaborates with international conductors, including Riccardo Chailly, the Principal Conductor at Teatro alla Scala in Milan. In 2020, he became the Vice President of the Scala Philharmonic Orchestra, where he has since worked on concert seasons at the Scala Theater, as well as charity events, marketing concerts, and tours in Europe and worldwide.