Teacher
Francesco Bongiorno
Piano and Drum lessons are given by Francesco, a professional musician, composer and pedagogue who has been certified and trained in the past years in Amsterdam, Rome and Palermo.
He has been regularly teaching piano and drums since 2006 and has collected more then 5000 hours of piano/drum courses for about a hundred students each with a different profile: ages 5 to 60, nationality, music style (pop, rock, jazz, afro etc…) and from beginners to professional level.
Francesco has been coaching some of his students for Conservatory entrance exam as well as for music competitions.
He performs regularly with different projects in and outside of Europe. His projects include: Levi Silvanie project, Ahaddaf Quartet, Taberna Mylaensis, and Lenny Altgenug trio.
In the past years Francesco has had the great opportunity to play in venues and festivals such as: Bimhuis, Concertgebouw, Tropentheater, Muziekgebouw aan het IJ (Amsterdam), Caribbean Sea Jazz Festival (Aruba), 15th International Oud Festival (Jerusalem), Jeonju Int’l SORI festival (South Korea), Visa for music (Rabat) and many more.
Francesco has recorded five albums as a drummer/percussionist: in 2003 with Crianza: “A truvatura,” in 2009 with Luciano Maio e Orchestra: “Sciuscia lu ventu”, in 2014 with Lennart Altgenug trio: "Memory Lane", in 2015 with Taberna Mylaensis: “Semu tutti Emigranti” and in 2016 with Ahaddaf quartet: “Seasons”.
Francesco studied Classical piano for ten years at the Palermo Conservatory “V. Bellini”.
From the age of 13 he took part in five National piano competitions winning the first price in all of them and obtaining 3 scholarships which allowed him to study for two years in Rome with the professor Giuseppe La Licata (piano teacher at the Rome conservatory) and with Bruno Canino.
In 2014 as a composer Francesco scored and produced the music for a short movie entitled "U Juornu Avanti" broadcast on Italian national television, in 2018 the music for the movie "Le Stelle non hanno Padroni" and in 2019 he produced the music for another Italian movie "Famosa" directed by Alessandra Mortelliti (granddaughter of one of Italy’s most famous writers, Andrea Camilleri).
He actively participated in the following Master classes: Kurt Rosewinkel, Branford Marsalis, John Riley, Jeff Ballard, Joey Calderazzo, Ari Hoenig, Oracio “El Negro” Hernandez, Giovanni Hidalgo, Miguel Zenon, Eric Harland, Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier, Peter Erskine, John Clayton and more.
What the students say:
Daan:
"Ik zit nu al anderhalf jaar op drumles bij Francesco Bongiorno, en ik voel nog steeds hetzelfde enthousiasme om te leren als toen ik begon. Ik speel ook andere instrumenten en heb vaak op les gezeten, maar ik geef altijd op na ongeveer 6 maanden door dipjes in motivatie. Niet bij Francesco, en dat gaat ook niet gebeuren! Hij maakt me elke keer weer enthousiast en ik ga altijd met een grijns naar huis.
Muziek maken staat centraal, dus niet alleen droge oefeningen. Francesco leert je de techniek die je nodig heb om vervolgens nummers te kunnen spelen en te kunnen improviseren. Ik heb altijd het gevoel dat ik vooruit ga als muzikant, en niet alleen de technische beheersing van drummen leer.
Hij is vriendelijk, flexibel en maakt er altijd wat leuks van. Hij staat altijd open voor eigen inbreng als je graag iets wil leren (daar vraagt hij ook naar). Hij spreekt overigens dik prima Engels en Nederlands.
10/10"
Gratia:
"Na jaren niet meer op les te hebben gezeten begon ik vorig jaar november met opnieuw met het volgen van lessen. Francesco hielp mij met stukken waar ik zelf op vast gelopen was. Ik kreeg mijn enthousiasme weer terug en ging snel vooruit. Francesco weet leuke nieuwe stukken aan te raden maar laat ook zeker ruimte vrij om zelf te kiezen. De lessen zijn gezellig. Hij weet alles behapbaar te maken. Kortom, ik heb dit jaar veel geleerd en kan hem iedereen aanraden."
Ganesh:
"An enthusiastic Drums teacher in Amsterdam:
I have been taught by Francesco for some time now. It is a great pleasure learning from him. He is an enthusiastic, smiling, patient, and very interesting personality. As much as i could spend time with him learning drums, i could spend time with him discussing music or other topics as well.
He plays for various genre of bands and could easily teach different styles of music you want to learn. He could also customize the classes for all levels of skill you possess and provides exercises accordingly. It has been an enjoyable session with him everytime.
And he is handy teaching both in English and Dutch. Highly recommended!!"
Ewan:
"I recently picked up the piano again after more than 30 years without lessons. I was searching for somebody that could help me correct any basic technique problems, improve my musical theory, and help get me playing along to a wide range of songs that I like, from pop/rock, blues to classical.
Francesco has been amazing in creating really motivating, personalised lessons that have not only greatly improved my playing, but have done so in a super energetic and fun way that has made learning a delight, not a chore.
An incredibly talented, professional (and very patient!) guy, If you're looking for piano lessons in Amsterdam (in English or Dutch), then look no further!"
Anouk:
"Na 15 jaar niet meer te hebben gespeeld wilde ik het piano spelen weer oppakken. Nu heb ik een jaar les bij Francesco. Hij motiveert mij enorm. Ik vertrek altijd met plezier. We spelen muziek die ik leuk vind, zowel klassiek als popmuziek. Die variatie vind ik fijn en het houd mij scherp. Francesco begeleidt mij goed, zeker ook op technisch gebied. Ik zou Francesco zeker aanraden."