ABOUT
Over the past few years, Gabriele’s artistic work—as both a double bassist and composer—has developed along two closely connected paths: historically informed performance practice and improvisation.
His most recent project, MUSICA NOVA, is his first solo album, centred around the violone and its expressive possibilities. The recording brings together original compositions for double bass, improvisations, and arrangements inspired by the music of Claudio Monteverdi, exploring the boundaries between early music, contemporary creation, and spontaneous performance.
Gabriele is currently Co-Principal Double Bassist of the Collegium Musicum Basel and also collaborates in the same position with some of Europe’s leading orchestras and ensembles, including Thomas Hengelbrock’s Balthasar-Neumann Ensembles, Emmanuelle Haïm’s Le Concert d’Astrée, Jordi Savall’s Le Concert des Nations, the Dutch National Opera, and the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg.
Alongside his performing career, he is deeply committed to teaching, outreach, and music education. In June 2026, he led NOVA Salons, a project developed with the Balthasar-Neumann Ensembles. Since 2024, he teaches double bass at the Music School of the City of Saarbrücken.
BIO
Gabriele Basilico was born in Italy. He started discovering music at the age of 11 with accordion wich, after discovering Verdi and Bach, soon developed in classical accordion. At the age of 14 he started studying Double bass (classical and jazz) and electric bass. Few years later he started to study composition with P. Niro, thing that totally opened his mindset allover his future path.
He graduate at Conservatorio “L.Perosi” in 2012 with Prof. C. Pelliccione and in the same year he left Italy to go to study in Saarbrücken with W. Harrer (classical) and S.Scheib (jazz), where he finished his Master in 2017. He also was studying privately with T. Barbé, M.McDonald, J. Saksala, E. Gomez, D. Weiss, G. Canon. Last July 2026 he achieved a Master degree in Violone at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis with David Sinclair.
While being a student he soon started his career as a performing musician, wich lead him to work in several orchestras all over Europe: amongst others with Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Kostanz, Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, Teatro Petruzzelli, Opera na Zamku, Dutch National Opera, Thomas Hengelbrock and the Balthasar-Neumann Ensembles, E.Haïm and Le Concert d’Astrée.
Since 2018 he started to write music with growing commitment, thanks to the collaboration with Choreograph Lucyna Zwolinska. This lead his works to be performed and awarded amongst others, in Notting Hill London, Stuttgarter Ballet, Theater Gießen, Opera na Zamku, Step-up Limerick, ARD Germany, ORF Vienna.
Last February he premiered his latest original compositions for a dance evening at Theater Trier inspired on Dante’s La Divina Commedia.
He is currently working, apart from his performances-concerts-tours, on several publications of both double bass and violone.