composer | audio-video designer
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@Federico Castelli
fes.ensemble[at]gmail.com
FES ensemble is a new-music ensemble founded in 2025 and based in Rotterdam.
Led by saxophonist Martina Madini, cellist Pedro Do Carmo and composer | A/V designer Massimiliano Vizzini.
Dedicated to contemporary music, the ensemble pursues an interdisciplinary, cross-genre practice built on co-collaborative processes and the commissioning of new works from living composers, with a focus on expanding the repertoire for saxophone and cello.
FES is one of the ensembles-in-residence of the Ensemble Modern Academy 2026 in Frankfurt. The duo has performed across the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Poland and Austria, in venues and festivals such as De Doelen, Tilburg Saxophone Summit, ilSUONO, Spółdzielnia Muzyczna festival, IMPULS Festival and Darmstädter Ferienkurse, where they also led a composition workshop on new pieces for saxophone and cello.
Their repertoire consists mostly of works commissioned by and dedicated to the ensemble, written by composers including Yoona Hong, Stephen Mulligan, Benjamin Morales, Massimiliano Vizzini and Veronika ReutzDrobnić, among many others.
about (updated may 2026)
meet FES
MARTINA MADINI
Saxophone
Martina Madini is a classical-contemporary saxophonist and co-founder of the FES Ensemble.
Born in Cremona (IT), she's currently based in Rotterdam. Her repertoire includes contemporary music, mixed media and performative works.
She performs across Europe and has appeared at festivals such as IMPULS Festival in Graz, Opera Forward Festival in Amsterdam, Darmstädter Ferienkurse in Darmstadt, and Dag van de Componist in Rotterdam.
Among the other projects, she co-created Che Genere di Musica Ascolti?, a multidisciplinary project developed with saxophonist Francesca Fantini and journalist Elisa Belotti, in collaboration with the Saxiana association.
PEDRO DO CARMO
Cello
Pedro is a Portuguese cellist based in Rotterdam. His artistic practice is mainly grounded in contemporary performance.
His recent projects include collaborations with ensembles such as ConcrèteLab, performing in World New Music Days 25.
He participated in the Impuls Festival (with Alexis Descharmes), and the Research-Led Workshop at the Giorgio Cini Foundation (Venice), mentored by Lucas Fels. He was also selected for the Sond’Ar-te Electric Ensemble Academy, directed by Miguel Azguime.
In collaboration with Eva Aguilar, Lluïsa Paredes and Jasmim Mandillo, Pedro is developing the project “Zeca Afonso – Musical Ètudes for Two Cellos”, funded by the Portuguese Ministry of Culture (DGArtes).
In 2025, he participated in the Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik Darmstadt with Lucas Fels and Anssi Karttunen, where he performed solo, presented his research on autonomy in cello-electronics performance, and explored new works with FES Ensemble.
MASSIMILIANO VIZZINI
Artistic coordinator A/V designer
Massimiliano is an Italian composer, media creator and artistic producer based in Rotterdam.
Recent commissions and collaborations include works for the MIXTUR Festival x Ensemble Fractales (Barcelona, ES), Divertimento Ensemble (Milan, IT), Zubin Kanga for the Gaudeamus Festival (Utrecht, NL), the Opera Forward Festival at Dutch National Opera & Ballet (Amsterdam, NL), Latvian Radio Choir (Riga, LV), Darmstädter Ferienkurse (Darmstadt, DE), Musiikin Aika (Viitasaari, FI), MotoContrario Ensemble (Trento, IT), Vlaams Radiokoor (Bilzen, BE), Avanti! Summer Sounds Festival (Helsinki, FI), Bled Contemporary Music Week (Bled, SL), Dag van de Componist x DoelenEnsemble (Rotterdam, NL), Papagena Vocal Ensemble (UK), TRT Orchestra (Turin, IT), Sounding Here Festival at Batavierhuis (Rotterdam, NL).
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