About Us
XTRO is a group, that creates and performs mainly new music and contemporary works, combining theatrical elements and dance. Winners of Grote Kamermuziekprijs 2021 (audience and jury prizes) and influenced by minimal, electronic and alternative music, the ensemble involves every kind of audience, stimulating imagination in an ethereal reality made of musical, visual, dramaturgical art, and concepts. A connection between acoustic and electronic sounds creates an amazing bond, enriching the show. From 2019, Xtro’s work as performers, producers and composers has led to col- -laborations with an impressive range of artists including Slagwerk Den Haag and the new generation composers - Nicholas Morrish (Gaudeamus Award nominee), Germán Medina Calle(with a first studio recording of his piece“Imbue”) and Patrick Ellis ( with the commission “Objects and portrait Projections”). The group, consisting by Antonio Bove, Gabriele Segantini and Miguel Varela, saw its important apparence during the festival "Gaudeamus Muziekweek", "Festival Dag in de Branding", "Grote Kamer Muziek" and "in Bloom". The three members come from classical backgrounds, developed in the context of the most renowned musical institutions in Italy, Belgium and Portugal. Born in the Netherlands, Xtro’s aim is to communicate, create and experience through sound and explore which moments of explosion, pulse and tension bring the audience to discover new space, time and emotions.
Antonio Bove
Antonio is a percussion player and experienced musician in chamber music, as well as solo performer, who loves to explore new music worlds and work with composers to create new music. He obtained his master degree in Classical Percussion (Ensemble Academy Specialization) at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague (NL). He worked with many important ensembles like Slagwerk Den Haag and Asko|Schonberg Ensemble in the most important teathers of the Netherlands such as Het Concertgebouw, Muziekgebouw, TivoliVredenburg (where they performed the world premier of Tiare Tahiti by Namavar and Pulau Dewata by Vivier arr. Arnold Marinissens) and festival like Gaudeamus, Festival Dag in de Branding, Rotterdam Philarmonic Gergiev Festival. He also worked with orchestras like Residentie Orkest, percussionists with the Dutch National Opera in the festival AUS LICHT (Stockhausen), Orchestra Italiana del Cinema in the main important teathers of China conducted by Justin Freer. He has been a percussion and marimba player for one year production at the Circus Teather of The Hague for the musical The Lion King. He won several competition in Italy such as 1° Concorso Internazionale di musica S. Maria del Cedro (1st price), 8° Concorso Nazionale di Esecuzione Musicale Piove di Sacco (PD) (1st price) IV Concorso Musicale Europeo Filadelfia (VV) (1st price) IV Concorso Internazionale Eurorchestra Bari (1st price), etc. Since 2019 with his trio, he had the opportunity to play in festival like Gaudeamus Muziekweek (with the virtual show 'Zoom Meeting'), festival Dag in de Branding and they recently won the 1st price (jury and audience price) of the GKMP competition 2021.
Gabriele Segantini
Gabriele is a percussionist and performer dedicated to contemporary arts. Winner of the GKMP prize 2021, he is interested in everything that produces sound, in composing and he works/worked with important artists as Ludovico Einaudi, Slagwerk Den Haag, New Made Ensemble, Catchpenny Ensemble, Dutch National Opera, Silbersee, NDT (Nederlands Dans Theater), Marc Vanrunxt Company, Codarts Symphony Orchestra, Felix Company. Performer in festivals such as 51 Festival Pontino, Gaudeamus, Dag in De Branding, Mittelfest and Milano Musica, in 2018 he premiered the piece “Psycho Wood” by the Gaudeamus Award winner Sebastian Hilli, in 2021 the piece "Objects and Portrait Projections' by P. Ellis and he was one of the main percussionists in the festival AUS LICHT (“...a once in a time life event...”) about Stockhausen's music. He recorded in studio CDs and works by Steve Reich, Kurt Sonnenfeld, Bruno Maderna and Germán Medina Calle and collaborated with important composers such as Hugo Morales Murguia, Mayke Naas, Nicholas Morrish and David Dramm. Gabriele Segantini was born in Milan (Italy) in 1993 and grew up playing drums since the age of six. Curious to expand his way of performing he started to study classical percussion and completed his Bachelor of Music at Conservatory “G. Verdi” in Milan with Andrea Dulbecco.
Moved to the Netherlands, Gabriele received his Master of Music (Classical Percussion and Ensemble Academy) from the Royal Conservatory of Den Haag being awarded a grant by Slagwerk Den Haag, studying with Pepe Garcia, Niels Meliefste, Hans Zonderop, Theun Van Nieuwburg and Rob Verhagen.
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Miguel Varela
Miguel Varela was born in Setúbal (Portugal) in 2000, and started his journey in music at just 5 years old, enrolling in percussion at the age of 7. His love for Chamber Music is what drove him to pursue his studies in percussion, and what led him to enroll in the Bachelor program of the Royal Conservatoire The Hague, studying with Pepe Garcia, Niels Meliefste, Hans Zonderop and Theun van Niewburg.
Miguel performed in a broad list of Festivals such as Gaudeamus Muziekweek, Dag in de Branding, OFF (Opera Forward Festival), Festival de Música de Setúbal, In Bloom and most importantly AUS LICHT (a marathon performance of a large portion of the LICHT cycle, composed by Karlheinz Stockhausen). He is also the winner of the latest edition of the Grote Kamermuziek Prijs, with his percussion trio XTRO. Miguel also took part in orchestral projects such as NJO (Nationaal Jeugdorkest) and EGO (Estágio Gulbenkian Orquestra). With these two Young Orchestras, he performed across the most acclaimed stages in Portugal and in the Netherlands. In Portugal, Miguel joined EJS (Ensemble Juvenil de Setúbal), an "inclusive ensemble" that focuses on making everyone feel at home, funded by Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian. With this Ensemble, Miguel collaborated with a lot of artists, and took part in an artistic residency of TCFT (The Complete Freedom of Truth) that took place in the Bournemouth University in 2016.