Interview with Domino Spada – Songwriter with Diploma in Jazz Singing

29 July , 2025

Domino Spada, graduated at Saint Louis College of Music in Jazz Singing I level.

An Italian singer-songwriter based in Berlin, where she pursues her own original musical projects, including Domino Spada and FOS, she earned a diploma in Jazz Singing at Saint Louis in Rome with Elisabetta Antonini and completed a postgraduate internship at SRH University in Berlin, specializing in teaching Chorus and Vocal Summit. She has played in prestigious venues such as Auditorium Parco della Musica, House of Music Berlin and Badehaus Berlin. In May 2025, she performed at the Blue Note in Dresden.

Domino Spada laureata in canto jazz al Saint Louis

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Hi Domino!

From the Custom Course in Pop Singing, to the Bachelor in Jazz Singing. Can you tell us about your path?

My path began many years ago with ballet. When I was 17, I felt the need to be done with it. The dance is mystical, but I felt chained. I encountered music, which had always been there in my life, and decided to study it seriously. At Saint Louis, I first chose Pop Singing and then discovered Jazz thanks to Elisabetta Antonini, who transformed my concept of music. Pop is home, Jazz is rebellion and liberation.

The importance of ‘networking’ in the music industry. Can you tell us about your early musical experiences, from finishing your studies at Saint Louis to moving to Berlin through the Erasmus project?

The “key” moment for me was meeting some musicians like Giuseppe Venditti, Marco Bruno, Carlo Ferro, Shanti Colucci, Davide Conti and Massimiliano Biondi, who taught me so much. I participated in the Radio Kaos program with my project “Domino Spada,” and there I met Carlo, who became my life partner. A few months later we moved to Berlin, where I arrived for an Erasmus project, beginning my journey.

What is your current work situation in Berlin?

Since I came to Berlin, music has been my everything. I started with Sarah Kaiser in the Erasmus+ project at SRH University, teaching courses in Vocal Summit and Circle Singing, which I had deepened at Saint Louis with Cristina D’Arcangelo. I developed a passion for the Vocal Summit, giving workshops. Now I work with Musicians League, the “Domino Spada” project (soul, funk, pop) and “FOS” with Carlo Ferro, exploring electronic and techno music.

Tell us about your concept album “Libera.” How did it come about and what is the message you want to convey?

“Libera” is one of the most significant chapters in my artistic and personal life. It is my first EP, released in December 2024, written and arranged by me with Pierluigi Ciaccio (drums), Or Rozenfeld (bass), Carlo Ferro (piano), Davide Conti (guitars) and Paul Andrew (sax). Each piece is different, like the human soul. The central theme is the search for freedom, the one that music has given me, taking me far away and making me come home.

What advice would you give to those who are just beginning now to take their first steps in the world of music?

The most beautiful thing I have learned from making music is that it remains static and you are the one who shapes yourself around it. Music doesn’t give you something or make you someone, it stays there and you can only experience the beauty of the moment when you make it. Many people think that music brings fame; I do not seek it. The biggest victory for me is playing outside of Italy and hearing people sing my music in my own language.

Is there anything you would change about your musical journey?

Yes, I would give more attention early on to some subjects that I thought were secondary, but later found out to be the key instead in my artistic journey, such as Harmony and Arrangement, Ear Training and Rhythmic Analysis. I am infinitely grateful to M° Vincenzo Presta for giving me the basis of a research that I am still pursuing today.

You spoke to us wistfully about the musicians you met in Italy and their human approach toward music, can you tell us more about that?

If I were to constitute a team of musicians like a soccer team, Italian musicians would always be in the big leagues. Those I met in Rome, and during my time as a waitress at Alexanderplatz, I carry them in my heart every time I sing. In addition to talent, Italian musicians have a passion and sense of risk that make them brilliant and impulsive, but with a technique that turns the instrument into an extension of their own being.

Any life-long dreams?

My biggest dream is to remain artistically consistent with myself, pursuing my idea of music without compromise, even if that means not adapting to the “music market.” I want to be authentic, with all the imperfections, but still myself. Another dream is to return to serious study of Piano Jazz, to delve into that part of music that fascinates me and that I wish to explore further.

Who is your favorite musician and why?

David Bowie, not because he is the “best” among my favorite artists, but because he represents for me the meaning of “Art” in all its completeness, simplicity and authenticity. He was a visionary artist, full of poetry, able to take people to many universes, crossing a thousand lives. The thing that fascinates me most about him is the fact that he never fit any pattern; whenever someone tried to label him, he became something else, avoiding criticism and industrialization of music.

What is your favorite song that you would take to Noah’s Ark?

“Life on Mars” by David Bowie