The Small World of Serendipity

I wanted to grow and establish myself and my company in the world of discography. I decided, therefore, to attend my first music industry showcase festival in France, which, much like an industry fair, is a key place to build your brand and grow your network. I was there alone, at 19 years of age, speaking with incredible artists like Wyclef Jean, Mark Hoppus, and Daddy Yankee.

I was a little lost, and looking to make connections, so I decided to attend a speech about the importance of management and law in the new deals brought forward by the digital market for artists. I waited until the end of the speech to try to talk and exchange cards with one of the speakers, who promptly said, "Wait, I have an Italian colleague you should meet!" Later that day, I met Fabrizio Catalano for a long chat.

We sat down at a café and began talking, and after a couple of standard questions like "where are you from?", "Rome, which part?" etc., we finally arrived at: "What school did you go to?" and the answer was "St. Stephens'" for the both of us. We were both shocked! We started talking about teachers, siblings of people who might have known both of us, and all sorts of topics. We were blown away by the irony of how something so niche and industry-specific brought us together and how a school based in Rome facilitated a connection between two Italians currently living in London but spending a week in France for work.

We also discovered that we had attended the same elementary school in the Castelli Romani area and had shared almost every teacher, though we had an age difference of more than ten years.
When we returned to London, we continued to meet up. I kept Fabrizio up to date with what my company was doing, and he provided useful tips and information as we grew.

Since the fair, Fabrizio has been a great point of reference and ideas, helping us and mentoring me with the company until covid, unfortunately, took me away from London and made our connection slightly harder. When I started working at St. Stephen’s and presented the recording studio project to the school, Fabrizio was one of the first people I called. And every time we speak, we still can't believe that this connection happened.

As a student, I always believed that the community was the most valuable part of this school, especially in a setting like Rome. Now I have proof that even with little to no odds in your favor, St. Stephen’s will find a way to connect you across the world.