Name: Valeria Told
Title: Founder & CEO
Company: Fortissimo Education
Website: www.fortissimo.education
Founded: 2021
Headquarters: Merano, Italia
Description: Classical music for children, is that possible? Yes, and how! With fortissimo!
Bringing Classical Music to the Digital Age: How Fortissimo is Revolutionizing Music Education
Valeria Told brings a wealth of experience in managing cultural institutions. For 12 years, she directed the Opera House of Bolzano and Trento, as well as Italy’s largest theatre festival at the Greek Theatre in Sicily, earning numerous awards and fostering key international collaborations. Recognizing a gap in high-quality music education materials for teachers, she founded Fortissimo to address this need. In an interview, she speaks on an array of topics.
Excerpts:
Creation of Fortissimo Education
Classical music is more than just an art form—it’s a universal language that fosters connection, both within ourselves and with others. Says Valeria, “With Fortissimo, we wanted to bring the power of music beyond grand theaters into classrooms, homes, and young hearts worldwide.” On a practical level, many primary school teachers have little formal training in music yet are tasked with teaching it. Fortissimo equips them with high-quality, time-saving resources to deliver engaging music lessons, allowing thousands of children to experience the magic, connection, and joy of classical music for the first time.
Making Classical Music Fun and Accessible for Kids and Educators
Fortissimo’s app immerses children aged 6–10 in the world of classical music through interactive games that introduce famous musical pieces, composers, instruments, sounds, and rhythms—turning screen time into a meaningful learning experience. Designed for both home and classroom use, the app allows kids to explore music independently. To further support educators, the Teachers’ Suite offers over 190 ready-to-use lessons, complete with printable worksheets, audio files, videos, and digital classroom games. Adds Valeria, “Teachers simply select a lesson series by age group and start teaching—no prior music expertise needed.” This ensures a balanced mix of digital and hands-on activities, engaging entire classes in playing, learning, and making music together.
Fortissimo’s Virtual Music House and Pan-European Collaboration
The Virtual Music House is a significant step in expanding Fortissimo’s mission, offering an immersive classical music experience tailored for students aged 10 and above. Through gamified lessons, students can explore masterpieces, play virtual instruments, and engage with music history in an interactive and enjoyable way. To create a truly immersive experience, Fortissimo incorporated augmented 360° video and spatial sound to capture orchestra performances, allowing users to see and hear from the perspectives of both the conductor and the musicians. “It was important for us to utilize and benefit from new technologies while ensuring that our solution is widely accessible. Therefore, we made certain that it can be used on VR headsets, personal computers, tablets, and mobile devices.”
Fortissimo’s impact is further strengthened through its collaboration with 24 institutions across 14 EU countries, including prestigious orchestras and opera houses. This pan-European partnership was instrumental in developing a comprehensive and culturally rich classical music knowledge base for children, both in schools and at home. By uniting under a shared vision for classical music education, Fortissimo has ensured accessibility and inclusivity, making its resources available in 12 languages, thus broadening its reach and fostering a deeper appreciation for classical music among young learners across Europe.
Incorporating the Digital Platform
“We developed a digital platform with selection of learning tools for teacherss to simplify music education” says Valeria. For younger children, the group created an interactive app with educational games that make independent music learning fun. “And our Virtual Music House incorporates VR technology, offering an immersive learning and first person experience of conducting and composing.”
Challenges Galore
One of the biggest challenges educators face is feeling unqualified to teach classical music or incorporate technology into their lessons. Our approach focuses on providing clear guidance, step-by-step lesson plans, and intuitive digital tools that empower students to explore music independently. By simplifying the process and making it more accessible, we help teachers build confidence in bringing music—especially classical music—into their classrooms.
Incorporating Inclusivity and Diversity Efforts
Fortissimo aims to make classical music accessible, engaging, and enjoyable for every child—bringing it from grand concert halls into homes and classrooms, guided by the expertise of European opera houses. “We feature composers from diverse backgrounds, including lesser-known and female composers, ensuring a more inclusive representation of classical music history. With new digital tools, we are able to provide children with access to experiences that are not easily available in real life. This, in turn, gives them valuable insights into the creative world of music and inspires a new generation of music professionals and enthusiasts.”
Bridging Music Education Gaps Through Collaboration and Innovation
Fortissimo’s effectiveness is studied through direct user testing in schools and by collaborating with teachers who use the platform for one to two months, providing valuable feedback. “Close engagement with educators and parents allows us to refine and expand our content beyond the original concept. By analyzing school curricula across Europe, we identified key competencies to ensure our lesson plans align with different educational systems. Focusing on shared elements like listening, creating, and engaging with music, we developed adaptable materials that integrate seamlessly into classrooms while giving teachers the flexibility to tailor them to their students’ needs.”
Valeria adds that her experience in cultural institutions has been instrumental in building Fortissimo’s partner network. “As a former director of Italian opera houses and theaters, I had extensive connections across Europe. Recognizing the challenges in music education—such as orchestras facing funding difficulties and teachers lacking formal music training—I saw that this issue extended far beyond a single country.”
Innovation among EdTech entrepreneurs
Valeria calls out to edtech entrepreneurs to seek strong partnerships. She adds that collaboration increases creativity, enhances content development, and enables the implementation of high-quality technology that would otherwise be too costly to develop alone.
Future plans for Fortissimo Education
We aim to secure a second phase of European funding to expand our virtual reality features and “integrate AI. Our goal is to redefine how music is taught—classical music is not just beneficial, but also engaging, fun, and truly exciting.”
