Mark Sandman, lead singer and bassist of the Boston-based trio Morphine, suffered a fatal heart attack while performing at a music festival near Rome on Saturday. Sandman was 46.

Sandman collapsed onstage during the second day of the three-day music festival at the Giardini del Principe in Palestrina, Italy, just before midnight on Saturday, according to the Associated Press. He was treated backstage by a doctor at the venue, but was pronounced dead while being transported to a nearby hospital.

A private service for Sandman's friends and family will be held on Friday in Boston. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to the Mark Sandman Music Education Fund that will benefit Cambridge public schools.