Teachers
Teachers of the Choral Academy
Manolo Da Rold – Management technique
From Belluno, he obtained diplomas in Organ and Organ Composition at the “A. Steffani “of Castelfranco Veneto, and in Sacred Music at the Conservatory” Santa Cecilia “in Rome with full marks and honors, subsequently he attended numerous master classes for organ, choral conducting and composition under the guidance of several teachers. He has performed both as a soloist and in a duo or trio with singers and instrumentalists participating in concerts and national and international organ reviews. He has directed numerous vocal and instrumental groups and since 1998 he has been director of the Corale Zumellese di Mel, a mixed polyphonic choir with to his credit over 800 concerts throughout Europe and overseas at the helm of which he has won first prizes and special prizes from the jury in choral competitions. national and international. He has been director and founder since 1999 of Mel’s small children’s choir “Roberto Goitre” made up of children aged between seven and eleven. He is director of Mel’s youth choir “Roberto Goitre” made up of young people aged between twelve and sixteen with whom he carries out intense concert activities. He was founder and director of the male choir “Melos” Valbelluna, of the Chamber Choir “E. R. Duni of the Matera Conservatory and other vocal groups. He has conducted the world premiere of works by Javier Busto, Ivo Antognini, Piero Caraba, Sandro Filippi, Giorgio Susana, Battista Pradal, Andrea Basevi, Manolo Da Rold and the national premiere of music by Z. Randall Stroope, Ivo Antognini, Erlend Fagertun, Trondt Kverno, Don McDonald. Winner of national and international composition competitions with “Alliance music pubblication” (USA), Ediction ICOT (Japan) Ut Orpheus Edizioni, Sonitus, Edizioni Musicali Europee, ASAC, Feniarco, many works have been included in music collections and specialized magazines . He has collaborated for many years as a composer with the historic choral and educational music magazine “La Cartellina”. He has published numerous musical analysis, interviews and articles in specialized journals. He is a teacher of vocal ensemble music and choral repertoire at the Conservatory of “Girolamo Frescobaldi” in Ferrara. Lecturer at the “Righele” ASAC Veneto Academy and Professor of Contemporary repertoire at the “G. Rossini ”of Sassari. For many years he was a lecturer at Mel’s Residential Course. He is the artistic director of Mel’s “International Choral Singing Review”, of the music festival “I Concerto del Borgo” and of other choral and instrumental musical events. He is a founding member and member of the Board of Directors of ANDCI National Association of Italian Choir Directors, has been for three consecutive terms Artistic Commissioner of the ASAC Veneto, is a member of the Artistic Committee of the Vittorio Veneto National Choral Competition and of the City of Belluno music competition. He has been repeatedly invited as a jury member to national and international choir singing and composition competitions. He deepened the study of theological and liturgical disciplines by studying at the Higher Institute of Religious Sciences of the Venetian regions. He is Organist in the archpriest church of Mel (BL).
Catharina Scharp – Vocality, Diction, Body Awareness
She was born in Stockholm, Sweden, where she began her vocal and musical studies at the age of 9, at the prestigious “Adolf-Fredriks Musikskola” music school, specializing in Choral Singing. At the age of 15 she joined the Oscars Motettkör Choir, under the guidance of the charismatic conductor and composer Torsten Nilson, with whom she participated in numerous national and international events and also won the International Polyphonic Competition “Guido d’Arezzo “In 1980. After a period of study with Prof. Berit Hallqvist, at the Kungliga Musikhögskolan in Stockholm, she moved, thanks to a scholarship from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to Italy where she graduated in singing, with the highest marks, at the Conservatory of Music in Perugia. She attended specialization courses in “German Lied Interpretation”, with Prof. Hildegund Lohmann-Becker (Germany), in “Opera Interpretation”, with Elisabeth Söderström (Sweden), Håkan Hagegård (Sweden), Carmen Gonzalez (Italy) and in “Interpretation of the Modern Contemporary Repertoire” with Rosemary Hardy (England). In March 2007, she obtained the II level Academic Diploma in Singing, maxima cum laude, at the Conservatory of Music in Perugia. Over the years, he has performed many concerts in Italy, Belgium, Austria, Holland and Sweden, specializing in the chamber repertoire and collaborating with festivals and cultural associations such as the Goethe Institut – Institute of Germanic Culture in Bologna, the Italian Cultural Institute in Brussels, Belgium, the Cultural Institute of Amsterdam, Holland, the Zwolle Conservatory, Holland, the Tagliacozzo Festival, the Perugia Symphony Orchestra, The Dance Museum, Stockholm, Sweden, “Music at Karlberg Castle”, Stockholm, Sweden, Amici della Musica, Perugia, “Norrbärke Dalarna Festival”, Sweden, the “Millesgården” art museum Stockholm, Sweden, “Villach Kultur” Villach, Austria, AGIMUS, Perugia and “Festival delle Nazioni”, Città di Castello. In addition, he has participated many times in Italian television broadcasts, on RAI UNO, RAISAT and on CANALE 5. He was the voice of the theme song for the television program “La Domenica Sportiva”, which aired on RAI UNO from 1992 to 1996 and he recorded concerts for the radio network of the Italian Radiotelevision RAI and the Swedish Radio SVT. In 2001 you sang at the concert for Pope John Paul II, in Piazza San Pietro, Rome, with an audience of over 100,000 people, and at the related television program broadcast live on RAI UNO and RAI SAT. You have also recorded the “ABBA’ PATER “disc for Sony Classical and Vatican Radio with the participation of the Holy Father John Paul II (platinum disc in various countries). Since 1999, he has been teaching Lyric and Chamber Singing at the “G.Puccini” Municipal School in Città di Castello (PG). You have held numerous courses and masterclasses in vocal technique and interpretation, both for soloists and for vocal groups and choirs. He takes care of the vocal preparation of the White Voice Choir and the Youth Choir of the “Octava Aurea” Association (of which he is also a founding member), which he carries out in collaboration with the “Brunello and Federica Cucinelli” Foundation. She has been a member of the juries of national and international Singing and Choral Singing Competitions several times.
Petra Grassi – Management technique
Petra Grassi is one of the brightest young European directors, awarded at the most prestigious international competitions. She graduated in piano and music teaching at the Trieste Conservatory, where she also studied composition. She also perfected herself at the Ljubljana Academy of Music in conducting and composition. She graduated with full marks and honors from the two years of choral conducting at the Trento Conservatory. He has won numerous competitions for choir conductors nationally and internationally (Choir award as best conductor at the World Choral Conducting Competition 2019 Hong Kong- China, 1st prize competition for choir conductors Zvok moji rok, 2016- Ljubljana, 3rd prize international competition for choir conductors organized by the European Choral Association, 2016 – Turin, 1st prize competition for choir conductors Le mani in sound, 2015 – Arezzo). You are the guest conductor of the Slovenian Philhrmonic Choir from Ljubljana. With the Vikra choir – vocal group of Glasbena matica and the female choir Kraški slavček – Krasje has only obtained first prizes in national and international choral competitions (Vittorio Veneto, Arezzo national, Malcesine, Corovivo, Sozvočenja- Slo, Bad Ischl- Austria, Olomouc – Blind Rep.). From 2016 to 2020 she was chosen as the first director of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Youth Choir. Since 2017 she has been artistic director of the semi-professional chamber choir DEKOR with which she won the 1st absolute prize at the Slovenian national choir competition Naša pesem in Maribor, also winning the prize for best conductor. As a young conductor you have been invited to join TENSO, the European network of professional choirs and conductors. In this circuit you conducted the Estonian Chamber choir in Belgium and the choir of the Radio and Television of Zagreb-Croatia (2017) as part of the invited masterclasses. You collaborate as choir director with the International Operetta Association. She is a member of the jury in international competitions for choir conductors, she teaches choir conducting in Ljubljana and Nova Gorica for JSKD- Slovenia and collaborates with the Ljubljana Music Academy. In addition, she received the prestigious Zlati znak – golden emblem of the JSKD (National Ministerial Body for Choral Culture) for national and international artistic merits in the field of vocal music. She was invited to hold an atelier for the Europa Cantat junior 2020 edition. Since 2020 she has been co-director of the Italian Youth Choir.
Daniele Sconosciuto – Music Score Reading
Born in Mesagne (BR) in 1983, he has been living in Bologna since 2002. Graduated in Piano at the Istituto Musicale Pareggiato “G. Verdi” in Ravenna (2007), graduated in DAMS-Music at the University of Bologna (2009) with a thesis in Music Pedagogy (The music laboratory as a teaching strategy for deutero-learning), qualified in piano teaching at the Conservatory “G. Frescobaldi” of Ferrara (2010), graduated in Music Disciplines at the University of Bologna (2012) with a thesis in Musical Paleography (The Antiphonary-Gradual of the Private Library “Alfredo Calabrese” – Campi Salentina – LE). He graduated in 2020 from the “G. Verdi” Conservatory of Music in Milan, where he studied with conductors Vittorio Parisi (conducting) and Marco Munari (score reading, Maestro Collaborator at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan). He attended conducting master classes and workshops in Italy and Europe to deepen the symphonic and opera repertoire. He has been didactic coordinator and member of the Board of Directors of the Association “Le Muse e il Tempo – Centro di formazione ricerca e didattica della musica” (2006-2012, Bologna) and has been consultant as assistant archivist for the reorganization and cataloguing of the Orchestra Mozart’s musical materials (2013-2014, Bologna) under the artistic direction of Claudio Abbado. He has an intense concert activity as pianist in chamber music ensembles, as collaborating maestro in opera choirs and as choir and orchestra conductor. He is a piano teacher at I.C. Granarolo dell’Emilia, organist in the parish of Santi Bartolomeo e Gaetano in Bologna and choir conductor of the Centro Culturale “L’Arengo” in Bologna. He is a member of the Board of Directors and Provincial Delegate of AERCO for the province of Bologna (Associazione Emiliano Romagnola COri).
Giorgio Susana – Choral Composition and Arrangement
Graduated in Piano, Conducting, Choral and Didactic Composition, he carries out an intense concert activity in Italy, France, Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, Germany, Argentina, Taiwan and Japan, in prestigious concert halls and festivals. He is a pianist of some chamber ensembles and accompanist of opera and pop / jazz singers. He has always supported teaching activities and the growth of young people through singing and music. He is the founder and current director of the OrcheStraForte youth orchestra, the SingOverSound youth choir and other youth choirs and orchestras. He is also the director of the Corocastel male choir with which he carries out an intense and profitable concert activity and with which he has won numerous competitions and prizes. He has composed choral music, chamber music, sacred oratories, musicals, songs. His compositions and his arrangements as well as in Italy are regularly performed in various countries of the world by prestigious choirs directed by renowned masters. He has received awards in numerous national and international competitions as a composer and conductor and prestigious career awards for him. It is published by Alliance Music Publications (Houston, U.S.A.), PanaMusica (Tokyo, Japan), Sonitus Music Editions, Feniarco, Asac Veneto and Usci F.V.G. G. Susana is the Regional Art Commissioner of A.S.A.C. Veneto, of the National Choral Competition of the City of Vittorio Veneto, of the Assoc. National Choir Directors (A.N.D.C.I).
Luca Buzzavi – Introduction to the Gregorian Chant
Luca Buzzavi obtained with full marks the second level degree in Prepolyphony at the G. Verdi Conservatory of Turin under the guidance of Prof. Fulvio Rampi, the first level diploma in Choir Direction and Choral Composition (with honors and mention of honor) at the L. Campiani Conservatory of Mantua, the master in Physics (with honors) at the University of Bologna, the 1st level University Masters in Teaching and Psychopedagogy for DSA and SEN and in Strategies and good practices in the classes multicultural (both with honors). He studied Classical Guitar and attended numerous masterclasses on choral conducting (in particular at the Guido d’Arezzo Foundation with Donati, Marzola, Marzilli, Pavese, Berrini, Graden, Corti, Busto, Rasmussen, Lah, Broadbent, and in other intensive courses with Phillips, Krawczynski, Leech), Orchestra Conducting (Nicotra, De Palma) and on Musical Didactics and Pedagogy (Leo, Astulez, Visioli, Piccardi, Oetterli, Paduano).
He teaches classical guitar, ear training and choral singing at the Andreoli Foundation of the municipalities of the Northern Area of Modena, where he prepares the choral singing class consisting of the Aurora Children and Youth Choir. For the same Foundation he is an external expert in the Primary School for projects related to Musical Preparation and the School Choir and a member of the Disability Project team.
He is artistic director of Accademia Corale Teleion (Poggio Rusco – MN) where he follows the Gamma Chorus chamber choir and the Gregorian Schola Matilde di Canossa, organizes and holds seminars and summer courses with illustrious teachers on Gregorian Chant and Polyphony; in particular he is artistic director and teacher at the School and the Summer Course of Gregorian Chant in collaboration between the Teleion Choral Academy and the professional ensemble Cantori Gregoriani. He taught the 1st Online Course of Gregorian Chant and the 2nd Online Course: Topicality and Rhetoric in Gregorian Chant, promoted by AERCO. He is a member of the editorial committee of the magazines FarCoro and Dirigo, lecturer at the regional course for school choir directors promoted by AERCO and a member of the Artistic Commission of USCI Lombardia. He has obtained important results and awards in national choral competitions as director, composer and commissioner.
Fabio Ferrucci – Theory and Perception (Ear-Training)
Fabio Ferrucci was born in Faenza in 1969. he He began his musical studies at the age of 10, first at the “G. Sarti ”in Faenza where in 1987 he obtained the“ E. Placci “as best pianist student and subsequently at the” F. Venezze ”of Rovigo, where he graduated in Piano in 1989 under the guidance of Paolo Bidoli and Luca Paganini. At the same Conservatory he also obtained diplomas in choral music and choir conducting with Marina Malavasi, Didactics of music with Ida Maria Tosto and the final certificate of the course in Musical Acoustics and Tuning with Agostino Montalbano. At the “G. B. Martini “in Bologna he attended the electronic music course held by Lelio Camilleri, graduating in 2001. From 1989 to 1993 he attended the courses of the Piano Academy” Incontri col Maestro “in Imola. In 1991 he ranks in 2nd place (4th in the overall ranking) in the Competition for professorships for teaching Music Ed. In the Middle School in the province of Ravenna and in 1993 in 1st place (2nd in the overall ranking) in the Competition to chairs for the teaching of Musical Ed. in Secondary Schools, in the same province. Parallel to his musical studies, he cultivates the humanities: after having obtained the Scientific Maturity with the highest marks, he graduated in Philosophy with full marks and honors at the University of Bologna with a thesis on Renaissance memory systems . He began teaching as a piano teacher at the “G. Sarti ”in Faenza, a position he has held continuously from 1989 to today. From 1994 to 1999 he teaches Music Education at the “S. Humility ”of Faenza. He has held training and refresher courses for teachers of Music Education. He has carried out concert activity both as a pianist (soloist, in various chamber ensembles and with orchestra) and as director of the polyphonic choir “Kairòs” of Imola (Bo) with which he carried out concert activities from 1995 to 2002. Winner of the National Competition for exams and qualifications, since 1999 he has been a teacher of Theory, Rhythmic and Musical Perception at the “Arrigo Boito” Conservatory of Parma, where he also holds the role of Discipline Referent and Coordinator of the Department of Theoretical, Historical and Musicological Disciplines. Since 2012 he has been Tutor of the Conservatory and since 2016 Didactic Coordinator. He constantly carries out training periods and courses both in Italy and abroad, as well as an intense mobility activity for training and teaching at European Academies and Conservatories. Jury member for two editions of the International Solfège Competition in Ljubljana (2015 and 2017), in October 2017 he was invited by the prestigious Gnesins Academy in Moscow to hold an Eartraining masterclass. Curriculum designer within the strategic partnerships VoxEarlyMus and European Opera Academy, he is also responsible for the Conservatory for the National Coordination on the evaluation of refugee qualifications. Since 2018 he has been enrolled in the register of AFAM disciplinary experts of ANVUR. In 2020 he is called to be part of the consultation group of the INDIRE National Agency as an AFAM expert for the implementation of the Erasmus + 2021-2027 program. He has conceived and organizes “Sentiamoci a Parma-connecting ears!”, An international workshop and forum dedicated to research on artraining which every year in January brings together European teachers representing different methodologies. From 2015 to today, Sentiamoci a Parma has allowed the creation of a network of over 100 teachers in the sector, coming from 25 countries. In 2019 he was among the winners of the first edition of the “Leonardo da Vinci” award, established by the MIUR to enhance the skills and abilities of the human capital of Italian higher education and research at an international level, resulting in one of the two scholarships awarded available to AFAM institutions, thanks to which he has the opportunity to collaborate as a visiting academic with the UiT of Tromsø (Norway), the institution where the only European two-year specialization in Eartraining is active. In 2020 he won the “Leonardo da Vinci” prize for the second time, thanks to a cooperation project with the Royal Conservatoire de l’Aia (Holland) and the Latvian Academy of Music in Riga (Latvia). He collaborated on the Italian version of the EarMaster eartraining software. The passion for the role of memory in learning mechanisms led him to take an interest in ancient memory arts and modern mnemonics. At Anima Edizioni in Milan he published in 2006 “The art of memory by Giordano Bruno” (3rd reprint 2010), creating the first functional Italian translation of the De Umbris Idearum and the practical and concrete treatment of memory techniques conceived by the philosopher from Nola.
Francesco Di Fortunato – History of Choral Music
He began his singing career at the age of nine when he joined the “Pueri Cantores” of the Sistine Chapel, where he received the first rudiments of music. He continued to study voice and piano privately, and to sing in choir. Currently he is studying Renaissance and Baroque Singing with Furio Zanasi at the L. Refice Conservatory in Frosinone and Lyric Singing with Marika Spadafino. He perfected himself through solo singing masterclasses with Emma Kirkby, and ensemble music masterclasses such as the “italia mia” workshop on the 16th century madrigal held by W. Testolin; but also an annual jazz piano workshop at the Saint Louis, or the harpsichord masterclass by E. Baiano. As a boy he sang in the youth choir of the academy of santa cecilia, with which he took part in some interesting productions including Mozart’s opera “Cosi fan tutti”. Later he worked as a cantor in the Choir of the Giulia Chapel and in the Choir of the Musical Chapel of the Oratory of San Filippo Neri, with which he recorded some polyphonic and Gregorian pieces for Vatican radio. Recently he worked for three years in the Sistine Chapel Choir with which he performed in many contexts around the world, from the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Buckingham Palace, to the MET gala 2018. He sang in the Sistine Chapel with Cecilia Bartoli during the presentation of the cd Veni Domine, (a historic occasion given that a woman had never performed in the Sistine Chapel). He also participated in two recordings of the Sistine Chapel Choir for the Deutsche Grammophon: the cd Crux Benedicta and the cantico dei cantici di Palestrina. He was also part of the “masterclass group” of the Sistina, engaged in a series of concerts and conferences in conservatories throughout Italy, focused on peculiar aspects of the ancient and sacred repertoire. He is currently part of the madrigal ensemble of the L. Refice conservatory. He alternated his solo activity with the choir. She sang in the representation of “Anima et corpo” by E. De Cavalieri (1600), in the “Vespro dello stellario” by B. Rubino (1655) in the concert “La Venezia di Vivaldi in the works of Canaletto”, and in many other contexts inherent to ancient and modern music. He has organized some popular recitals, as a singer, harpsichordist and speaker, giving lectures on various musicological themes: “From the monody to Mozart” – on the birth and development of the opera; “Schubertiade” – life and art of Schubert, with historiographical and musicological readings and testimonies; “Of ancient and modern music” – on the baroque monody and its relationship with tradition. He wrote and staged the pastoral fable “the laurel”, with music by Monteverdi, Cavalli, Caccini and Frescobaldi. He manages the youtube dissemination channel in the field of ancient and classical music: Musica Antica (for dummies).
Denis Monte – Childhood, Youth and Scholastic Chorality
Born in 1971, he specializes in children’s direction and vocalism with Amedeo Scutiero and Mario Mora. He has attended masterclasses and choral conducting courses with esteemed conductors (Lorenzo Donati, Adriano Martinolli D’Arcy, Fred Sjoberg, Luc Guilloré to name a few). In May 2009 he was awarded as best conductor at the 5th National Competition for white voices in Malcesine (VR). He participated as a teacher at the Spring Festival 2010, 2011, 2017 and 2018 choral event reserved for primary and secondary school organized by Feniarco and still collaborates with the USCI for training courses for choristers and choir directors in Friuli, Veneto, Tuscany, Lombardy, Campania, Puglia and Lazio. He collaborates with Elisa for the realization of the choral arrangements in the CD Ivy and Steppin ‘on Water and of various musical productions (Ivy Tour, Italy Loves Emilia, Amici a Cividale, Amici, Concerti in Arena, Luce in Cattedrale). He collaborated with the composer Remo Anzovino in the creation of the soundtrack “Hitler against Picasso and the others” produced by Nexo Digital and 3D and distributed in over 50 countries around the world. In 2015 he was awarded as best conductor at the Vittorio Veneto National Choral Competition. He directs the Choir of White Voices and the Piccolo Coro Artemìa of Torviscosa (UD) with which he carries out an intense artistic activity in Italy and abroad. He is a member of the artistic commission of the Friulian Choir Society Union of the province of Udine.
Dario Piumatti – Childhood, Youth and Scholastic Chorality
Dario Piumatti, born in Turin in 1975, began studying music at the age of 9. After a few years he begins to attend the G. Verdi Conservatory in Turin, where he first devotes himself to the study of the oboe, then to percussion instruments, obtaining his diploma with full marks in 2002. he studies instrumental teaching methodology, graduating with flying colors. From the age of 14 he sings in choral ensembles and in 1993 he joined the Chamber Choir of the Turin Conservatory, directed by Dario Tabbia, a reference teacher in his study of choral music. He follows specialized courses in choral conducting with the Masters Carlo Pavese, Valeria Szebelledy, Voicu Popescu and, subsequently, for three years with the masters Anna Seggi, Alessandro Ruo Rui and Dario Tabbia. He has been a choir director since 1999, mainly in the youth field. He has been a point of reference for numerous school choral ensembles of white voices, middle school and high schools in the city of Turin, with whom he has held numerous concerts as well as participated in reviews and competitions. In 2005 he founded the VociInNote choir, and in 2008 he was a founding member of the Association of the same name. With the VociInNote, young female choir with a high artistic profile, she holds more than 60 concerts in Italy and abroad and obtains the Silver Band at the National Quartiano Competition in 2012. She leaves the direction of VociInNote in 2015. In 2011 she founded the Polyphonic Choir Vox Viva mixed youth, with whom he performs more than 80 concerts nationally and internationally, receiving numerous first prizes in regional, national and international competitions (Stresa, Verbania, Vittorio Veneto, Maihausen). Trainer for choirs and choir directors, he has collaborated with FENIARCO (Italian National Federation of Regional Choral Associations) and, as an expert in youth choralism, with various choral ensembles throughout Italy. Since 2013 he has held the role of Delegate Councilor ACP (Piedmont Choirs Association) for the province of Turin and is currently part of the Artistic Commission in the same Association.
Diego Fratelli – Renaissance and Baroque Polyphony
Diego Fratelli has been teaching for years disciplines related to Renaissance and Baroque musical theories and practices: Renaissance period music theory, choral exercises on original sources, ensemble music, vocal counterpoint, history of ancient music, in various musical institutions such as the University School of the Lugano Conservatory and the Civic School of Milan; he has also held courses at the conservatories of Aosta, Brescia, Florence, Lecce, Moscow, Parma, Perugia, Turin, Venice, Vicenza. He has edited monographic editions of polyphonic, sacred and profane music by some Italian authors for the Rugginenti editions in Milan, for Turris in Cremona and for the Luca Marenzio International Festival; he also published, with Paolo Portoghesi and others, a research on music and architecture in the eighteenth-century treatises by G.B.Vittone for the Centro Studi di Grignasco and wrote the afterword for the book “Spazi aurali” Postmedia Books 2016; he has collaborated with specialized magazines and with record companies such as Amadesu, Ars Musici, Glossa, Vox Antiqua. He has an intense activity of participation in seminars and conferences at various bodies and institutions (including: Cini Venezia Foundation, Monteverdi Festival in Cremona, International Ancient Music Courses in Urbino, University of Toulouse, musicology department of the Conservatory of Fly.)
Giacomo Monica – Popular song
He completed his musical studies at the “A. Boito ”in Parma with a diploma in violin; he studied at the Chigiana Academy in Siena with Salvatore Accardo. After winning the competition for shoulder violin in the “Toscanini Orchestra” he held this position for more than four years, later abandoning it to be able to devote himself more freely to chamber music. He also collaborates with the most prestigious chamber groups: “Carme” of Milan, “Gruppo Musica Insieme” of Cremona, “I solisti veneti”, “Orchestra of the AB Michelangeli festival” of Brescia, “Chamber orchestra of Mantua”, “I solisti Italians “, carrying out intense activities in Italy and abroad. He was a violin teacher at the “A. Boito ”of Parma. Since the 1970s, he has also dedicated himself to the study of choral singing and ethnomusicological research, also participating in national conferences on popular music as a speaker, and on the jury of the “C. A. Seghizzi ”of Gorizia. He systematically teaches courses for choristers and young choir directors. In 1978 he founded the Montecastello Choir in Neviano Arduini, which later moved to Parma, for which he wrote songs that make up the repertoire. There are many choirs that have drawn from this repertoire and in various compulsory schools these melodies are sung by children.
Alexander Solovyev – Russian repertoire
Alexander Solovyev is a famous choir director, teacher, musical personality and audience. He is artistic director and principal conductor of the chamber choir of the Moscow Conservatory and of the Tula State Choir; he is dean of the Department of Foreign Student Affairs, member of the Academic Council, Professor of the Choral Conducting Department of the Moscow State Conservatory P. I. Tchaikovsky and the A. G. Schnittke Moscow State Institute of Music. He is Artistic Director of the Moscow Conservatory festivals: “Boris Tevlin International Autumn Choral Festival”, “Victory Day Festival …”, “The Sealed Angel”, “Born in Russia”, Music Director of the Russian Arts Festival ” Leo Tolstoy through the eyes of musicians ”. He is the official representative of Russia at the World Choir Council as well as a member of the jury of choir competitions of the international association “Interkultur”. Co-founder and president of the jury of the Open Contest of young musicians “Vivat Musica!”. Alexander Solovyev is a member of the Moscow Musical Society and the International Union of Musical Figures (President – Professor Alexander Sokolov), the Union of Composers of the Russian Federation (President of the Board of Directors – Andrey Krichevsky) and the All-Russian Choral Society (President – Valeriy Gergiev); he is principal guest conductor of the Educational Bridge Project Festival Choir (Boston, USA), guest conductor of the Taipei Philharmonic Chorus (Taiwan / China), of the State Chorus of Abkhazia. Alexander Solovyev serves as the director of special projects on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia; for his great contribution to the development of culture he was awarded the Certificate of Honor of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. Alexander Solovyev received a scholarship from the President of the Russian Federation in the field of culture and art; received the title of winner of the Moscow City Prize in the field of literature and art in the nomination “Enlightenment activities”, was awarded the awards of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in the field of culture and art in the nomination ” Cultural and educational projects “. Among the prizes, the title of Choir Master and honorary member of the Association of Choir Directors of Croatia, etc. stand out. Discography: “Anthology of contemporary choral music by Russian composers” and “Mozart’s Requiem” under the music label “Melodiya”; “TO. Schnittke. The story of Dr. Faust. Requiem “,” Formula of success “,” Long duration “under the music label” Moscow Conservatory Records “. Maestro Solovyev has conducted famous groups in Russia: the Symphony Orchestra of the Moscow Conservatory, the Central Symphony Orchestra of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the “Musica Viva” Chamber Orchestra, the Kaluga Youth Symphony Orchestra named after S. Richter, the Tula Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. Alexander Solovyev is the author of scientific articles and publications on contemporary choral arts and composer of the anthology of choral musical compositions by contemporary authors “The Chamber Choir”. “Repertoire of the XXI century Choirmaster” He is editor-composer of the monograph on “Boris Tevlin. Among its students from China, Ecuador, Kazakhstan, Russia, Spain, Ukraine, the United States there are winners of national and international competitions. Since 2018 – Alexander Solovyev Honorary Professor of Heihe University (China) He carries out active educational and public activities as President of the Creative Initiatives Development Fund.
Stojan Kuret – Choral XIX and XX Century
Stojan Kuret was born in Trieste, graduated in orchestral conducting at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana and in piano at the Giuseppe Tartini Conservatory in Trieste where he has been teaching since 1983. Already during his studies he founded (in 1974) the children’s choir of the Glasbena Matica of Trieste. In 1984 he received the Gallus Award for outstanding achievements. For ten years (1992-2002), he was artistic director and conductor of the APZ Tone Tomšič choir of the University of Ljubljana. With this choir and with the Vokalna Akademija Ljubljana he founded and directed (2008) he has achieved prestigious international artistic achievements – five Grand Prix – Tours 1999, Varna 2001, Gorizia 2001, Maribor 2002, Arezzo 2009 – three times finalist and twice winner of the Gran Prix Europe in 2002 in Arezzo and in 2010 in Varna – the only director in the history of this competition. In 2002 he received the Commendation of the City of Ljubljana and the gold mention of the Public Fund for Cultural Activities of the Republic of Slovenia for the artistic direction of the Tone Tomšič APZ choir. In 2003 he was the director of the Slovenian national youth choir. From January 2003 to the end of 2005 he was principal conductor of the Chamber Choir of the Slovenian Radio and Television. Since January 2007 he has been the director of the Italian Youth Choir for two years. As a teacher, Stojan Kuret is a regular guest of specialized courses in Italy and abroad. He is a regular member of the juries of the most prestigious and historic international choral competitions and guest professor of various academies abroad (Budapest, Riga, …). In 2011 in Arezzo he received the prestigious Guidoneum award. In 2012 he received the Prešeren Foundation Award, the highest Slovenian national recognition of distinction in the field of culture and in 2018 the Golden Life Achievement Award of the Public Fund for Cultural Activities of the Republic of Slovenia.
Simon Carrington – Baroque / Classical Chorus and Orchestra
Simon Carrington, Professor Emeritus of Yale University, embarked on a long and distinguished musical career, performing as a singer, double bass player and conductor, first in the UK and later in the United States. From 2003 to 2009 he was professor of choral conducting at Yale University and conductor of the Yale Schola Cantorum, a 24-voice chamber choir that brought national and international prominence, attracting the interest of his successors, Masaaki Suzuki, conductor of the Bach Collegium Japan and David Hill, director of the BBC and London Bach Choir. During his tenure at Yale he introduced a new type of singing degree for those specializing in oratorio, early music, and chamber ensembles, and, with his faculty colleagues, brought two graduate students there to their first prizes in competitions for choir directors organized by the American Choral Director Association. From 2001 until his appointment at Yale, he was director of choral activities at the New England Conservatory, in Boston, where he was selected by students for the Krasner Teaching Excellence Award and from which he received an honorary doctorate in 2014; from 1994 to 2001 he held a similar position at the University of Kansas. Before moving to the United States, Simon was a creative force for 25 years with the acclaimed British vocal ensemble ‘The King’ s Singers’, which he co-founded at Cambridge University. He has given 3,000 shows in many of the world’s most prestigious festivals and concert halls, has made over seventy recordings and has appeared on countless television and radio programs. At the beginning of his experience with the King’s Singers, Simon also maintained an interesting career as a double bass player, first with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and then as a freelance in London. He specialized in basso continuo music, in particular for John Eliot Gardiner, with whom he made several recordings, but he also played with all the main symphonies and chamber orchestras under various masters such as Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Benjamin Britten, Pierre Boulez, Sir Colin Davis, Carlo Maria Giulini, Otto Klemperer, Ricardo Muti, Georg Solti and George Szell. He holds an active program as a freelance director and teacher of choral masterclasses, conducting seminars and master classes around the world. He has taught young conductors at the Royal Academy of Music in London, the Liszt Conservatory, Budapest, Hungary, the University of the Andes, Bogota, Colombia, the World Symposium on Choral Music in Argentina and many music schools in the United States. He has recorded masterclasses on two commercial DVDs – at Westminster Choir College in the US (GIA) and at the Three Choirs Festival in the UK (Masterclass Media Foundation). In recent seasons, his management commitments include Berlin Rundfunk Chor, Ars Nova Copenhagen, Collegium Musicale, Tallinn (Estonia), Orfeó Català in the Palau de la Música Catalana, Barcelona and Coral de Cámara de Pamplona, (Spain), Coro Casa da Music, Oporto (Portugal), Tokyo Cantat, Gondwana Choral School, Australia, Houston Chamber Choir, Canto Armonico, Boston and Yale Schola Cantorum. He teaches annual conducting courses at the Chamber Choir Festival in Sarteano (Italy) and the Yale Summer Festival in Norfolk, Connecticut, and has contributed a chapter on rehearsal technique at the Cambridge Companion to Choral Music. From the 2016-17 academic year he worked as a guest professor of choral conducting to work alongside Simon Halsey and his students at the University of Birmingham, UK. He splits his time between London and southwestern France, where he lives with Hilary, his 49-year-old wife. Their daughter Rebecca, cellist, singer, impressionist and comedian www.rebeccacarrington.com lives in Berlin, and their songwriter son James lives in Los Angeles.
Stephen Layton – Contemporary Repertoire
Stephen Layton was appointed Academic Fellow and Director of Music at Trinity College, Cambridge in 2006. He is also Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the City of London Symphony. As Guest Conductor Layton performs on many occasions, including in Philadelphia, Minnesota, with the London Philharmonic, the London Sinfonietta, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Northern Ireland, Bournemouth, the Royal Scottish National, the Britten Symphony, the Northern Symphony, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Academy of Ancient Music and with Scottish, Irish and Australian chamber orchestras. For the English National Opera he conducted Bach’s St. John Passion in a theatrical production with Deborah Warner. Passionate performer of premieres of new choral compositions, Stephen Layton premiered Pärt, Ades and MacMillan. His daring realization of Tavener’s epic seven-hour vigil, The Veil of the Temple, a milestone in British music, premiered in London at the Proms and in New York at the Lincoln Center Festival. Layton founded the Polyphony group in 1986 while studying organ at King’s College in Cambridge. He is principal guest conductor of the Danish Vocal Ensemble and musical director of the Holst Singers. He was director of music at Temple Church in London and principal conductor of Kammerkoor (Holland). Stephen Layton’s discography on Hyperion ranges from Handel with original instruments to Bruckner and Poulenc, Pärt and Tavener, Łukaszewski and Whitacre. He has received the Gramophone Award in the UK, the Diapason d’Or in France, the Compact Award in Spain and three Grammy nominations in the United States.
Teachers of The Gregorian Chant School
ANGELO CORNO – Gregorian Semiology
Of humanistic and philosophical training, Angelo Corno obtained in 1990 at the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Milan the Magisterium in Gregorian chant under the guidance of Luigi Agustoni and Fulvio Rampi.
He has been part of the Cantori Gregoriani ensemble since 1985, the year the group was founded. He taught at the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Milan, at the G. Verdi Conservatory in Turin and in Gregorian chant courses organized by the Gregorian Cantori in Milan, Cremona, Rovigo. He collaborates with specialist magazines of Gregorian chant and choral singing such as Note Gregoriane, la Cartellina and Choraliter.
He is co-author of the Gregorian chant manual Alla Scuola del Canto Gregoriano published by Musidora in 2015. Since 2015 he has regularly held summer courses in Gregorian chant at the L. Campiani Conservatory in Mantua, and annual courses at the Gregorian Chant School in Cremona, both promoted by Teleion Choral Academy.
GIORGIO MERLI – Gregorian Paleography
Giorgio Merli completed his musical studies at the Pontifical Ambrosian Institute of Sacred Music in Milan where in 1990 he obtained the Magisterium in Gregorian Chant with the masters L. Agustoni and F. Rampi. He has been the solo voice of the Cantori Gregoriani ensemble since its foundation and also has numerous concert and record collaborations with organists and early music groups to his credit. For some years he directed the Gregorian choir of the Basilica of San Marco in Milan and the Cantores Sancti Benedicti group of the Benedictine Abbey of Seregno.
He has taught at the Trieste Conservatory, the Diocesan Institute of Sacred Music in Modena and the Zelioli Civic School of Music in Lecco. He is professor of Gregorian Chant at the Pontifical Ambrosian Institute of Sacred Music in Milan (PIAMS). He participated in all the educational initiatives of the Cantori Gregoriani and, starting from 2017 (Year III), in the Gregorian Singing School organized by Accademia Corale Teleion, in collaboration with the Cantori Gregoriani.
ROBERTO SPREMULLI – Gregorian Vocality
Choir conductor, teacher, music therapist, composer born in 1964, Roberto Spremulli began his musical studies at the F. Venezze Conservatory of Music in Rovigo and then obtained the Magisterium in Gregorian Chant at the Pontifical Ambrosian Institute of Sacred Music in Milan, the Academic Diploma Level II in Vocal Composition and Choir Direction, the Diploma in Music Didactics at the Conservatory of Rovigo and the Diploma in Music Therapy at the Giovanni Ferrari School of Padua, an institute associated with the Jean Monnet European University in Brussels.
Headmaster of the Giacomo Schirollo School of Rovigo, Director of the Institute of Sacred Music S. Cecilia in Rovigo and teacher of Music Education and Choral Singing at the same institute. Since 2011 he has been collaborating as a teaching musician and music therapist with the Centro Diventare Grandi in Treviso. Since 2012 he has been a lecturer at the G. Ferrari School of Specialization in Music Therapy in Padua and since 2016 at the Gregorian Singing School in Cremona. He is included in the European Professional Register of Specialists in Psychological Disciplines of the Center Culturel Européen Jean Monnet Asbl – list of Music Therapists n ° AT132-M. He has been dedicating himself for some time to the composition and creation of educational works for children. He specialized in the musical education of children from 0 to 6 years, obtaining the appointment of “AIGAM Associate Teacher” (Italian Gordon Association for Music Learning). He is co-author of the manual Alla scuola del Canto Gregoriano published by Musidora in 2015. He is conductor of the Choir and Melos Orchestra of Rovigo, of the Schola Gregoriana Rodigium of Rovigo. Since 1987 he has been the soloist of the Gregorian Cantori of Cremona with whom in 2011 he participated in the television series ‘Sunday with Benedict XVI’ broadcast by TV2000. He collaborates with the Medieval group La Reverdie. Intense concert, recording and publishing activity that saw him performer and director in theaters and cathedrals of the most important Italian and foreign capitals and cities: From 1983 to 1993 he was director of the Piccoli Cantori S. Bortolo di Rovigo choir. From 1984 to 1994 he was part of the Nova Schola Gregoriana choir of Verona and from 1989 to 1994 of the Madrigalistico Fosco Corti Group, from 1988 to 2002 of the Madrigalistic Group of the City of Rovigo with which he won, in 1990, the Gran Premio Città di Arezzo , from 2009 to 2014 director of the Coro San Marco of Pordenone.
FULVIO RAMPI – Gregorian Chant: Proper, Ordinary, Liturgical Repertoire
Graduated in organ and organ composition with Luigi Molfino, Fulvio Rampi obtained the Magisterium and the Doctorate in Gregorian Chant at the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music under the guidance of Luigi Agustoni. Successor of Agustoni himself as professor of Gregorian Chant at the same Pontifical Institute, he has numerous publications to his credit.
In 1985 he founded Cantori Gregoriani, a professional ensemble with male voices, of which he is the permanent director. With this group he carries out an intense recording, teaching and concert activity in Italy and abroad. From 1998 to 2010 he was director of the Musical Chapel of the Cremona Cathedral. In 2010 he formed the Sicardo Choir of Cremona, a polyphonic ensemble with which he carries out regular liturgical service in the church of S. Abbondio in Cremona, where he is also titular organist. He currently teaches Prepolyphony at the G. Verdi Conservatory of Music in Turin.
LUCA BUZZAVI – Introduction to the Gregorian Chant
Luca Buzzavi obtained with full marks the second level degree in Prepolyphony at the G. Verdi Conservatory of Turin under the guidance of Prof. Fulvio Rampi, the first level diploma in Choir Direction and Choral Composition (with honors and mention of honor) at the L. Campiani Conservatory of Mantua, the master in Physics (with honors) at the University of Bologna, the 1st level University Masters in Teaching and Psychopedagogy for DSA and SEN and in Strategies and good practices in the classes multicultural (both with honors). He studied Classical Guitar and attended numerous masterclasses on choral conducting (in particular at the Guido d’Arezzo Foundation with Donati, Marzola, Marzilli, Pavese, Berrini, Graden, Corti, Busto, Rasmussen, Lah, Broadbent, and in other intensive courses with Phillips, Krawczynski, Leech), Orchestra Conducting (Nicotra, De Palma) and on Musical Didactics and Pedagogy (Leo, Astulez, Visioli, Piccardi, Oetterli, Paduano).
He teaches classical guitar, ear training and choral singing at the Andreoli Foundation of the municipalities of the Northern Area of Modena, where he prepares the choral singing class consisting of the Aurora Children and Youth Choir. For the same Foundation he is an external expert in the Primary School for projects related to Musical Preparation and the School Choir and a member of the Disability Project team.
He is artistic director of Accademia Corale Teleion (Poggio Rusco – MN) where he follows the Gamma Chorus chamber choir and the Gregorian Schola Matilde di Canossa, organizes and holds seminars and summer courses with illustrious teachers on Gregorian Chant and Polyphony; in particular he is artistic director and teacher at the School and the Summer Course of Gregorian Chant in collaboration between the Teleion Choral Academy and the professional ensemble Cantori Gregoriani. He taught the 1st Online Course of Gregorian Chant and the 2nd Online Course: Topicality and Rhetoric in Gregorian Chant, promoted by AERCO. He is a member of the editorial committee of the magazines FarCoro and Dirigo, lecturer at the regional course for school choir directors promoted by AERCO and a member of the Artistic Commission of USCI Lombardia. He has obtained important results and awards in national choral competitions as director, composer and commissioner.
MICHAEL GUASTALLA – Canto Gregoriano: Repertorio Proprio, Ordinario, Ufficio
Classe 1986, mantovano, Michael Guastalla inizia gli studi come strumentista al Conservatorio di Mantova, sotto la guida di Carlo Fabiano, Giorgio Barbolini, e Luigi Ripamonti. Nel 2009 inizia gli studi di composizione sotto la guida del maestro Paolo Perezzani presso il Conservatorio di Mantova laureandosi a pieni voti e con lode. Nel 2019 consegue con il massimo dei voti la laurea di II livello in Prepolifonia al Conservatorio di Torino sotto la guida del M° Fulvio Rampi. In veste di compositore partecipa alle principali rassegne di musica contemporanea oltre che nella sua città, a Bolzano e Parma. Con una suo brano per orchestra selezionato dal Conservatorio di Mantova, ha partecipato nel maggio 2015 al primo Concorso “Claudio Abbado” tenuto presso il Conservatorio di Milano.
Dal 2012 è direttore della Corale Discàntica, inoltre ha fondato e dirige la Schola Gregoriana di Mantova con la quale presta servizio liturgico-musicale nelle celebrazioni Pontificali nella Cattedrale di Mantova in collaborazione con l’Ufficio liturgico diocesano. Dal 2018 è presidente della scuola di musica Accademia Musicale Harmonica.