ACADEMIC WORK:
In September 2009 I was personally invited by the Chairman of the Mediterranean Institute, to develop new courses for the Music Department of the University of Malta. Having started with just two new subjects (Jazz Theory and Applied Percussion), I'm now teaching a total of nine study-units in subjects like Performance Skills and Perspectives, Musical Composition for Dance, Jazz History, Transcription Techniques, and Rhythmic Studies, while - last but not least - co-tutoring with the Head of the Dance Dep. their course in Performance Collaboration.
Originally established in 1592, the University of Malta is one of the oldest universities in Europe. I'm extremely honored to be part of this innovative project for the renewing of the Music Curriculum of such an important institution.
PERFORMING PROJECTS:
Pietre
Third and last part of the "reading mediterraneo" series, Piettre is a poetic journey through the values and passions of the late Maltese philosopher Peter Serracino Inglott. “Tu es Petrus et super hanc petram…” A modern day Petrus, during his life Peter Serracino Inglott laid many first stones, on Malta and abroad. pietre (stones) is a homage to Life, through the causes and the values of openness and creativity. A collaboration with Biancamaria Stanzani Ghedini, the Maltese master photographer Joe Smith with a new video installation specifically made for this project, Alessandro Giachero (piano), Andrea Lamacchia (double bass) and Achille Succi (tenor sax and bass clarinet).
Caterina & Coltrane / The Pursuit of Transcendence
in July 2011, for the 150th Anniversary of the Unity of Italy, Massimo and Biancamaria Stanzani Ghedini presented the second production of their "reading mediterraneo" series. A program on spirituality and mysticism, where for the first time the timeless words of St. Catherine of Siena and the notes of John Coltrane’s suite “First Meditation for a Quartet” are performed together on stage.
After a three months long research, Biancamaria has created five new texts, combining many striking passages from the 400 letters which Caterina wrote to popes, kings and common men of her times. These “song-poems” were specially written so to focus around the themes of Coltrane’s musical suite: Love, Compassion, Joy, Consequences and Serenity. A work that, reaching beyond the religious aspects of the letters, aims to a timeless message of renewal, based on peace, honesty and selflessness.
The music is performed by an international group of artists, with Danish saxophonist Thomas Agergaard, Italian Flavio Piantoni on bass, and different guest artists such as Alessandro Giachero on piano, Franco Fabbrini on double bass and the young Maltese pianist Andrew Bugeja.
In 2011 the project has been performed in Italy and in Malta, where it was invited to conclude the 19th edition of the festival Evenings on Campus. The performance can also be seen on its own channel on YouTube.
reading mediterraneo
In August 2010, invited to conclude the 18th edition of the festival Evening On Campus, Biancamaria Stanzani Ghedini and I presented "reading mediterraneo", an innovative program of Maltese poetry, video installation and live jazz music. Biancamaria performed in Italian and in English, interpreting poems by the well known Maltese poets John Cremona, Joe Friggieri, Maria Grech Ganado and Immanuel Mifsud.
For the musical side of this event, I invited a group of well known international jazz artists: Maltese pianist Dominic Galea, Italian Flavio Piantoni on bass and, from Denmark, Thomas Agergaard on saxophones. The program included also special lyric recordings of Prof. Peter Serracino Inglott and a video installation by the Maltese multimedia artist Vince Briffa.
Ugo Foscolo's "Dei Sepolcri" / Mario Luzi's selected works
In January 2010 Biancamaria Stanzani Ghedini and were invited by The University of Malta for two challenging performances: a recital of Ugo Foscolo's daunting masterpiece "Dei Sepolcri" and a presentation of selected works by Italian Poet Laureate, Mario Luzi. These two hour-long monologues, presented along with a vibrant counterpoint of visual art and original scores, proposed a completely new approach to some of the most important examples of Italian poetry.
bisbigli...
partitura poetica per sampler, voce recitante e percussioni
In October 2009 Biancamaria Stanzani Ghedini and I have been asked by the Italian Embassy in Malta to create a new production for the IX Week for the Italian Language in the World. It became bisbigli... a dream-like monologue threaded with poetry, soundscapes and texts spanning from St. Francis and Dante, to the words of contemporary poets and song writers.
Futurist Performance
Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the birth of Futurism, Biancamaria Stanzani Ghedini and I have been invited by the Italian Cultural Institute to perform our arrangements for voice and percussion of two texts of F.T. Marinetti.The performance took place at the University Main Hall in May 2009, in connection to Prof. Massimo Arcangeli's seminar on the Futurist Movement.
JAZZ CONCERTS
During these years in Malta, I have been performing in a number of venues during the Malta Jazz Festival with my own trio as well as with with prominent local musicians. Among others, pianist Dominic Galea, guitarist Sandro Zerafa, pianist Joe Debono, bassists Alan Portelli and Lawrie Simpson.