MusicAntica: from Italy with Love

A musical journey through Southern Italy’s oral traditions

WEST ORANGE, NJ (PRWEB) April 18, 2006 -- The Center for Italian & Italian American Culture, Inc. cordially invites you to MusicAntica, a concert featuring world renowned musicians Roberto Catalano and Enzo Fina, Friday April 21, 2006 at 7:30pm at West Orange High School Auditorium (entrance on Pleasant Valley Way) 51 Conforti Avenue - West Orange, New Jersey. Tickets: Advance $15.00, Door and Non-Members $20.00, Students $10.00.

It will be an unforgettable evening with a blend of music from Southern Italy’s oral tradition to a more contemporary style known as “Mediterranean World-Music”: melodies, poetry, and rituals passed on from generation to generation by untrained musicians belonging to generally less known segments of Italian society such as the peasant’s world, fishermen, or street vendors. MUSICàNTICA brings a remarkable freshness in traditional tunes and presents such musical gems to young generations, to continue and keep alive the rich Italian musical heritage. MUSICàNTICA’s repertoire includes both traditional as well as original compositions. The connection between the Southern Italian tradition, the individual experiences as immigrants in Southern California, and the symbolic remembrance of the sounds of their respective birthplaces is evident in the artists’ various improvisations and re-adaptations of older material. Enjoy a musical journey that will make you dream about Italy.

Roberto Catalano was born in Catania, Sicily, where he began his music career as a self-taught guitarist in 1973. He is a scholar, a teacher, a composer, and a multi-instrumentalist. He holds a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from UCLA and his main interests include Mediterranean music cultures, popular music, jazz, organology, and music from the Near East. As a guitarist he has performed with different ensembles in major cities such as Rome, London, Vancouver, Seattle and Los Angeles.

Enzo Fina was born in Salice, Lecce, Italy. He holds a degree in painting at the State Institute of Art and Painting of the Academy of Fine Arts in Lecce. Since his early days as a musician, he has always been fascinated by the nature of sound. Such interest has brought him to develop an interdisciplinary approach to art, creating relationships between musical and visual arts. Fina extended his musical studies of acoustic properties of sound to instrument making as he was able to transform his findings in acoustics in the creation of his own instruments. Fina has been trained also in various arts such as dance, mime, puppet making and use of masks. He has worked with a variety of art groups and ensembles of diverse character and goals ranging from traditional music research to animation theater, film scoring, anthropological theater, and puppet shows in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Holland, Morocco, Canada and the United States. Currently, he works as musician in residence at the Children Hospital in Los Angeles.

So, whether you’re a music lover or wish to explore your Italian musical heritage, join us for this unique appearance in New Jersey. The Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion and the appreciation of Italian culture. For tickets or additional information about MusicAntica or about the artists, please call 973 571-1995.

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