55
The "Tito Schipa" Conservatory of Music of Lecce, chaired by Luigi Puzzovio and directed by Giuseppe Spedicati, joins the Festival Armonie del Mediterraneo – Viaggi, Miti e Ritorni with the concert Rotte del Mediterraneo, taking place this evening, Sunday 7 June, at 8.30 p.m. at Lecce's Apollo Theatre. Admission is free, subject to venue capacity.
Armonie del Mediterraneo is promoted by the Euromediterranean Cultural Heritage Agency in partnership with the Municipality of Lecce, with the support of the Italian Ministry of Tourism through the National Tourism Fund (FUNT) under the project Armonie del Mediterraneo – Viaggi, Miti e Ritorni (CUP F89I25002020001).
Rotte del Mediterraneo takes audiences on a musical voyage across the many identities of the Mediterranean. The programme unfolds as a vibrant soundscape in which folk traditions, Mediterranean melodies, contemporary grooves and global rhythms come together in a seamless musical narrative. Moving from the brass band tradition of Southern Italy to local folk music, through Neapolitan influences and onwards to the sounds of the Balkans and Africa, the concert traces an open route shaped by centuries of cultural exchange, where every destination becomes an opportunity for dialogue and renewal.
The concert is closely linked to the AFAM doctoral research programme "Musical Civilisations of Southern Italy, Bridge of the Mediterranean: Research and Repertoires", translating its academic research into artistic performance. Within this framework, Rotte del Mediterraneo, with artistic coordination and musical arrangements by doctoral researcher Christian Bevilacqua, becomes far more than a concert: it is a space for artistic experimentation and for celebrating the musical traditions that connect the shores of the Mediterranean, bringing together oral heritage, ethnomusicological research and contemporary forms of expression.
The audience will be guided throughout the evening by actress and narrator Patrizia Miggiano, whose spoken interventions will accompany the concert's different stages, weaving together words, evocative imagery and reflections that illuminate the human and cultural significance of the Mediterranean's historic routes.
Among the featured performers is Samuel Mele, an ethnomusicology student at the Conservatory, composer of many of the works included in the programme and performer on the oud, ney, guitar and other plucked string instruments of the Mediterranean tradition. His artistic vision combines traditional musical practices with a contemporary creative sensibility, perfectly reflecting the spirit of the project.
The Mediterranean Ensemble of the "Tito Schipa" Conservatory of Music of Lecce brings together members of the Conservatory's academic staff, students and guest musicians. The ensemble features a wind section comprising trumpet, trombone and two saxophones, alongside guitar, bass, piano, drums and vocals, as well as traditional Mediterranean microtonal instruments such as the oud and saz, and frame percussion including the daff, riqq and tambourine.
The performers are Christian Bevilacqua (trombone), Alessandro Casciaro (keyboards), Francesco Denaro (Cretan lyre), Marco Ghezzo (violin), Marco Girardo (drums), Andrea Giurgola (electric guitar), Samuel Mele (oud and vocals), Antonio Pellegrino (tenor saxophone), Sergio Pizza (percussion), Emanuele Raganato (soprano saxophone) and Matteo Resta (electric bass).
After more than a month of performances, concerts, theatre productions and public conversations that have enriched Lecce's spring cultural season, the Festival reaches its concluding event, bringing together the artistic vision and cultural values that have shaped the entire programme.
Armonie del Mediterraneo was conceived as a journey in motion: an exploration of stories, sounds and memories that presents the Mediterranean in its truest dimension—as a place of encounters, departures and returns, where cultures and communities have long engaged in dialogue. The very word harmony, derived from the Greek harmonía, conveys the idea of bringing together different elements into a coherent whole, just as the Mediterranean has done for centuries.
From 28 April to 7 June, through nine free events organised around three thematic strands—Armonie in Scena, Armonie in Dialogo and Armonie in Musica—the Festival created a cultural itinerary that brought together mythology, artistic research, contemporary expression and Mediterranean traditions. The programme was made possible through the collaboration of leading cultural institutions and partners, including the "Tito Schipa" Conservatory of Music of Lecce, Fondazione Treccani Cultura, Aletheia Teatro, BandAdriatica, Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino and Quarta Agency, under the artistic direction of Rosanna Quarta.
At a time marked by conflict and division, Armonie del Mediterraneo has reaffirmed the Mediterranean's most authentic vocation: a place of encounter, dialogue and mutual understanding, where every departure becomes the promise of discovery and every return enriches a shared heritage of stories, cultures and memories.
