This picture was taken of our group following our final rehearsal together before we leave.
As Sunday approaches, I am starting to get really excited about our Italian adventure 🙂 At the RCS during my first year I have studied with many talented students and one of those students is Max Fane the conductor and organiser of the trip.
Here is some information if you happen to be in Florence, Mercatale, Citta’ di Castllo, and Cortona area next week 🙂
Having lived near Preggio for all of my life, performing in many concerts and recitals across Umbria and Tuscany and using the experience of three previous tours I set about finding a group of singers at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where I study as a tenor, pianist and conductor to take my Italian adventures to the next level.
Italian opera and song have been very important to me over the past year, and it has been my constant ambition to improve the understanding and performance of the repertoire among the young singers that I study with. To this end I co-founded a organisation of highly talented young singers and started the On-Key Music Association. With this we aim simply to promote and support performance opportunities for young singers and musicians. These are passionate young singers, who have all worked very hard to pay their way to come on this unique trip and we have some fabulous events lined up. My hope is to inspire a lifelong passion in the music, culture and country of Italy.
We have four main concerts lined up. Firstly in Giordani Corsini in Florence at 7pm on June the 16th, then in Mercatale for our traditional concert in the piazza at 9 15pm. Following this we have the event in Citta’ di Castello at Café Magi at 10pm on Friday the 21st, and at Sant’Agostino in Cortona at 6pm on Saturday the 22nd at the Auditorium Sant’Agostino.
Our programme will be centred around four group items that I will conduct, from the Cantique de Jean Racine by Faure to Va Pensiero by Verdi. Around these pieces the singers, including myself, will get opportunities to sing solos and duets by composers like Mozart, Donizetti, Handel, Tosti and many more. For me, the most important objective of the trip is to enjoy our singing, encouraging co-operative critical thinking about performance. There is nothing better than performing to appreciative audiences in beautiful settings with a wonderful atmosphere. This is something for everyone to enjoy and we hope to see as many people there as possible. The concert in Florence is ten euros entrance, the others are free but we will be collecting donations from those wishing to support our endeavours’. Max