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UNCG Musicians Join International Orchestra in Italy

GREENSBORO – The Italian island of Sicily will welcome talented young musicians from around the world, including 18 students from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, during the Catania International Festival July 19-Aug. 11.

This year’s festival will include public concerts, a conductor’s institute and a piano master class competition. The 85-member festival orchestra will be composed of UNCG students, as well as students from Italy, Spain and Vienna. The amateur musicians will play alongside professionals from Romania and the London Symphony. The orchestra will follow a rigorous rehearsal schedule, learning 30 works in 23 days and performing in the Sicilian catacombs.

“Our students will get a real feeling for what time constraints a professional orchestra works under,” said Robert Gutter, director of the UNCG orchestra.

Gutter has conducted in Catania on many occasions, including the 2002 Musica sul Mare, the pre-cursor to the Catania International Festival. He will alternate conducting the festival orchestra with Guiseppe Baronella (Italy), Octav Calleya (Spain) and Ovidan Balan (Romania).

Catania, the second largest city in Sicily to Palermo, is attempting to increase its international music reputation by hosting the festival. The University of Catania shares its mission and has agreed to house and feed the festival’s visiting musicians. Transportation is the only cost left to the students.

Rebecca Averill, Richard Cook and Charles Gambetta, all of UNCG, will participate in the conductor’s institute. A total of 16 conductors will study what Gutter calls “bread and butter” repertoire, the most demanding musical works. The conductors who excel during the institute will be invited to return as guest conductors in Spain, Romania and Italy.

The UNCG musicians will rehearse twice a day. However, not all the trip will be spent sweating over scores. They have reserved one day for sightseeing in Rome and two days for taking side trips.

Gutter hopes the opportunity will enrich his students by teaching them how to interact with foreign students and how to develop new styles and approaches to their individual instruments.

“The sound concepts of international musicians are very different from American ones. The Europeans have a unique palette,” Gutter said. “Music is a universal language but there are so many different components in that universe.”
 
 

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