The universal language of music is the instrument chosen to celebrate European Cooperation Day 2022.
This sublime art has an extraordinary power to unite friends, lovers or people of different languages and traditions, different religions and cultures, in the name of the same ideals evoked by harmony.
Music, in this sense, is not just a collection of sounds and notes, but is much more: it is emotion.
The music of the band tradition has long origins in Apulia and Greece: the band proclaims the festival, unites the community and the territory, is a living element of folklore.
It is a moment of celebration to promote the results achieved thanks to the cooperation work between Apulia and Greece, which together face the common challenges of the development of the territory, the promotion of culture, tourism and their own identity.
In the European Year of Youth, celebrations will be held with a concert by the Acquaviva delle Fonti Youth Band, which was born from Don Milani High School of Acquaviva delle Fonti and grew up thanks to Apollo Lands Project, financed by Interreg Greece-Italy Programme with a view to welding the musical link between tradition and modernity. The musical performance focused on traditional band music will feature pieces by composers for orchestras and wind instruments.
The ensemble has quickly acquired high performing and interpretative skills, performing in several concerts and measuring itself with classical and modern repertoires alongside musicians such as Daniele Sepe, Sergio Cammariere, Gnut, and Cristian Bugatti.
Excellently directed by Maestros Domenico Nuzzaco and Giuseppe Smaldino, who also take care of all the arrangements, the band has had the opportunity to hone improvisational skills in the jazz language under the guidance of internationally renowned artistic musicians, such as Michel Godard (avant-garde tuba and serpentone soloist) and Livio Minafra (composer and jazz pianist).
The cross-border cooperation project “Apollo Lands – Network for traditions and heritage in music”, aims to encourage the revival of band traditions, improve and enhance the cultural heritage shared by Apulia and Greece, through the creation of spaces dedicated to youth aggregation and musical training.
The project leader is the Municipality of Acquaviva delle Fonti. The Italian partners are the Municipality of Trepuzzi and the Tito Schipa Conservatory of Music in Lecce, while the Greek partners are the University of the Ionian Islands and the Municipality of Corfu.
The APOLLO LANDS project intends to foster musical innovation through the creation of a network capable of supporting experimentation and contamination between musical genres, combining historical bands and street bands with contemporary elements, with a view to welding the link between tradition and modern contexts and increasing the value of the community for the development of musical entrepreneurship.