Perugia editorial team
PERUGIA – Born in Ponte San Giovanni in 1874, today the Giuseppe Verdi Philharmonic is one of the longest-running in Italy. After a century and a half, what was a “simple” band (but decidedly avant-garde for those times) has come to represent an integral part not only of the Ponteggian tradition, as an excellent standard bearer and also a point of reference for the most genuine, but also an important cultural heritage for the city of Perugia. For this reason, with the aim of keeping history and activities alive, today’s social promotion association which has taken over the reins has seen fit to establish a series of celebratory initiatives which from Friday 28 June until 22 September will take center stage both in the populous village of origin and in the heart of the city acropolis.
The anniversary and the appointments were presented this morning in the Sala Rossa of Palazzo dei Priori in the presence of the president of the Philharmonic Alvaro Azeglio Mancioli, the vice-president Fabio Bestiaccia, the maestro and university professor Stefano Ragni, the president of Anbima provinciale of Perugia (the National Association of autonomous Italian musical bands) Attilio Gambacorta, by the past-president of the same organization Giorgio Moschetti and by the past-president of the Ponteggia Philharmonic Angelo Consalvi.
Having established that over the course of 150 years of life, with her notes and innumerable performances, Giuseppe Verdi marked many moments experienced by the Ponteggia community and beyond, it cannot be overlooked that she has always represented a point of aggregation, dialogue and of true inclusion between people of different social and cultural backgrounds who over time have found themselves together voluntarily for the pleasure of making music and at the same time broadening and cementing their bonds of friendship.
And this is why it was decided to celebrate the anniversary in an impressive way with a series of musical situations and more, in memory of the various eras of activity and the relative successes of the Philharmonic. «Above all – said Mancioli – the participation three times since 1932, representing the municipality of the Municipality of Perugia, in the demonstration in honor of Giuseppe Garibaldi in Caprera, thus boasting the title of “Banda Garibaldina”. And then the establishment at the end of the 1970s under the presidency of Giuseppe Pascoletti, in collaboration with the Pro Loco, of the Majorettes folk group, which in 1984 definitively merged into the Philharmonic».
A reality which has therefore become a real instrument for the diffusion and promotion of musical culture «such as to promote – echoed Bestiaccia – a very long historical identity, interrupted only during war periods, capable of alternating various music schools at the level of training and frequently renewing its band personnel but also its repertoire. Thus over the years the winning ideas of first giving life to the “multi-ethnic gang” project, to promote the social and cultural integration of young foreigners; and, subsequently, in 2010 transform the “mini band”, created in the last years of the old century, into the current “Jazz & Blues Bridge Band”, composed of twenty elements and today a formation in which the Philharmonic identifies itself”.
To underline the many epochal transitions, the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the foundation will open on Friday 28 June at 4pm in the Aula Magna of the University for Foreigners with a conference, moderated by the teacher and musician Stefano Ragni, on the figure of the Umbrian maestro and composer Mariano Bartolucci with speeches by the magnificent rector Valerio De Cesaris, the national secretary of Anbima Andrea Romiti, the researcher Antonio Mencarelli, the teacher Cristina Palomba and the president of the Philharmonic Alvaro Azeglio Mancioli. «This is an important moment to dedicate to a great musician originally from Bastia Umbra and known throughout Italy – specified Maestro Stefano Ragni – author of over 200 original compositions for band, as well as transcribing much operatic music». Precisely for this reason the conference will be preceded at 3.30 pm by the performance of some of his songs by the provincial Anbima band.
But concerts and performances will also take center stage. Starting with that of the “Jazz & Blues Bridge Band”, today directed by maestro Pedro Spallati who will give life to an evening entitled “Waiting for Jazz” on Wednesday 10 July (9 pm) at the Sala dei Notari of Palazzo dei Priori in Perugia. The program is also varied and will feature other band groups: on 27 July (6pm), at the Bellini Amphitheater in Ponte San Giovanni, a concert by the regional youth band of Anbima Umbria, while on the weekend from 13 to 15 September again at the “Anfiteatro Bellini” will host a festival of local bands with the participation of the Pretola Philharmonic. of the Philharmonic Association of Pila and of the homonymous “Giuseppe Verdi” Philharmonic of Spina supported by its Majorettes. Also on September 15th (9 pm, same location) the “Jazz & Blues Bridge Band” will repeat its performance, whose two concert periods will be interspersed with the delivery of certificates and plaques of merit to the historic musicians and honorary members of the Ponteggia group. .
Furthermore, from 8 to 22 September, the exhibition “Memory and tradition: historical documents and photos of the Giuseppe Verdi Philharmonic from its origins to today” can be visited, in collaboration with the Tito Belati publishing house. Finally, at the end of the celebrations, a special publication on the event will be distributed free of charge to the institutions, sponsors, associations and enthusiasts with stories, anecdotes and historical photos from the past and present on this true musical pride for the city of Perugia.
