There is always much work to be done behind-the-scenes to prepare for a show. There are contracts to be negotiated and completed, tax forms to be submitted, endless promotional correspondence; travel and sound checks to be coordinated… Apart from the administrative work, there are hours and hours of rehearsals. I actually enjoy rehearsing, but before I rehearse with the band, I spend endless time rehearsing alone so that the repertoire is ready for the musicians. All of this is done with one goal in…
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Sabbinirica! Welcome! So glad you stopped by. Remember when you were a child how you collected shells as you wandered along the beach? I still do that...and I do the same with songs...Sicilian songs...
So, c'mon, wander along with me...
Gustiamo & La Primavera Vinni III
What could be better than to celebrate with music, dance …and food?
On March 21st the 3rd Annual La Primavera Vinni will take place at the Goddard Riverside’ Bernie Wohl Center in New York City from 7:30-10pm. It’s a festive night to celebrate and welcome spring with Sicilian folk music and dance. This year, every reveler will be entered into a raffle to win the makings of a Sicilian feast! To help celebrate Persephone’s return to the land of the living, Gustiamo has offered a beautiful crate of Sicilian…Read more
On March 21st the 3rd Annual La Primavera Vinni will take place at the Goddard Riverside’ Bernie Wohl Center in New York City from 7:30-10pm. It’s a festive night to celebrate and welcome spring with Sicilian folk music and dance. This year, every reveler will be entered into a raffle to win the makings of a Sicilian feast! To help celebrate Persephone’s return to the land of the living, Gustiamo has offered a beautiful crate of Sicilian…Read more
Reconnecting and the Mazurka Klandestina
Has it really been a year since the last blog post? How's that possible? Ahh, the time-vacuums of social media have also consumed correspondence during the year. The only problem? Social media decides who sees what so lots of messages and stories get buried under an avalanche of current trends. As valuable as social media is for marketing and connecting to fans, I promised myself back in November to connect more to the folks who visit this site and inhabit my email list. Then there was the hurdle…Read more
New CD from Terra Sangue Mare!!!
We did it! Terra Sangue Mare ( Michael Delia, Fabio Turchetti and I) just recorded our first CD and shall launch it in April of this year. At the end of 2015 after a concert tour on the East Coast here in the US and while in the middle of a concert tour abroad, we found ourselves in a recording studio in Prague. Not just any studio; this one had a comfy white sofa and was chosen for that specific reason. Months before, we had tried to record and I kept falling asleep while sitting on a drum throne…
Read moreMusica & Sagra/ Music & Feast
Autumn is officially here and the season begins for the Sagre. As my friend Karen LaRosa of LaRosa Works just mentioned in her photo-journal, “A Sagra is a festival that celebrates local food products and traditions. In Sicily they are ubiquitous, especially in the fall, when it is harvest time.” Just reading about Sicily and the Sagra got me to thinking…why not throw one?
On October 19th at 7pm at the Music Room in NYC, I’ll be performing with my trio, Terra Sangue Mare. It will be our only…
Read moreSicilian Folk & Roots on the Morning Feed
On June 26 & 27th, Fabio Turchetti and I had the great honor and pleasure of visiting Germantown, Philadelphia to perform. With stops at the Mermaid Inn and a house concert for friends old and new, Germantown welcomed Sicilian folk and roots music ( and us, too!) with open arms. Before the performances, we stopped in at G-town Radio to chat with Ed Feldman and make some music; we were joined by the G-town communitarian, Rita Sinorita Fierro. Heartfelt thanks go out to the phenomenal Rita Sinorita Fierro…Read more
Una Cantante e Uno Zampognaro
Just had an interview with Sicilian-American journalist, Lilliana Rosano, for La Voce di New York about my work with my friend, Dom Porco!!
Here is the article:
Una Cantante & Uno Zampognaro
Here is the article:
Una Cantante & Uno Zampognaro
Warm thoughts, cold days...
Lately, my mornings have involved shoveling snow, throwing sand, spreading salt and commiserating with the mailman over yet another dire prediction made by the tv-weathermen. I have to wonder: how is it possible that a few short weeks ago, I was in Sicily, where it was unseasonably warm for mid-November? While I was visiting, Michele Termine from TeleRadioSciacca interviewed me at the Casa Planeta in Menfi. Here is the interview which took place in the midst of the installation, Discorsi…Read more
Music in Nature & Discorsi Dendros
If you listen, there is music everywhere. The most beautiful music comes from nature and when I am in Sicily, especially when I am walking among the olive trees in the mountains or through the pines along the ragged seacoast, my soul becomes transfixed, ennobled and ever grateful at the sounds of the melodies and rhythms nature so freely composes.
The nourishing connection to this natural music has been jeopardized not only by the clamor of modern life, but by the ravages of pollution. …
Read moreWhen a song wants to be heard, it will find its way to the world.
Like the wind or like a spirit, a song can be neither touched nor seen, but it can be heard and its presence felt. Sometimes people have asked why I sing the Sicilian songs I do. I always tell them that it’s because these songs want to be heard. It is as if they want to make their presence known.
In April of 2014, Fabio Turchetti came to visit NYC and brought with him a beautiful song, Navigando col Vento del Sud. Written in Italian, it is a wish for happiness for each…
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