Fabrizio Festa (1960) began his piano musical studies in classical repertoire. Very early he devoted his attention to jazz, studying piano, composition and arrangement with some of the best Italian jazz player (as Enrico Pieranunzi, Franco D'Andrea, Giancarlo Gazzani) and with the pianist and composer Mal Waldron. With his jazz band, Festa Group, Fabrizio Festa toured in Italy and in Europe, and the band has been invited twice to the International Jazz Festival of Montreux.
In 2000 the band made is debut in USA with a great success. Festa Group recorded two LP and two CD: mostly of the compositions are by Fabrizio Festa himself.
He studied at the Conservatorio "G.B. Martini" in Bologna as a composer and in the class of jazz orchestra arrangement.
Since 1989 Fabrizio Festa devotes his musical work mostly to composition (chamber and symphonic music, ballet, opera, radiodrama), although he composed and composes for cinema, TV movies and for theatre shows, and in 1996 he played again piano in a his new jazz band.
In 1998 he made his debut as conductor.
His works has been performed in Italy, USA (New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, etc.), Germany, Russia, Holland, French, Swedish, Lebanon, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Latin America. Some of the most important Italian theatre (i.e., Teatro dell'Opera - Roma, Teatro Massimo - Palermo, Teatro Comunale - Bologna, Teatro Valli - Reggio Emilia) commissioned him symphonic music, ballet music and opera.
Main most recent and relevant works are the following:
1995, Teatro dell’Opera - Rome, "Ad immagine e somiglianza", for soprano, choir and orchestra.
1996, Teatro Comunale - Modena, Teatro Comunale - Ferrara, Teatro Comunale - Bologna, "Il volo", opera. Teatro Politeama - Symphonic Season Teatro Massimo, Palermo, "Suite in Do", for flute and strings orchestra (soloist Andrea Griminelli). The Italian Radio (RAI) produced Fabrizio Festa's first radiodrama ("Favole in musica", five episodes), followed in 1997 by a new radiodrama RAI productions ("Poesia e Musica", five episodes).
1997 by commission of Rostov on Don Festival (Russia) "La Via Lattea" ("Milky Way"), concerto for piano and orchestra. Teatro Comunale - Bologna, "Hero and Leander", opera based on a poem by Christopher Marlowe. Viterbo Festival, "Suite in Do" for violin and string orchestra. Ente musicale - Nuoro, "Nulla", melologo for two narrators and ensemble. New Radio production, titled "Poesia e musica".
1998, Teatro Comunale - Ferrara, "Suite in Fa", for Bb clarinet and string orchestra. It has been published a new CD: "Radiofavole", which collects the first RAI radiodrama productions. Orchestra Sinfonica di Lecce: production and tour of "Laudes", a cantata for narrator, soprano and orchestra;
1999, "Un angelo alla luce del giorno" ("An angel in the light of the day"), concert for flute and orchestra (performed by Andrea Griminelli as soloist) and commissioned by Orchestra Sinfonica di Lecce;
2000, "Enjoy", strings quartet commissioned by Brodsky Quartet in order to Beethoven Opus 18 International Project. "Sandaliotim", for narrator, jazz quartet and orchestra (text by Fabrizio Festa), commissioned by Ente Musicale di Nuoro for celebrating millennium in Sardinia. "Tanit" for two narrators, electric guitar and keyboards produced by Sagra Malatestiana (Rimini, Italy).
Furthermore in 2000 Fabrizio Festa has realized his new CD, ‘The Vast Conspiracy of Birds’. Jazz guitar player and composer Al Di Meola to orchestrate and conduct (leading Toronto Symphony Orchestra) for his next recording have invited him. Telarc released the CD in October 2000.
In 2001, Festa’s works have debut also in China (Beijing) and Iran. Moreover, new pieces will be performed in Turkey, Greece and Russia. Fabrizio Festa has been invited to take part to 2001 edition of the Focus Festival at Juilliard School of Music (NYC), in which has been the USA debut of his first string quartet, titled "Sleepless traveller". He has been also invited by the Brooklyn College of Music to take part at the Brooklyn Conservatory Composers Forum. In 2001 he has been commissioned to compose a symphonic homage to Verdi (by Orchestra Sinfonica di Lecce).
In 2002, "Enjoy" for saxophone quartet will debut at St. Petersburg Festival, and a new trio "Miles to run" (for flute, violin and piano) will be performed at Carnegie Hall (NYC).
The Orchestra Sinfonica di Lecce has commissioned him a work for wind quintet and large orchestra (Kite Songs) and the Orchestra Sinfonica Abruzzese invited him to compose a new score for narrator and orchestra (Il lungo pranzo di Natale, freely inspired to T: Wilder drama).
In 2003 have been premiered new pieces: Bach is cruising through interstellar space for piano (March, USA – Kansas City, Sanantonio and Washington), Libera Toccata Quarta for Marimba (July, Switzerland, Lugano), Preludio per il mare d’inverno for organ (August, Germany, Berlin), Pegasus for flute and strings (October, Mexico, Cervantino Festival), Americana (September, Teatro Comunale, Bologna).
Some chamber pieces will be performed all over the world, from Beijing to New Delhi to Latin America. In summer Fabrizio Festa brought to debut his new ensemble, Auranova Quartet, with a special program titled Utopia. This program has been realized with the collaboration of many composers form different countries (as John Psathas form New Zealand, Tomi Raisänen from Finland, Shaun Bracey form Great Britain).
In 2004 Martha Mooke has performed in NYC his Urban Dances (for five strings electric viola and CD), dedicated to her. Bologna Opera Theater has commissioned to Fabrizio Festa Three Divertissements for orchestra (premiered in March). Moreover, Thelema Trio debutted Omnia Tetramuta (in Ghent, Belgium, at the end of March) and Madrid Soloists brought to first performance Miles for Five (Avellino, Italy, still end of March, the same piece has been performed in Spain). In Copenhagen (Danmark) soprano Anne Aaen and Sirenkvartetten performed two pieces for voice and string quartet (April). Fabrizio Festa, with Aedòn Trio, has been invited at Festival Encuentros in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in August. Here he presented his new work, titled: New Lands, No Borders, lyrics by Michael Hall. The same work has been presented at BBK Festival at Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao (Spain). WithTrio Aedòn, Fabrizio Festa toured in South America. At Teatro Colòn, in Buenos Aires, he presented "New Lands, No Borders", a new piece commissioned by Festival Encuentros. The same piece has been performed too at BBK Festival, at Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao (Spain), and will be presented again in 2005 in Italy and Europe.
In 2005 have be premiered new works. Between them, in January, atCopenhagen (Denmark), soprano Anne Aaen have sung the first performance of My Icon (for soprano and string quartet, lyrics byMichael Hall) at the Danish Radio Concert Hall, in a program including more pieces of him. Then, in April, at Zagreb International Biennale of Music debuted a new chamber piece, Sirene. In September debuted "Clandestino Songs" for piano and percussions and "Voglio fare il gentiluomo" for accordion and harp at Rovereto International Mozart Festival.
Main 2006 debuts are: "The path beyond the rocks" for orchestra atCheyenne (Wyoming, USA) commissioned and performed byCheyenne Symphony Orchestra, Voi che sapete for quartet(Mendrisio - Switzerland), Closed skies and urban dreams for clarinet and strings (Milano - Italy), Nomads for orchestra (Grosseto - Italy),Variazioni a memoria (for cello an piano), commissioned by Festival Internazionale Mozart a Rovereto, Windows for cello solo (Budapest, Ungary) and a Variazioni su un tema improprio for orchestra commissioned by Fondazione Orchestra Sinfonica Sicliana - (Palermo - Italy). With Trio Aedòn Fabrizio Festa has been invited in October at Cervantino Festival (Mexico).
In 2007 will be premiered many new works, as Clouds and Birds for alto sax and piano (as John Harle as interpreter), and Brordsky Quartet commissioned to Fabrizio Festa a new score.
For Casa Musicale Sonzogno he publishes Vite in 2012; A little bird in 2013 and, in 2014 Concerto per fisarmonica e orchestra d’archi and Vagabondo delle stelle.
Fabrizio Festa is the artistic director of the International Composer Competition "2 Agosto" in Bologna. He is appointed as artistic consultant for contemporary music program at Bologna Teatro Comunale (Opera Thetare). He is artistic consultant at Musica Insieme Foundation (Bologna) at artistic director of Toscana Musica e Arte Foundation (Arezzo).
Fabrizio Festa teaches arrangement and orchestration at Bologna Conservatory. He teaches Music and Dance and he is assistant at the History of Modern and Contemporary Theater Chair at Music, Theater, Fine Arts Department of the University of Bologna.
Fabrizio Festa collaborates as music critic with "La Repubblica". He his the editor of Musica Insieme magazine and a member of the National Association of Music Critics.
