Barbara Agnello / primary schools

Graduated with honors in piano and music education from the L. Canepa Conservatory of Music in Sassari, she went on to specialize with several teachers including B. Mezzena, F. Rzewsky, P. Lakert, A. Apostoli, G. Piazza, C. Paduano, A. Cadario, P. Neumann. She won a scholarship from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to study at the Kodaly School in Estergom (Hungary). She has spoken as a speaker at serveral conferences of the Nati per la musica project in collaboration with the Italian Pediatricians Association. She has edited the presentation of educational texts and collaborated with the L. Canepa Conservatory as an expert in music didactics and pedagogy. From 2003 to 2017 she collaborated with the theater holding the positions of collaborating conductor, archivist and inspector of the orchestra, and later, for the same institution, she conceived and curated the project La scuola in teatro aimed at the diffusion of opera-symphonic music among children and young people. She founded and conducts the Lolek Vocal Ensemble with which she has taken part in important events with the main cultural organisations in the area such as the opera season from the Ente Concerti De Carolis in Sassari (Noah's Ark by B. Britten and The Magic Flute by W.A. Mozart). She has performed many world premieres including the opera In frammenti by L. Garau for the Festival Spazio Musica in Cagliari. In 2014 she founded and conducted the children's voice choir of the i.c. Monte Rosello Basso in Sassari, a school where she is a piano teacher. With her ensembles she has participated and won important awards in several choral competitions. Since 2019 she has been a member of the Fersaco Artistic Commission.

Davide Benetti / high schools

Glòria Coma Pedrals (Spain, Catalunya) / primary and junior high schools

Glòria Coma Pedrals (Barcelona, Catalunya) has studied conducting with M. Barrera, J. Vila i Casañas, P. Cao, J. Duijck and H. Christophers. She graduated from ESMUC (Escola Superior de Musica de Catalunya) with a masters-level degree in Singing and Interpretation, where she studied under M. Natividade. She has also studied piano, double bass, theatre, and dance. She has conducted the Cor Infantil Sant Esteve of Castellar del Vallès (first prize winner in the 10th Mostra de la Generalitat de Catalunya), the Cor Jove of the Escola de Música la Guineu of Barcelona (runner up in the 9th Certamen Nacional Infantil i Juvenil d’Havaneres de Torrevella). She has conducted adult choirs, including the Cor Lieder Càmera, of which she was the assistant conductor from 2005 to 2008. She has played the double bass in various ensembles and as a solo soprano she has played the parts of Barbarina and the Queen of the Night (Mozart), Lakmé (Delibes), Melissa (Händel), and also sung Pergolesi's Stabat Mater (Orquestra Barroca Catalana) and Camille Saint-Saëns' Christmas Oratorio (Orquestra Ars Musicae de Catalunya), among others. She is a singing teacher at the monastery of Sant Benet de Montserrat and the Orfeó Català. Since 2008 she is the conductor of the Cor Infantil of the Orfeó Català (third prize winner at the Cantonigròs festival) with performances at Palau de la Música Catalana and Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, and in other concert halls around Europe.

Elisa Dal Corso / high schools

At the age of 8, Elisa Dal Corso joined the Farnesiano Children's Choir conducted by M. Pigazzini, with which she had an intense national and international concert activity. She graduated from SDM, the School of Musical in Milan, and in Opera Singing from the Milan Conservatory with honours. She participated in the Erasmus project in the United States, where she continued to study Jazz Singing. She attended a two-year master course in choral conducting directed by R. Paraninfo in Genoa. She won the Best Voice Award at Musical Day and received a Special Mention at the Poggi Competition. She is co-founder of the Ensemble Lucky Fella, a collective of musicians, singers and thespians, with whom she writes and conducts several musical shows and has an intense concert activity since 2015. She collaborates as a singer with the group Enerbia, with M. Manni and with VJO. She is part of the cast of the musical Sweeney Todd conducted by C. Insegno, of the musical comedy Zena produced by the Carlo Felice Theatre in Genoa, of Il Vajont di tutti produced by MIC and Compagnia della Rancia, of Il Tamburo di Fuoco by Marinetti for the Museo del Novecento in Milan, of Sogno di una notte di mezza estate for the Accademia del Comico in Milan. She took part in the musical and vocal direction of Funny Girl at the San Babila in Milan, of West Side Story at the Teatro Manzoni in Milan and at the Carlo Felice in Genoa, of An American in Paris at the Carlo Felice in Genoa and of Van Gogh Cafè on a national tour. She wrote and conducted Suburban Story, sequel to West Side Story, in collaboration with G. Cavagna, performed at the Oltheatre De Sica. She sang for the X-Factor promo for Sky Studios, for an episode of a national TV channel and for the Piazza Verdi podcast on RaiRadio3. She teaches Choir, Singing and Ear Training at Il Cerchio di Legno di Verona Il Salotto della Voce - online and Prep-former. She is conductor of the Piacenza Cathedral choir.

Fabio De Angelis / primary and junior high schools

Fabio De Angelis graduated in Choral Music, Choir Conducting at the L. Cherubini Conservatory in Florence and in Education at the O. Respighi Conservatory in Latina; he studied with C. Dall'Albero and attended conducting courses with C. Hogset, G. Graden and education with J. Horvàth and S. Korn. He is composer and arranger and his pieces have been published in specialist magazines such as La Cartellina and L'Offerta Musicale; he produces commissioned works for choral groups throughout Italy. He is often invited to hold conducting courses and composition training workshops. As a member of the Music Commission of ARCL, he has held several choral seminars; he has served on juries for national competitions and has collaborated with many choirs in the Lazio region in specialisation courses related to repertoire and in-depth musical studies. He conducts choirs in several areas: schools, associations and day centres, but he is dedicated above all to youth choirs, carrying out projects at middle and high schools and founding, in 1998, the youth choir of Castelli Romani Diapason, with which he has participated in competitions and festivals, gaining unanimous recognition both in Italy and abroad. Since 2002, he has organised the national festival “Giovani in... canto”, which has enabled dozens of youth ensembles to meet on a path of musical growth of excellence. He collaborates with the Committee for the Practical Learning of Music of the Educational Italian Ministry giving courses to school teachers. He was a lecturer at workshop Coro Lab in 2022 and at the 2023 Festival di Primavera.  

Mirko Ferlan / high schools

Mirko Ferlan, after graduating in accordion from the Conservatory of Pesaro, in 2007 he received a degree in vocal and choral composition and choral conducting from the Conservatory of Trieste under the guidance of M. Sofianopulo and A. Martinolli, and in 2014 he received a master's degree in choral conducting. He has attended seminars and master classes with internationally renowned teachers (P. Hanke, F. Bernius, G. Grün, R. Rasmussen). He has collaborated as a guest conductor with the Ljubljanski Madrigalisti choir (Slovenia), the chamber choir Krog, the Arsatelier choir of Gorizia, the Friuli Venezia Giulia choir, the Vox Tergesti choir and the vocal group Bodeča Neža. He collaborates as director and teacher with several Slovenian choral associations. He is currently the director of the Igo Gruden girls' youth choir from Aurisina with which he has won several awards in recent years: in 2017 the second place overall at the national competition for youth choirs Il Garda in coro in Malcesine, in 2018 the First prize at the international competition for youth choirs European Music Festival for Young people in Neerpelt, Belgium. In 2019 the choir established itself in the regional review Corovivo 2019 by winning the diploma of excellence, the special prize to the director and the Corovivo Grand Prize as the best choir in the competition. As part of the I. Gruden he directs a children's choir workshop, a youth choir and a men's vocal group. He has directed the academic choir of the University of Koper (Akademski pevski zbor Univerze na Primorskem). He teaches accordion, theory and choral exercises at the Slovenian Center for Music Education Emil Komel in Gorica.

Matteo Guerrieri / junior high schools

Matteo Guerrieri studied opera singing with maestros C. Ottino and M. Trabucco and graduated in Composition at the Conservatory of Music N. Paganini in Genoa under the guidance of L. Giachino and R. Dapelo. He graduated with honours and dignity in Choir Direction and Choral Composition at the Conservatorio di Musica G. Puccini in La Spezia with F. Lombardo. He obtained a master's degree in Choral Conducting at the Scuola Superiore per direttori di Coro della Fondazione Guido d'Arezzo with maestros N. Corti, J. Busto, P. Broadbent, M. Berrini, L. Donati, L. Leo and L. Marzola and in 2015 he obtained a diploma in the three-year academy of opera orchestra conducting at the association Spazio Musica founded by G. Ravazzi under the guidance of D. Agiman. He has participated in various composition seminars, courses for choir conductors and choral didactics courses for children's choir with C. Pavese, N. Conci, K. Nemes (Kodaly didactics), J. Gomez and N. Garcia (Coro Manos Blancas, El Sistema Abreu), T. Lalo and the Swingle Singers. He specialised in Sign Language obtaining a third level LIS diploma at the ENS in Genoa (Ente Nazionale Sordi) and working as a communication assistant at primary and secondary schools. Since 2013 he has been the artistic and principal conductor of the youth and children's choir and orchestra, and the adult choir and orchestra of the Trillargento association. With these groups he carries out an intense didactic and concert activity collaborating with various realities including the GOG (Giovine Orchestra Genovese), the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, the Teatro Nazionale in Genoa, the Festival Paganini, the Festival Suq, the Festival InCanto Armonico in Sarzana, the Festival ConCertosa in Naples. He is a music teacher in primary and secondary schools and a trainer of primary and secondary school teachers and conductors of children's and youth choirs. Since 2020 he has been a member of the artistic direction and teacher of the CLAss_Liguriacanta Biennial School for Choir Conductors. As a composer in 2015 he won the Call for scores of the Eutopia Ensemble, in 2020 his composition Un uomo con tre cappelli on a text by G. Rodari was selected by Feniarco for the publication of GiroGiroCanto 8, and in 2022 he won the second prize at the Nuove Musiche dalla Livenza Composition Competition in the school choir category.

Tom Johnson (Belgium) / junior high schools

Serena Marino / high schools

Serena Marino (1986) graduated in choral conducting at the Scuola Superiore Triennale Guido d'Arezzo and deepened her studies at the European Academy for choral conductors and the Accademia Chigiana in Siena with a diploma of merit under internationally renowned teachers. She also graduated in Renaissance and Baroque singing at the G.B. Pergolesi Conservatory in Fermo with S. Foresti and she has studied historically informed praxis with well-known specialists. She conducts the Coro Giovanile d'Abruzzo, the Gamut Choir of Pescara with which she won 2nd Prize at the 2019 Arezzo National Polyphonic Competition and the vocal ensemble Vox Aurea of Teramo. She conducted the female vocal ensemble Esacordo of Chieti (2014-2015) and the vocal ensemble Compagnia Virtuosa of Pescara (2015-2017), leading it in 2016 to the awarding of the 2nd Prize at the Arezzo National Polyphonic Competition and the Special Prize for the best program presented in the competition. She is regularly invited as a jury member in choral competitions and to teach courses in vocalism and choral conducting. She is a member of the Artistic Commission of the Abruzzo Regional Choir Association. She carries out intense concert activity also as a singer with different choral groups with which she participates in important festivals, recordings of published and unpublished compositions, and international choral competitions obtaining prestigious prizes (Arezzo, Montreux, Tours, Varna). From 2011 to 2016 he sang in the Italian Youth Choir. In 2016 he won the 28th European Grand Prix of Choral Singing, the top choral competition in the world, with UT insieme vocale-consonant conducted by L. Donati.  

Sara Matteucci / junior high schools

Choral conductor and musicologist, Sara Matteucci graduated with honors in History of Music from the University of Bologna and in Choral Music and Choral Conducting from the Buzzolla Conservatory in Adria. She is a professor of Choral Singing and Ensemble Vocal Music at the Boccherini Conservatory of Lucca, where she also teaches History of Musical Theater and she has been preparing and conducting the Conservatory's choir since 2009. She also specializes in children's vocal music, a subject on which she holds courses and seminars throughout Italy. She is choirmaster of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Children's Choir.From 1996 to 2021 she prepared and directed the children's voices of the S. Cecilia Chapel and the Teatro del Giglio in Lucca and from 2010 to 2016, she was also the conductor of the children's voices and youth choir of the Torre del Lago Puccini Festival. Her artistic activity has led her to work in major theaters in Italy and abroad, collaborating with maestros such as Z. Mehta, F. Luisi, D. Gatti, D. Oren, Y. Feng, H. Yoshida by taking part in numerous symphonic-choral productions as Chorus Master and in more than 250 opera productions as Chorus Master at Teatro dell'Opera in Florence, Teatro dal Verme in Milan, Teatro Puccini in Torre del Lago, Municipal Theatre in Abingdon-London, Emirates Theatre in Abu Dhabi, Teatro Alighieri in Ravenna, Teatro del Giglio in Lucca, Teatro Verdi in Pisa, Teatro Coccia in Novara, Teatro Goldoni in Livorno, Teatro Donizetti in Bergamo, etc. Artistic director of Interkultur's international choral competition Vox Lucensis (together with G. Acciai), is invited to serve on juries in European and American choral competitions. Editor of the musicological journal Code 602 (ed. Sillabe), she participates as a speaker in seminars, conferences and conventions and has numerous publications to her credit.

Salvina Miano / primary schools

Graduated in piano and in music education, she started her study of didactics and vocalism for children's choirs with N. Conci, carrying on the idea of promoting musical education through the choir from an early age. For the musical training school I Piccoli Cantori of Barcelona Pozzo di Gotto she organises masterclasses of performance practice with internationally renowned lecturers and vocal education courses, collaborating with speech therapists expert in vocalism. She collaborates in the realisation of musical training projects and she has organised the festival for school choirs A choir in each class in Barcellona P. G., raising awareness of choral distribution in the primary schools of the city and involving over 1500 students with their teachers. With the children's choir I Piccoli Cantori she has won prizes and awards in national and international competitions: the 1st prize in categories A and B and the Grand Prize at the 9th Il Garda in Coro Competition of Malcesine (2017); the 1st prize in the children’s choirs category (2018) and the 3rd prize in the sacred programme category at the International Polyphonic Competition Guido d’Arezzo (2018). In 2022 she also won the 27th Efrem Casagrande Grand Prix at the 55th Trofei Choral Competition City of Vittorio Veneto, on that occasion also winning 1st prize in the Sacred Polyphony category, 1st prize in the children's choir category and the prize for best project. With the Piccoli Cantori she participated in the production of the CD attached to the volume of choral songs for children and youth Giro Giro Canto 8, a Rodari monograph.

Elia Orlando / junior high schools

He approaches music through the study of the guitar as self-taught. After finishing high school he decided to start his academic career by graduating at the G. Lettimi Conservatory in Rimini. Studying guitar he became interested in the composition, an interest that led him to enroll at the three-year choral music in Bologna, and then to graduate with P.P. Scattolin. He continues his musical studies graduating to the two-year course in choir conducting at the Rovigo Conservatory of Music with M. Peguri and specializing in the Superior School for Conductors of Arezzo with L. Donati. He is actually artistic director of the Choral Association Euphonios, an important reality that numbers almost 100 members divided into four choirs with a lively concert activity. In addition to many concerts in Italy and abroad with Euphonios Vocal Ensemble, he won prizes in national choral competitions and in 2017 participates at the World Tour of H. Zimmer performing at the Mediolanum Forum in Milan. In the two-year period 2014-15 he is one of the three conductors of the Tuscany Youth Choir, with which he performs at Expo Milano 2015. Since 2016 he collaborates with the Camerata Strumentale Città di Prato performing with the Choir City of Prato of which he is the trainer conductor. After graduating at the two-year teaching course in Modena, in 2016 he won the school competition, becoming a musical instrument teacher. 

Rohan Poldevaart (The Netherlands) / high schools

With great love and passion for piano & choir singing Rohan starts his career as a choir conductor in 2004. After graduating at the University of Hong Kong (HKU Music) in Education he decides to specialize in Rhythmic Choir Music. He finishes his master in Innovative Choir Leading & Performace soloist (post-master) at the Royal Academy of Aalborg (DK) in 2019. Innovative Choir Leading represents a cappella singing, vocal (group) improvisation, circle singing, rehearsed music and the methodology to aim for the highest artistic level. With his humble presence, communication and musical skills Rohan is an experienced and inspiring teacher and musician. “The most fascinating element of music and singing in general is the teambuilding part.” Rohan is currently working as the artistic director at Vocal Statements. Working together with his colleague A. Heidweiller he designs a specific program for secondary schools VMBO level. He works in Belgium, Germany, Finland, Denmark, and China as a coach and trainer for music teachers and conductors. One of his goals is to emphasize the relevance of music and singing in education. He is also the conductor and artistic leader at The Amsterdam Vocals”. He teaches at HKU Conservatory (Gospel minor), Codarts (Vocal Leadership) Rotterdam, and ArtEZ Zwolle (Choir Leading). On September 2023 he started with a pilot goal to create a national youth choir that represent the Netherlands in diversity (YARA, national youth choir).

Luca Scaccabarozzi / high schools

Graduated with honors in piano and philosophy, he trained as a choir conductor at several academies with internationally renowned teachers. First prize winner in the R. Gandolfi International Competition for Choral Conductors, he has also won many prizes in national and international choral competitions leading such choirs as the Ensemble Vocale Mousiké and the Torino Vocalensemble. He collaborates as choirmaster with the Verdi Barocca Professional Ensemble and the Symphonic Choir of Milan and has worked with Ars Cantica Choir at prestigious festivals and music seasons. He has studied singing with internationally renowned teachers including C. Baldy, M. Scavazza, L. Serafini and collaborates as a singer with a number of professional groups. He is also founder and conductor of the Zephyrus choir and directs the Regina del Rosario choir in Arcore and the Le Dissonanze choir in Monza. He is invited as a guest conductor for seminars and concerts, also in collaboration with orchestras, and as a juror at national and international choral competitions. He carries out intense activity as a teacher of piano and choral conducting at several academies including the Milano Choral Academy, the Arezzo School for Choral Conductors and the Righele Academy, and periodically holds master classes and seminars for choristers and conductors.

Jan Schumacher (Germany) / high schools/regional choirs

Jan Schumacher (1980) is professor and music director at the Goethe-University in Frankfurt and teaches conducting at the Music Academy in Darmstadt. Next to the choirs and orchestras of Frankfurt University and Darmstadt Academy, Jan is as well the conductor of Camerata Musica Limburg. With Camerata Musica he appeared at IFCM WSCM, ACDA National Conference and won 1st prizes in International Choral Competitions. With his ensembles, he builds extensive repertoires from Gregorian chants to world premieres, from symphonic orchestra to Big Band, and vocal or electronic improvisation. Jan teaches courses for choirs, orchestras and conductors across whole Germany and was jury member in the national choir competitons of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. He is editor of various choral collections with some of the most important choral publishing houses (Helbing, Carus, Bärenreiter, Peters). On international level he served for festivals like America Cantat, Africa Cantat, Europa Cantat and Choralies, and giving workshops and lectures at the American Choral Directors Association, the IFCM World Symposium or the Philippine Choral Directors Association. He was guest conductor at the Chamber Choir of Europe, the Taipeh Philharmonic Choir, State Choir Polifonija (Lithuania), Fayha National Choir (Lebanon), the Coro Universitario de Mendoza and others. Jan was invited to teach masterclasses in Bulgaria, Iceland, Turkey, USA, Venezuela, Argentina, China and Iran. Since 2019 he is appointed to be Artistic Director of the prestigious German Choir Competition and since 2020 he is Vice President of IFCM (International Federation for Choral Music). Many years he served as a board member of the European Choral Association.

Tobia Simone Tuveri / primary and junior high schools

Born in Cagliari, he studied piano at the G.P. da Palestrina Conservatory in Cagliari, where he graduated with F. Giangrandi. In 2014, he graduated in psychological sciences and techniques at the University of Cagliari and in 2015 in music therapy at the Cesfor Institute in Bolzano. In 2017, he completed the one-year master's degree at the G. d'Arezzo School for Choral Conductors and in 2018 he graduated with full marks and honours in choral conducting and composition at the Cagliari Conservatory. As a choir conductor, he attended seminars and masterclasses with prominent musicians such as G. Morgan, M. Koczka, G. Graden, M. Berrini, M. Privitera, A. Cadario, M. Fulgoni, G. Mazzucato, T. Visioli, C. Pavese, R. Rasmussen, L. Donati, N. Corti, L. Leo and V. Bono. From 2015 to 2017 he was conductor of the Sardinian Youth Choir. From 2017 to 2019 he was singer of the Italian Youth Choir. He has carried out several musical projects with school choirs and is currently artistic and musical director of the Hic et Nunc Association, the Terra Mea Male Choir and the Gradi Congiunti Male Ensemble. He carries out an intensive music education activity in primary schools. In 2019 he won 3rd prize at the National Competition for Choir Directors Le mani in suono in Arezzo. In 2020 his composition L'ago di Garda was selected for Giro Giro Canto 8. In 2022 he conducted a music literacy course for Fersaco and won the special prize as best Italian conductor at the 2nd Fosco Corti International Competition for Conductors in Turin.

Mathilde Vittu (France) / primary and junior high schools

Mathilde Vittu, an eclectic French musician, studied violin, viola, choral and orchestral conducting, musicology, composition and arranging, earning numerous diplomas at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse in Paris and receiving various prizes and awards from the Ministry of Culture. She has performed in prestigious concert halls in France and abroad, venturing into both the baroque and modern repertoire. She has published books and essays mainly on French Baroque music and on the relationship between traditional and Western musical culture. Deeply interested in Arabic culture and music, she taught for a year at the Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat (Sultanate of Oman) and in 2013-2014 at the Edward Said Conservatory of Music in Palestine. He currently teaches at the Conservatoire Niedermeyer in Issy-les-Moulineaux and chairs its music culture department; he is also a lecturer at the Conservatoire Regional Influence in Paris and at the Paris/Boulogne-Billancourt Higher Education Pole. Since September 2014, she has been a musicology teacher at the Paris Conservatoire and director of the children's choirs of the Amwaj Choir School of Palestine in Bethlehem and Hebron (Palestine).