The project, sponsored by the Secretariat of State for Education and Culture, brought to San Marino a delegation of young musicians from the United Arab Emirates for a week of study, rehearsals and cultural exchange.
The orchestra and choir performed under the direction of Massimiliano Messieri and Aldo Dotto, with choir masters Fausto Giacomini and Isabel Maria Canada Luna. The programme opened with the national anthems of the two countries, followed by works by Gastoldi, Haydn, Saint-Saëns, Sibelius and Ravel.
Young cellist Antonio Marco Iuppa, from Abu Dhabi, performed as soloist in Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C major. The evening closed with a tribute to Ennio Morricone, met with a long round of applause from the audience that filled the theatre.
Among those attending the evening were Italy’s ambassador to San Marino, Fabrizio Colaceci, and San Marino’s ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Elisabetta Bucci. On Tuesday, 13 October, the Abu Dhabi delegation and IMS representatives were received in audience by Captains Regent Gerardo Giovagnoli and William Casali.
The twinning project was born from an idea by Valentina Tura, a Sammarinese former student of the Institute who now lives in the United Arab Emirates. Tura coordinated the connection between the two institutions and took part in the concert herself, playing double bass.
“At a time when confrontation seems to have become the most common path, these young people showed that another way is possible. On Friday evening, on the same stage, differences of language, culture and origin became a single voice. This is the deepest meaning of a public music school, and it’s only the beginning of a journey we want to continue,” said Giacomo Volpinari, president of the Istituto Musicale Sammarinese (IMS).
The IMS thanked the Captains Regent, the Secretariat of State for Education and Culture, the Abu Dhabi Youth Orchestra and Choir, the teachers, students, families and everyone who contributed to making the initiative possible.
