Rassegna Organistica - Concerto Fanfara 3^ Regione Aerea

**Friday, November 14, at 8 PM, in the Church of San Domenico in Mola di Bari**, the 16th edition of the **International Organ Festival of Santa Maria del Passo** - directed by **Margherita Sciddurlo** - presents a concert with a symphonic and contemporary flair, where the organ meets percussion and the evocative power of a large wind ensemble. The performers will include Sciddurlo herself on the organ, percussionist and composer **Luigi Morleo**, the **Fanfare of the Aviation School Command Third Air Region of Bari conducted by First Lieutenant Maestro Nicola Cotugno**, and the music of young composer **Mattia Vlad Morleo**, creating a generational and timbral interweaving of great allure.

The concert will open with a tribute to Georges Bizet, who will be commemorated in 2025 for the 150th anniversary of his death. The Fanfare will play Suite No. 2 from the incidental music for "L'Arlésienne," composed for the play by Alphonse Daudet. This score is infused with the color and poetry of Provence, where Bizet blends French melodic grace with lively and brilliant orchestral writing. The famous themes of the "Farandole" and "Intermezzo" — highly evocative and with a compelling rhythm — perfectly suit the powerful sound of the band ensemble, opening the evening with energy and bright elegance.

This will be followed by "For Shegué 4" by Luigi Morleo, an internationally renowned composer and percussionist, who also takes center stage as a soloist. Originally written for a percussion ensemble, it will be presented here for the first time arranged for band and percussion: the piece is inspired — as is often the case in Morleo’s work — by social and humanitarian themes: the title indeed refers to the world of the "shegué," the street children of the Democratic Republic of Congo, to whom the author dedicates a powerful and emotional sound reflection. The percussion, at times scratching and forceful, at other times contemplative, blends with the energy of the band in a language that mixes minimalism, tribalism, and dramatic tension, portraying a fresco of universal denunciation and compassion.

The third piece in the program, "Of Blue and Sand," is a world premiere by Mattia Vlad Morleo, a young Apulian composer and Luigi's son. The piece, written for organ and band, explores the relationship between sound and space, evoking images of the sea and land, the sky and desert. Mattia Vlad Morleo's music falls on the borderline between contemporary minimalism and cinematic aesthetics, with a language that is intimate, poetic, and powerful, capable of conveying visual emotions through sound matter.

The evening will conclude with "Climate Expression 10," another world premiere by Luigi Morleo, a work for organ, percussion, and band that encapsulates his most personal hallmark: merging the force of instrumental gesture with a civic message. The composition, part of a larger series dedicated to climate change, is a sonic journey between dissonances and harmonies, tensions and breaths, where the organ becomes the pulsing heart of a secular liturgy, the band the collective voice, and the percussion the restless heartbeat of the Earth. The result is an intense dialogue among different musical groups, transcending genres to become an invocation of environmental and spiritual awareness.

Margherita Sciddurlo, chair of Organ and Organ Composition at the "Nino Rota" Conservatory in Monopoli, has been the artistic director of the International Organ Festival of Santa Maria del Passo since 2010. Alongside her concert activities, she is engaged in promoting the Apulian organ heritage and exploring new timbral combinations, often in dialogue with unusual instruments such as saxophone, harp, and percussion. Luigi Morleo, a professor at the "Niccolò Piccinni" Conservatory in Bari, is among the most performed Italian composers abroad, with a repertoire spanning from classical music to multimedia and performance language. Mattia Vlad Morleo, born in 2000, has already captured international attention for his cinematic and environmental writing, where music becomes a visual and intimate narrative.

**Admission is free until seats are filled**. The concert supports the Italian Air Force project "A Gift from the Sky" for the Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital in Rome.

The International Organ Festival of Santa Maria del Passo is promoted by the cultural association "Arte & Musica" and supported by the Ministry of Culture, the Regional Council of Apulia, and the Municipality of Mola di Bari, in partnership with the Pasquale Battista Foundation and with the support of main sponsor Levigas Luce e Gas. For information: 340.376.15.50.
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