FESTA DELLA MUSICA

Arriving at its 32nd national edition, on Sunday, June 21, 2026, the Music Festival will also take place in Manduria, with this year's theme being "The Voice of Places."

Directed by Maestro Raffaele Vaccaro in the role of artistic organizer, the Music Festival promises to be full of surprises and rich in emotions.

The magical moments accompanied by the harmony of sound will follow a well-defined path, almost as if to embrace every identity and symbolic place in the town. Thus, the Cloister of the Augustinians, Largo Santa Maria, Largo San Leonardo, Piazza Garibaldi, the Palazzo delle Servite, the Historic Centre, and Piazza San Francesco will serve as gathering points for those who, whether in company or in sweet solitude, wish to participate in the celebration and feel like an integral part of the community.

The event will begin at 7:30 PM, featuring performances by some students from the singing, piano, and ensemble music classes of the Municipal School City of Manduria at the Cloister of the Augustinians. Following this, and proceeding with half-hour intervals, there will be more moments of pure melody, until the community can head towards the Central Square where the Grand Concert by the Tebaide Orchestra will take place with "Disney Opera," a project conceived and written by Raffaella Balestra, with musical direction and arrangements by Cosimo Maraglino. A major highlight of the evening, and a first in the provinces of Taranto and Brindisi, the musical ensemble, consisting of 35 musicians with six male and female vocalists, will provide the young audience with moments of pure magic. Continuing with the schedule for the older crowd, the concert by the band Liga 2.0, one of the most followed in Puglia and beyond, will take place.

Maestro Vaccaro expresses great satisfaction, emphasizing that: "The Festival represents a significant event dedicated to the enhancement of music seen as a universal language of meeting, participation, and culture. The chosen theme, 'The Voice of Places,' indicates the centrality of the relationship between music and territory, in the vibrant spaces of our city, rich in artistic expression and social sharing. The initiative aims to create a dialogue between artists, entrepreneurs, local merchants, and citizens through widespread musical performances that tell the soul of the places and their emotions. I believe that musical culture should be accessible to everyone, and it is essential to promote messages of peace and dialogue, which are particularly urgent at this time, encourage the participation of younger generations in cultural life, support emerging talents, and transform urban spaces into places of aggregation and creativity to foster sustainable and healthy tourism. Not by chance, I have chosen to focus on two aspects, making them paradoxically 'achievable': the lack of a theater and the difficulties faced by our merchants. Bringing the performance of the Disney Opera means reintroducing a sort of scenic experience that, fueled by the enthusiasm of the youngest, will also capture the emotions of adults, transforming the central square into an open-air theater. Furthermore, by scheduling performances along the backbone of our town, we will provide businesses with the opportunity to feel like an integral part of a result that will speak for everyone. To visually beautify the melodic journey, some treble clefs will be hung along the entire route, symbolizing the vision that music possesses, both symbolic and very real. It will be a celebration that will resonate with the most intimate chords and the most contagious enthusiasm of every citizen, in absolute sharing. And continuing to view everything, when possible, through the eyes of a child, I believe can be our one and great salvation."