ACADEMY⬤
CELLO
Cello advanced annual training course
● INTRODUCTION
PALERMO (SICILY), OCTOBER 2024 TO JULY 2025
The annual Advanced Training course for cello is the first advanced training program in Sicily with a specific focus on professional preparation for orchestral auditions and chamber music.
One of the most important goals of this annual course is to always look towards reality, the professional world, and career opportunities. For this reason, we haven’t stopped at simply scheduling individual instrument lessons, but have enriched the annual course with workshops and activities in the web and digital realm, which are indispensable in a concert performer’s career today. You will find professors from the international music scene, important opportunities for interaction, professional and technological spaces, and the support of the MARTHA “family.”
Classes are held at our headquarters, in Palermo, equipped with pianos, community areas, a green court and the energy you need to find perfect focus, meet new colleagues and engage in great professional growth.
CHAMBER MUSIC
It is possible to participate in the annual course with a chamber music ensemble
The program is aimed at groups ranging from duos to quintets.
The group will be able to participate in lessons with all the teachers, aiming to prepare a concert program.
The best groups, as indicated by the teachers, will be selected and will have the opportunity to perform in MARTHA’s concert seasons or at other institutions.
The cost of the chamber music course is intended for the entire group.
GIOVANNI Sollima
He collaborates with artists of the caliber of Riccardo Muti, Yo-Yo Ma, Ivan Fischer, Viktoria Mullova, Ruggero Raimondi, Mario Brunello, Kathryn Stott, Giuseppe Andaloro, Yuri Bashmet, Katia and Marielle Labeque, Giovanni Antonini, Ottavio Dantone, Patti Smith, Stefano Bollani, Paolo Fresu, Elisa and Antonio Albanese, and with orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Liverpool Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Moscow Soloists, Berlin Konzerthausorchester, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Il Giardino Armonico, Cappella Neapolitana, Accademia Bizantina, Budapest Festival Orchestra. For cinema, theater, television, and dance, he has written and performed music for Peter Greenaway, John Turturro, Bob Wilson, Carlos Saura, Marco Tullio Giordana, Alessandro Baricco, Peter Stein, Lasse Gjertsen, Anatolij Vasiliev, Karole Armitage, and Carolyn Carlson. He has performed in some of the most important venues worldwide, including Alice Tully Hall, the Knitting Factory, Carnegie Hall (New York), Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall (London), Salle Gaveau (Paris), Teatro alla Scala (Milan), Ravenna Festival, Opera House (Sydney), and Suntory Hall (Tokyo). Since 2010, Sollima has been teaching at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, where he was awarded the title of Academician. In 2012, he co-founded the 100 Cellos together with Enrico Melozzi. In 2015, he created the “sonic logo” for Expo in Milan and inaugurated the new museum space of Michelangelo’s Pietà Rondanini. In the field of composition, he explores various genres using ancient, oriental, electric, and self-invented instruments, playing in the Sahara Desert, underwater, or with a cello made of ice. During 2020, due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, Giovanni Sollima’s concert activities experienced a significant slowdown for well-known reasons. Nevertheless, during the summer and autumn months, he had the opportunity to perform at renowned festivals such as Classiche Forme in Lecce, MiTo Settembre Musica in Milan and Turin, Mittelfest in Cividale del Friuli, and for the Scarlatti Association in Naples. Throughout the last year, Giovanni Sollima has also intensified his activity in the field of composition, receiving several commissions, including “Il Libro della Giungla,” presented for the first time in Kiel in the autumn of 2020. His discography began in 1998 with a CD commissioned by Philip Glass for his label Point Music, followed by numerous albums for Sony, Egea, and Decca. Giovanni Sollima has brought to light an eighteenth-century cellist composer, Giovanni Battista Costanzi, whose Sonatas and Symphonies for cello and basso continuo he recorded in recent years for the Spanish label Glossa. In October 2018, at the Cello Biennale in Amsterdam, he received the prestigious Anner Bijlsma Award. In the early months of 2021, he recorded the six Suites by J.S. Bach, symbolizing a return to the essence of music. This recording will be distributed starting from September 2021. Giovanni Sollima plays a cello by Francesco Ruggeri (Cremona, 1679).
AMEDEO CICCHESE
He graduated with top marks and honors at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome in both Chamber Music and Cello under the guidance of Rocco Filippini and Giovanni Sollima. He continued his studies with Antonio Meneses at the Hochschule der Kunste in Bern and with Enrico Dindo at the Pavia Cello Academy. Winner of the prestigious “Premio Giuseppe Sinopoli,” he was chosen by Riccardo Muti as the principal cellist of the Orchestra Cherubini. He has performed, both as a soloist and in other roles, in many Italian and foreign theaters for prestigious institutions, conducted not only by R. Muti but also by C. Abbado, F. Luisi, P. Jaarvi, D. Gatti, C. Eschenbach, L. Shani, Tan Dun. He has appeared as a soloist with the Orchestra Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, the China Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Shenzen Symphony Orchestra, the MDR Leipzig, the MAV Budapest, in important venues in Asia and Europe such as the Grand Theater in Shanghai, the Sala Santa Cecilia at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, the Leipzig Arena, and the Beethoven Saal in Stuttgart, to name a few. He made his debut at the prestigious Suntory Hall in Tokyo accompanied by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, performing alongside artists of the caliber of Yundi Li and Ryu Goto on the occasion of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the historic Japanese Hall. Chosen by Maestro Gianandrea Noseda, since 2016, he has been the Principal Cellist of the Orchestra del Teatro Regio di Torino and collaborates, also as the Principal Cellist, with the Filarmonica della Scala in Milan, the Camerata Salzburg, the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, and the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. He plays a cello by Annibale Fagnola from 1904.
Massimo POLIDORI
Born in Turin, he began his early studies at the conservatory of his city with Brancaleon, graduating in cello with top marks. He then furthered his training with Janigro, Brunello, and Shafran, winning the first prize for virtuosity in 1996 at the Conservatoire de Genève under the guidance of Daniel Gronsgurin. From 1995 and for the next five years, he held the position of the principal solo cello of the “Camerata Bern,” a group with which he toured worldwide with highly esteemed musicians such as Andras Schiff, Holliger, Peter Serkin, Chumachenco, and Zehetmair, recording for Decca, Berlin Classic, and Philips. In February 2000, he was chosen by Riccardo Muti to be the principal cello of the Orchestra of Teatro alla Scala. Always committed to deepening the chamber music repertoire, he is the founder of the Trio Johannes. He is also a professor at the Academy of Advanced Studies for Orchestra Conductors at Teatro alla Scala.
PROGRAM ⬤
From October 2024 to July 2025
Discover below the program of the annual cello course, the first Advanced Annual Training program in Palermo that allows you to take the big step from student to concert cellist.
The annual course offers 3 types of attendance, designed to meet the different needs of each musician:
Cello lessons take place over 8 meetings.
3 meetings with Giovanni Sollima
3 meetings with Amedeo Cicchese
2 meetings with Massimo Polidori
Each meeting includes two lessons of about 60 minutes each.
INCLUDED IN THE FOLLOWING PATH:
-
- Concert artist path
- Performer path
- Part-time path
The Master’s program offers two specific addresses for in-depth study of solo or chamber music repertoire:
1. ORCHESTRAL ADDRESS: specific in the study of orchestral excerpts and in the preparation of orchestral auditions. Lessons will be scheduled with faculty to set concrete goals.
2. CHAMBER MUSIC ADDRESS: for those who wish to deepen their chamber music repertoire with their own ensemble. You can then participate in the Master’s program by bringing your own chamber group (duo, trio, quartet, quintet).
The fee for the chamber music address will remain the same, whatever the number of ensemble members.
● GOALS
CONCERT REPERTOIRE
Over the year, your purpose will be complete a recital program chosen on the basis of the specialization you want to undertake or recommended by the teacher.
COMPETITION REPERTOIRE
You will learn how to design and master the main pieces required in international competitions.
PASSAGES
ORCHESTRAL
Particular attention will be paid to the several orchestra steps, nowadays required with an higher level, in the auditions of all the orchestras in the world.
TECHNIQUE
You will face all the challenges related to violin technique, delving deep into the repertoire and aspects such as touch, sound, physicality, breath, and overall, gaining a thorough knowledge of your instrument.
INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS
You will deepen the history, the structure and the different interpretative possibilities of each piece, in order to master each aspect of the performance, starting from the score and arriving to the aware listening of your own sound.
Integration of movement, sensation, feeling and thought: awarness is the foundational element. Physical and emotional tensions, habits and unconscious motor patterns are major contributors to the musicians’ problems.
During the 8 lessons of the Feldenkrais Method®, you will learn to acquire and develop new and more functional habits, gain body awareness, rediscover a more efficient and effective posture, and find a freer and more adaptable breath. This will allow you to improve and make a better sound quality, managing performance anxieties and achieving greater artistic expression. The Feldenkrais Method® lessons will take place on the same days as the violin lessons.
Teacher:
MARISA GLORIOSO
She graduated from the International Feldenkrais Method® Training and is qualified to teach both group lessons of Awareness Through Movement® and the hands-on technique of Functional Integration® (individual sessions).
Her educational background, first in linguistics and then in music and the arts, led her to develop a passion for everything related to body expression and creativity. She became interested in Rudolf Steiner’s eurhythmics, an artistic movement practice closely connected to language and music, and she attended a three-year course on body expression and verbal and non-verbal communication. She studied opera singing at the Palermo Conservatory of Music, took courses in diction, theater improvisation and acting. In Turin, she perfects her stage art, vocal technique, and acting skills. She attends the Stefano Tempia Academy, specializing in Choral Singing, and works as a chorister for several years. Her interest in everything related to the harmony of body, mind, and spirit leads her to approach holistic disciplines: she graduates and obtains a Master’s degree as a Shiatsu Practitioner, attends a Diapason Therapy Course, and a course on Tibetan Bowls for therapeutic purposes.
INCLUDED IN THE FOLLOWING PATHS
- Performer path
- Concert artist path
Throughout the academic year, workshops, seminars, and other highly engaging activities are organized for those attending the Advanced Training Course. These include workshops on audition recording techniques, insights into music management, self-promotion, as well as in-depth explorations of the instrument.
These activities are always included and free for students of the annual courses who choose the Performer or Concert Artist pathway.
The presentation of a concert performer and artist in the world of entertainment happens mainly through publicity in the digital world and with the use of different channels, from social, to the website, to the press. During this Master’s program you will be able to create and put your professional website online, with the support of the communication and marketing studio Iride Consulting.
INCLUDED IN THE FOLLOWING PATHS:
- Concert artist path
Some of our students’ sites AY 2022/23:
One day dedicated to a studio photo shoot to create a portfolio of professional photographs that you can use for your promotion and for various requirements: CVs, posters, programmes, social profiles and website.
INCLUDED IN THE FOLLOWING PATHS:
- concert artist path
MARTHA has a recording studio with the best audiovisual production equipment.
We offer our students an important opportunity to do a recording session to make a professional video suitable for all streaming platforms.
INCLUDED IN THE FOLLOWING PATHS
- concert artist path
MARTHA – Music ART House Academy was founded as a place for the enjoyment of art and music.
Throughout the year, House Concerts, artistic residencies, and events are organized, where you can perform solo or in chamber groups and put the studied repertoire into practice. The selection for each concert will be made from time to time by teachers and based on the repertoire required for the occasion.
At the end of the academic year, the conclusion of a journey will be celebrated with final concerts, also streamed live. During the event, attendance certificates will be issued.
INCLUDED IN THE FOLLOWING PATHS
- concert artist path
- Performer path
- Part-time path
EARLY BIRD PROMOTION UNTIL AUGUST 20, 2024
| CONCERT ARTIST | PERFORMER | PART-TIME | |
|---|---|---|---|
| LESSONS | 16 | 16 | 8 |
| AUDITOR OPEN COURSES 2024 | ● | ● | ● |
| PIANO ACCOMPANIST | ● | ● | ● |
| SPECIFIC ADDRESSES | ● | ● | ● |
| THE FELDENKRAIS METHOD® | ● | ● | |
| WORKSHOP AND SEMINARS | ● | ● | |
| WEBSITE CREATION | ● | ||
| PHOTO SHOOT | ● | ||
| PROFESSIONAL RECORDING | ● | ||
| APPLICATION FEES | €200 | €200 | €200 |
| ATTENDANCE FEES | €3.900 | EARLY BIRD €3.500 | €2.300 | EARLY BIRD €2.100 | €1.300 | EARLY BIRD €1.200 |
| ATTENDANCE FEES CHAMBER MUSIC | €2.600 | EARLY BIRD €2.300 | €1.600 | EARLY BIRD €1.400 |
Prices include VAT
● AUDITORS
No skills are required to participate as auditors.
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TO APPLY ⬤⬤⬤
Free Audition
Participating in the audition is simple. Just fill out the following online form. You will receive the audition result via email. In the case of a positive outcome, we will send you the contract to proceed with enrollment.
Rules for the video of the audition:
● Free repertoire for solo cello or cello and piano
● Framing that includes the instrument
● High-resolution smartphone video allowed
● Chamber music address: video with ensemble also required
Audition participation deadline:
September 15, 2024
IMPORTANT
Auditions are processed immediately, following the order in which applications are received.
Admissions to the annual course are therefore subject to early closure once the maximum number of participants is reached.
In case of successful ADMISSION you will need to proceed with:
● Application
The application fee is required to reserve your place and must be paid within one week of the notice of successful admission.
● Attendance
The attendance fee must be paid by November 30, 2023
All payment details will be provided in the contract attached to the admission email.
PAYMENT IN INSTALLMENTS
Payment in installments is available and can be requested after successfully completing the audition step.
CONVENTIONS
MARTHA Academy has conventions with hostels, B&Bs, hotels and bars that are located close to the class venue.
