Giovanni Acciai is a renowned Italian composer, university professor, juror, workshop leader and conductor. He acts as the local Artistic Director for INTERKULTUR’s choral events in Italy, such as “Isola del Sole” in Grado and “VOICES FOR PEACE” in Perugia and Assisi (May 1-5, 2019).

Among others, Acciai is the conductor and artistic director of the collegium vocale “Nova ars cantandi”, with which he has made concert tours and recordings. His former CD production with Nova Ars Cantandi, the "Armonici entusiasmi di Davide" by Giovanni Battista Bassani, has been nominated for the International Classic Music Award as the best CD of the year 2017 in the category Early Music.

Recently, Giovanni Acciai has published another CD recording with Nova Ars Cantandi: “Leonardo Leo: Responsoria”. Leonardo Leo, a Neapolitan Baroque composer is known for his opera works and sacred dramas. He left many works, which still have to be discovered and brought to light. One of them is “Responsoria”, a collection of pieces which were to be performed during the Holy Week before Easter.

Acciai’s recording of the work together with Nova Ars Cantandi was highly acclaimed by the musical press, for example by the Italian “MUSICA” magazine, which rated the CD with 5 stars in its November edition. What is more, Nova Ars Cantandi will perform this work on November 18, 2018 in the Chiesa di Santa Caterina da Siena in Neapel. Read more here (in Italian).