Address: Piazza del Suffragio, 6, 55100 Lucca LU, Italy

The Church of Suffragio is among the few churches built in Lucca ex novo during the seventeenth century. Erected in 1634, on the site of the burial of the dead of the plague of 1630. The Suffrage Auditorium belongs now to the Conservatory "Luigi Boccherini", founded in 1842.

Text and photos: boccherini.it

Address: Via S. Paolino, 55100 Lucca LU, Italy

Dedicated to Saints Paulinus and Donatus, it was built in the first half of the 16th century by Baccio da Montelupo on the ruins of the nearby church of St. Donatus and St. George, in whose crypt the remains of St. Polynus were rediscovered. Dedicated to the first bishop of Lucca, this renowned church houses many valuable works such as paintings, wood carvings and frescoes. On the road outside the church, three meters deep, the Roman floor of the decumanus was found.

Photos: ArchivioParrocchiaCentroStoricoLucca

Address: Piazza S. Pietro Somaldi, 55100 Lucca LU, Italy

The church, which dates back to the 8th century, was founded in 763 by a bishop Sumualdo (or Summal, hence the name); it was then rebuilt at the end of the 12th century and completed in the upper part of the façade by a blind arcade in the second half of the 13th century. Apart from two panels, the only survivors of the 15th century endowment, the furnishings consist of 17th century paintings and valuable 19th century works.

Photos: INTERKULTUR

Address: Piazza S.Francesco, 55100 Lucca LU, Italy

The church, built in brick with a single hall and trussed roof, was completed by 1430 with the addition of three presbytery chapels. For the facade, which shows two sepulchral arches on either side of the portal, a white limestone cladding was adopted, which remained unfinished and was only completed at the end of the 1920s (the facade was in fact solemnly inaugurated on 6 November 1927).

In 2003, the Franciscan friars left the convent and the entire complex was purchased by the municipality of Lucca and, in 2010, was then taken over by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca.

Text: Wikipedia
Photos: ArchivioFotograficoFondazioneCRL

Unanimously recognized as one of the greatest interpreters of Renaissance and Baroque vocal repertoire, Giovanni Acciai studied organ, composition, choral conducting, and earned his master’s degree in Early Music Semiotics and Philology of Music from the University of Pavia. In 1982 he won the competition for the critical edition of Gioacchino Rossini's Messa di Gloria, organised by the Rossini Foundation in Pesaro and published by Casa Ricordi. He was conductor of the Chamber Choir of the Italian Broadcast (RAI) and the Corale Universitaria of Turin and currently serves as conductor and artistic director of the vocal and instrumental ensembles "I Solisti del Madrigale" and "Nova ars Cantandi", which hold numerous concerts and recording sessions. His literary and musical output comprises numerous early music publications, musicological essays, reviews, and recordings of unreleased works for the publishers Antes, Stradivarius, Sarx, Unda maris, Tactus, Archiv Deutsches Grammophon and Naxos. His CD “Armonici entusiasmi di Davide” by Giovanni Battista Bassani was nominated for best CD of 2017 in the category “Early Music” at the International Classic Music Awards and his CD "Contrafacta" by Monteverdi was named "Album of the month" in the magazines "Classic Voice" and "Amadeus" as well as his CD Responsoria by Leonardo Leo in the critic reviews of Musica.

In 2019 this CD was awarded the prestigious Franco Abbiati Prize by the National Association of Music Critics. In addition to leading courses on early music semiotics at the Conservatory "Giuseppe Verdi" in Milan, he is the Artistic Director of INTERKULTUR’s international choir competitions in Grado and Perugia. He is regularly invited as an international jury member and jury president to renowned choir competitions and is sought after as a lecturer and teacher at conferences of musicology and choral conducting masterclasses in Italy and abroad. For his high-ranking and international artistic achievements, he was appointed honorary member of the American Choral Directors Associations (ACDA) in 1991. Giovanni Acciai was a member of the international jury panel of the World Choir Games and is an active member and official representative for Italy in the World Choir Council. Since 2015, he has been an active member of the Réseau Européen de Musique Ancienne (REMA) of Versailles. Since 2022, has been a member of the Paris-based Fédération des ensembles vocaux et instrumentaux spécialisés (FEVIS) and in the same year founded the international festival "Musica Mirabilis" in Clusone (Bergamo), dedicated to the rediscovery of the vocal and instrumental music of Giovanni Legrenzi (1626-1690).

Sought-after for her dynamic and engaging teaching style, and her wealth of choral and pedagogical experience, Amy has a degree in Piano Performance (UK) and a Doctorate in Choral Conducting (USA). She is the Director of Training for the Association of British Choral Directors and co-founder of the London International Choral Conducting Competition (LICCC).

Amy Bebbington leads choral conducting masterclasses and teaches at international summer schools, including Cork, Limerick and Sherborne. Her successful online training course, Choral Leadership and Pedagogy (CLP), created as a direct result of the pandemic, enabled her to engage, and share good practice, with choral conductors from all over the world.

Amy has been a guest clinician at the Leading Voices Festival (Utrecht), Chor.com (Hannover) and at the Junge Stimmen Symposium (Berlin) presenting sessions on kinaesthetic gestures, female composers and conservatoire training for emerging professionals. Known for her advocacy for female conductors and composers, she champions marginalised musicians through choral programming, Discovery Days and private mentoring.

She has choral works published by Banks Music Publications, Multitude of Voyces and Choral Music Publishing, and is proud to be Musical Director of Corra Sound, Harlequin Chamber Choir, Nota Bene and Sempre Fidelis Singers. She is in demand as leading choral clinician, adjudicator, mentor and teacher.

He is the founder and conductor of the Serbian choral ensemble "SERBICA", serves as an Associate Professor at the University of Novi Sad, Academy of Arts. His career highlights among others: 20 first-place and special prizes, 2 Grand Prix awards, and the prestigious "Outstanding Choir" accolade at various choral competitions both domestically and internationally; numerous honors for pedagogical and artistic excellence, including the "Outstanding Choral Teacher" award at the World Choir Festival in Hong Kong, China, and the esteemed "November Award" from the City of Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia.

Opačić significantly contributes to the international choral community as an honorary member of the World Choral Council and as a highly sought-after international juror, guest choral conductor, and lecturer at events such as: the 13th China ICF in Beijing; KUESTA University choir festival in South Africa; World Choir Games in South Korea; Music and Sea ICF in Greece; Sarawak International Choral Festival and Malaysian Choral Eisteddfod (YCA) in Malaysia.

With a rich background as a singer in the World Youth Choir, World Chamber Choir, and World Voices (1999-2009), as well as a production/project manager for the "Vox Luminis" early music ensemble (2016-2017) and the World Youth Choir (2004-2015), Vladimir Opačić continues to inspire and elevate the world of choral music through his leadership, artistry, and unwavering commitment to excellence.