The multi-instrumentalist Stefano Saletti (oud, bouzouki, tzouras, mandola) and the singer Gabriella Aiello hold workshops and ensemble music labs aimed at exploring the similarities and differences in the musical and vocal styles of Mediterranean countries: their influences, overlaps, and unique characteristics. During the workshop, participants learn pieces from various musical traditions, deepening their understanding of vocal styles and interpretative techniques.

Program:

• Exploration of Mediterranean musical styles
• Songs and interpretative techniques
• Ensemble playing
• Guided listening
• Traditional pieces and original compositions
• Great performers
• String instruments (detailed focus on oud and bouzouki)
• Main scales
• Rhythms

The workshop covers a wide range, from Corsican, Sardinian, and Sicilian polyphony to the voices of the Balkans, from Southern Italian songs to flamenco and Arab-Andalusian influences, from North African mawwal to Portuguese fado, from the Arabic techniques of the oud to the Greek scales of the bouzouki, from the Sephardic songs of the Jewish diaspora to the singing traditions in Sabir, the ancient Mediterranean language. As the great intellectual Predrag Matvejevic says: “There is no single Mediterranean culture; there are many cultures within the same sea”: a path of discovery to explore how much Mediterranean there is within and around us.