On Wednesday, May 11, 2016, the Aula Magna lent its stage to the Grande Coro di Roma and the Coro Polifonico LUISS to support Associazione Antea.
The eight students (Teresa Castellani, Ludovica Fabrizi, Nyree Grifeo, Carlotta Monteleone, Maria Elisabetta Oliva, Rachele Parlangeli, Flaminia Pinzarrone and Ludovica Tripodi) participated in the new musical initiative sponsored by the Cultural Activities Office, and during the charity event, accompanied the group of amateur singers in a collection of pieces from musicals, films and other famous works.
“The project was launched by Cultural Activities, who embraced my idea to create and lead a university choir at LUISS,” explains Maestro Fabrizio Adriano Neri, Director of the Grande Coro di Roma. “The Grande Coro brings together employees from the most important institutions in the area who share a passion for singing. Originally the idea was to have them work in synergy with students, but now we are expanding the project to create a true university choir at LUISS.”
“The concert for Antea was only a month after rehearsals started. “All the girls had previous vocal experiences, thus, even with little time to prepare, they were so good that I decided to have them perform alone for the entire central part of a song.”
Nyree Grifeo, an MBA student from the LUISS Business School, who previously participated in university choirs in Catania and Turin, had been looking for a singing project ever since moving to Rome. “My voice teacher in high school took me to see a choir perform and I was amazed. Singing in a group, you can create vocal expressions that are impossible to do alone. It’s almost magical to hear many voices together in harmony.”
Both third-year Law students, Ludovica Fabrizi and Ludovica Tripodi knew each other before joining the choir, where they made new friends and rediscovered old passions. “I joined out of curiosity,” explains Ludovica Fabrizi. “I studied as a soloist for several years, but I had never sang in a choir. I thought it would be easier to sing in a group, but the anxiety of stepping on stage was the same. In fact, the fear of missing a cue and making others mess up made it even worse!”
“I studied music for many years: violin for nine and piano for two,” continues Ludovica Tripodi. “I have experience with solfège, and both musical and vocal scales. What was new to me were the breathing exercises and the vocal expressions. During the event with the Grande Coro di Roma, we were so excited but we gave each other strength. The best thing is that we truly complimented each other, the whole experience was incredibly satisfying. It was a true grand debut!”
“I joined the choir after the course and rehearsals had already started because I love singing,” explains Rachele Parlangeli, a first-year Law student. “I used to be in a folk music group in Lecce and I really wanted to continue. After just a few lessons, I discovered a world of fascinating techniques on how to use your voice and control your breathing. I discovered new potentials that I could have never imagined.”
According to Maestro Neri, the secret strength and magic of many voices together is that: “ Harmony is found through technique, when all the vocalists express themselves in the most similar way possible. All voices are classified by types: soprano, alto, tenor, bass) but it’s also important to imagine that your body contains an acoustic guitar, and to use it to create a single emission, and create uniformity throughout the entire session.”
After the success of their first performance, the girls are ready to work on a new set of songs. “We already have a lot of new members for the next season,” says Maestro Neri. In preparation for our growing choir, we’re studying a collection of Disney songs in English, Libertango by Astor Paizzolla or more transcriptions of Italian operas or American musicals.” This experience with the LUISS Choir has just begun, but we are growing and I hope that we will soon be able to show our strength,” concludes Nyree Grifeo. “We owe everything to Maestro Neri. He supported us so much and he is a fundamental figure in our work, of being and singing together.”
