We are happy to introduce the folk-rock part of our lineup. This year, the Italian Fusion Festival presents Cosmik Debris.
Mauro Angeletta in an Italian multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. He starts playing guitar at age of 14. A self-taught musician for a few months, he then studies guitar with Piero Simone before undertaking classical studies in his early 20s. After a few illuminating lessons with the great Italian Jazz Guitarist Fabio Zeppetella he goes back to his own personal musical journey, exploring classic Rock and surroundings. Besides guitar, over the years he takes an interest in singing and playing ukulele, keyboard and harmonica. He’s been part of many original and tribute projects gaining loads of recording and live experience.
Stefano Mormolli is an Italian multi-instrumentalist whose music blends folk rock and progressive styles. His musical journey began in childhood with the accordion, later expanding to include keyboards, piano, guitar, and vocals. Active primarily as a live performer, he has played at numerous festivals and venues, while also working as a session musician in studios and composing soundtracks for documentaries. Currently, Stefano is working on his next album, set to be released in the spring of 2025.
CosmikDebris Band
CosmikDebris Band was founded in 2017 by the Italian guitarist/songwriter Mauro Angeletta and the French harmonica player Arthur Guillon. The band has so far released 2 EPs (A Walk Downtown in 2019 and Something Beautiful in 2022) besides gigging and performing at various festivals in Ireland and abroad. The band is currently working on their new original project Tales From the Moon, to be released by end 2024/beginning 2025.
We are happy to introduce the classical part of our lineup. This year, the Italian Fusion Festival presents Duo Ramelli-Savigni.
Born in Milan, Italy, Marco Ramelli is an artist of diverse interests, encompassing roles as a guitarist, composer, researcher, lecturer, and artistic director. Marco has performed worldwide as a guitarist, appearing in important venues as a soloist and chamber musician. His artistic path has been marked by several achievements, including the first prizes in international competitions in Italy, Spain, the UK, France, and Serbia and the recording several albums for Brilliant Classics, Nimbus, and Naxos. Expanding his horizons into composition, Marco gained international recognition with the “World Guitar Composition Competition” award in Serbia for his piece “Im Nebel, homage to Kengiro Azuma.” His compositions are played globally, interpreted by celebrated soloists such as Sean Shibe, Andrea Dieci, Lorenzo Micheli, and Andrea De Vitis. Collaboration stands as a cornerstone of Marco’s artistic journey. He has nurtured enduring associations with other contemporary composers, resulting in premieres of several compositions dedicated to him.
Marco’s academic pursuit led to a doctorate in performing arts from the University of St Andrews and The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (UK). As a dedicated researcher, he shares his insights through conferences and lectures at distinguished universities worldwide, and he is a keen promoter of artistic research through the organization of conferences. Going beyond his performances, Marco is a driving force in music education and music promotion. He serves as the Artistic Director of renowned music festivals in Italy and Ireland and is a dedicated guitar educator, inspiring the next generation of musicians. He created several projects to promote classical music and support young performers, such as the TouchTheSound project, Residenze Erranti, and Festival Corde d’Autunno, all committed to enriching the guitar musical community. Marco’s passion for sharing knowledge extends to his role as a lecturer at the TU Dublin Conservatory in Ireland and through masterclasses and lectures.
Marco has graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with a Masters Degree of Performance (APEL) with Distinction nder the supervision of Prof. Allan Neave and Prof. Rory Boyle in composition. Marco began studying guitar with Prof. Andrea Dieci. In just seven years he graduated as a private candidate from the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatoire of Music in Milan and obtained a second level postgraduate diploma (with full marks and magna com laude) at the Luca Marenzio Conservatoire of Music in Darfo Boario Terme (Italy). Marco obtained a further postgraduate diploma in “Chamber Music” with full marks; all in addition to a
bachelor’s degree in Computer science. He has participated in masterclasses throughout Europe with world-renowned guitarists such as Pavel Steidl, Oscar Ghiglia and the Japanese harpist Naoko Yoshino.
The Italian guitarist Enrica Savigni began her studies at the Conservatorio di Musica “A. Boito” in Parma. She graduated in Classical Guitar in 2010 with full marks and in Clarinet in 2014. Her interest in historical instruments started in 2011 when she participated in the annual 19th-century guitar master in Milan’s Civica Scuola di Musica “Claudio Abbado” with Duo Maccari-Pugliese, where she graduated in 2013. She obtained a Master Of Arts in Music Performance from the Koninklijk Conservatorium of Brussels in 2021, where she studied in the early music department with Maestro Xavier Diaz Latorre. Enrica regularly plays as a soloist in several European festivals. In addition, she plays in a duo with Laura Savigni (fortepianist), performing the original repertoire for guitar and piano composed in the 19th century and performed on period instruments. In January 2019, their first disc was released by the Italian music magazine “Amadeus”. In 2020 their second disc, “Für Beethoven: music for fortepiano and guitar inspired by Ludwig van Beethoven”, was released by the MP Editions.
Enrica is the artistic director of the Italian organisation “TouchTheSound Project”, a project that shares research in performance practice, ancient instruments, and historical repertoire. She regularly gives masterclasses and participates in conferences, such as the Perform_Live Festival in Dublin, Congresso Guitarristico de Braga (Portugal), III Convegno la Chitarra nell’Ottocento in Cremona (Italy) and the “Society for Musicology in Ireland’s Postgraduate Students’ Conference” Enrica plays on an original Anton Stauffer guitar (Vienna) made in 1831, an original “Hijos de Gonzalez” guitar (Madrid) made in 1860/1870, and a René Lacote copy (Gabriele Lodi, 2021). She is currently in the second year of the DMus in Performance research programme at TU Dublin Conservatoire, a freelance teacher and a guitar tutor at Maynooth University.
We are happy to introduce the special guest of the Italian band Truma for a great fusion of italian and Irish music. This year, the Italian Fusion Festival presents the Irish singer-songwriter born in Dublin Mark Geary.
Mark Geary with Truma
Dublin native and Celbridge resident Mark Geary has been writing, singing and playing music for the last 30 years; he has 5 studio albums and has toured across the world. In 1992, Mark bought a one-way ticket to New York City and spent several years honing his craft playing the local circuit in the East Village, including numerous appearances at the renowned Sin-é cafe with other upcoming artists, including friend Jeff Buckley.
During that time, Mark’s songwriting skills and engaging live performances garnered him a dedicated audience, the respect and esteem of his peers, and a reputation as one of the finest song-smiths of his generation. Mark is described as a “quintessential singer-songwriter,” and his records of finely crafted songs have been hailed as encapsulating both boisterous joy and gentle, delicate moments that endear themselves to the listener and evoke comparisons to artists such as Van Morrison, John Lennon, Elliot Smith, and Richard Thompson.
His body of work includes 5 studio albums, 2 live recordings, and collaborations with a number of artists, including the release in 2013 of a charity version of his song ‘Christmas Biscuits’ with friend Glen Hansard in aid of St Vincent De Paul. Mark has also lent his talents to the visual arts, scoring several films, including Loggerheads (2005), Steel City (2006), and TriBeCa Film Festival favourite Sons of Perdition (2010).
Over the last 20 years, Mark has toured all over Europe, the US, and Australia and has shared the stage with performers such as The Swell Season, Glen Hansard, The Frames, Josh Ritter, Bell X1, Coldplay, Elvis Costello, The Pretenders, and Joe Strummer. In recent years, he has played shows and festivals in the US and Europe, notably in Italy, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany.
The new album In the Time of Locust is coming soon.
We are happy to introduce the bal folk part of our lineup. This year, the Italian Fusion Festival presents BalFolk Ensemble.
The Balfolk Ensemble was born from the BalFolk dance group to add live music to their events. The Ensemble meets regularly at The Hut pub in Phibsboro for an intercultural musical exchange (and to socialize). BalFolk music broadly inspires dances from around the world (Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Greece, Turkey, Israel etc.): Chapelloise, Mazurka, Circassian Circle, Waltz, Hassapiko, Sbrando, Repasseado, Schottische.
If you wish to join us in the dances, please come to the workshop from 5 pm to 6 pm, and please buy the limited combo ticket, including this session, where they will teach you the steps. Those who know the dances are welcome to join them on the dancefloor following the class; otherwise, you are welcome to enjoy the live performance and watch the dances they have taught.
