Jyväskylän naislaulajatL.A. Chorus, which stands for Lucania & Apulia Chorus, was founded in 2014 by the Matera in Musica Association within the initiatives supported by the City of Matera, European Capital of Culture 2019. The artistic director of the association is Maestro Pierfranco Semeraro, and the choir has a number of conductors, including Alessandro Fortunato.
The choir is composed of both male and female singers, ranging from 18 to 40 years of age, coming mainly from Basilicata, Apulia, and all parts of southern Italy.
One of the choir’s greatest strengths is undoubtedly the ability to bring choral activity back as a professional artistic project within the musical field.
The choir has interacted with various conductors and heterogeneous audiences in over 150 concerts across Italy, and has participated in a multitude of productions, premieres, and concerts throughout Europe.
Over the years, the choir has been conducted by high-profile conductors, including John Rutter, has performed great repertoires, such as Magnificat, Monteverdian pages, Vivaldi’s Gloria, etc., and collaborated with concert orchestras, such as the Magna Grecia Orchestra. Many contemporary composers have written pieces specifically for the L.A. Choir, thereby allowing it to contribute to the development of contemporary music productions and encourage the interaction between the composer and the interpreter. In addition to performing contemporary music, the choir is also involved in singing Baroque Neapolitan music, Experimental Christmas Music, Renaissance polyphony, and Gregorian chants.
One of the choir’s youngest and most promising conductors is Alessandro Fortunato, an Italian national, who has been involved in music singing, teaching, and conducting choral music for over 15 years. He is particularly interested in analysing the colours and characteristics of voices also through body movement, and is keen on acquiring new strategies to improve his choral conducting.
Alessandro studied piano and organ performance and composition, Choir Conducting, Pedagogy and Music Didactics at the Orff Institute, Liturgical Choral Music and Directing, various types of choral singing and functional vocality following the Lichtenberger Method, specialising in Choir Directing at the Chigiana Academy, and conferred a Master’s Degree in Musicotherapy. He studied at the 11th European Academy for Choir Conductors organised by the Italian Federation of Choirs in partnership with the European Choral Association – Europa Cantat, under the guidance of M° Frieder Bernius (Germany).
Teksti: L. A. Chorus
Kuva: Markku Jaatinen