For the Love of Music and Art.

Dear readers, some of you have been to Italy, on a short trip, or a long one, or perhaps a semester at uni. You may have WOOFed your way around Umbria, or undertaken an Artist Residency in Rome. At some stage you certainly came to the stark realisation that Spaghetti Bolognese is not a thing.

Growing up in an Italo-Australian family, Soprano Pia Harris has fond memories of being surrounded by music and food – two essential components of the beloved Hansel and Gretel story.

In conversation with Carlo Aonzo, leader of "Carlo Aonzo Trio" that will be performing at Co.As.It. on 7 February

The Fairbridge Festival, held in May this year, took on a special Italian theme. Folk legend Riccardo Tesi and the superb Banditaliana enchanted audiences with their contemporary, virtuosic take on music from the oral tradition in central and northern Italy. (Above: Fairbridge Festival closing parade - Photo: David LeMay)

Lucia Brighenti is a young and successful Italian pianist currently touring and traveling in Australia. She has garnered numerous awards and accolades both in her native territory and abroad. Her comprehensive and ambitious musical training and professional trajectory have taken her from Italy to Mexico, to Germany, the UK, Spain, and now Australia.

Songbird and folkloric explorer Kavisha's original song's lyrical ingredients include humour, poetry, social justice and the spiritual. Combine this prowess with the voice of an angel and you have the experience of a Kavisha concert.

For the first time in Melbourne, Mimmo Cavallaro brings us his dynamic and passionate modern mix of traditional Calabrian/Italian folk music in this one night only event! The folk music master will perform in Adelaide,Shepparton, Melbourne, Sydney and Wollongong

Alfredo Malabello, many thanks for taking time out to see me. You are a fascinating and impressive man with many strings to your bow and balls in the air. You have built a name for yourself as a musician/pianist, singer and all-round entertainer ̶ with a “voice of romance”. An icon in the Australian music industry, you feature heavily in the media and have been called “Australia’s very own Italian son of song”

Ron Howard, the acclaimed director of “Solo: A Star Wars Story” (2018), “The Da Vinci Code” (2006), “A Beautiful Mind” (2005), “Apollo 13” (1995) and many others successful movies is back to the music documentary. Now, with “Pavarotti”, the director has pushed himself in a different, unexplored world: that of Opera.

One sunny Saturday Melbourne afternoon in January 2017, tickets to the final ‘Eat The Beat’ party sold out. Italian entrepreneur Matteo Belcore had, in a relatively short time, risen from obscurity to ubiquity in Australia’s night life scene. (Photo - The Eat The Beat Team. From the left: Etwas, Andrea Guadalupi, Matteo Belcore, Chris Mattó and Matteo Freyrie)

Electrifying, hypnotic, cutting-edge and eclectic, the ground-breaking music of Italian award-winning and world-renowned group Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino, from Puglia in southern Italy, is an exotic fusion of traditional sounds and new beats and rhythms that are the result of the band's reinterpretation of the old - while they move their folkloric music into an exciting era.

Watching Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino (CGS) play live is a transcendental experience. It’s the power and intensity of the voices, the agile hands over the button accordion and the neck of the bouzouki.

Italian soul and jazz sensation Mario Biondi is on his way to perform in Australia for the first time, and apparently, he couldn’t be happier.

Running a restaurant is like a performance, according to Luca Lorusso. There is a subject, a script, characters, costumes and a carefully designed scenography. There are critics. Like any production, the success (and longevity) of the production depends on the passion and dedication of its director.

Whenever I think of Italy, I think of sun-kissed days by the Mediterranean ocean – aperitivo in hand, watching the beautiful people go by through the lens of my Ray-Bans, golden tans, late dinners, dancing to Italian music whilst the sea breeze tousles my hair.

By definition, soul is ‘the immaterial essence, animating principle, or actuating cause of an individual life’ (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Our souls are intangible but reveal themselves in our thoughts, emotions and feelings, and in a most meaningful way, through our creative activities. Of all art forms, no genre gives vivid expression to our souls more than soul music.

In todays ever-changing digital landscape consumers are constantly looking at faster ways to access entertainment. The increasing popularity of social media and streaming services such as Spotify and Netflix have seen traditional mediums of entertainment including film, television and radio struggle in recent years.

Of the thousands of young Italians that every year ends up in Australia, most of them are destined to be let down. Personal dreams and expectations need to face a sad reality, getting trapped in the vicious circle of humble and casual jobs and no prospects. Hence, a huge army of waiters, dishwashers, farmers and so on, often with a degree.