Board Meeting
Board Meeting Online
English Language Meeting
Topic: Annual General Meeting
Presentation: Details TBA
Italian Language Meeting
Speaker: Ludovica Punzi, Executive Director Early Music Seattle
Topic: When in Florence: Adventures in the Italian Music Business
Presentation:
Details to follow
About the Speaker:
Ludovica (Ludo) Punzi is a versatile and experienced arts leader, having worked in many different roles in Italy and the United States. She is Founder and Executive Director of Vivace Music Foundation, an international organization dedicated to equitable music education opportunities for the world’s most talented youth, and also serves as Program Manager of the St. Lawrence String Quartet Chamber Music Seminar at Stanford University.
Equally at home in concert halls and community spaces, Ludo has worked with The Concert Truck, a non-profit organization which strengthens communities by redefining the concert experience through a mobile concert hall. She has also worked with the Florence and Milan conservatories, where she has led hundreds of chamber music, opera, orchestra and jazz productions and tours in Europe, Dubai and the US.
Ludo earned an academic diploma in piano performance at Mantua Conservatory. She loves podcasts and radio shows and has an uncontrollable passion for rockabilly, jive music and dance. She speaks 4 languages and has an identical twin sister. A tattoo on her left wrist says “vero”, which in Italian stands for “true” and is also her twin sister’s nickname.
No reservation necessary. Come early and bring an antipasto, dolce, or vino to share.
English Language Meeting
Speaker: Allion Salvador, Violin
Topic: Paganini and Locatelli; Two Generations of Masters
Presentation:
TBA
About the Speaker:
Allion Salvador has been described as “a rising star of the Seattle music scene, displaying virtuosity well beyond his years” by Westside Seattle. Since graduating with degrees in Violin Performance and Neurobiology from the University of Washington, demand for him as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician has steadily grown. His teachers include Carol Cole, Ronald Patterson, and David Halen. Allion is the Assistant Concertmaster of the Yakima Symphony, Concertmaster of Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra, and a member of Symphony Tacoma and the String Orchestra of the Rockies. He has served as concertmaster of the Seattle Philharmonic, Pierre Monteux Festival Orchestra, University of Washington Symphony, and Sammamish Symphony. He has founded and worked with several vibrant chamber music projects, including the piano trio Andromeda, the modern music-focused Inverted Space Ensemble, Sound Ensemble, and the Parnassus Project. Allion’s interests also extend towards the podium. He is the founding music director of the Seattle Philharmonic Strings, a community orchestra promoting string repertoire of the highest quality. Devoted to education, Allion has coached the University of Washington Symphony, Roosevelt and Issaquah high schools, the Seattle Youth Symphony, and the UW Chamber Music Club.
Make your reservation for dinner by 5 pm Monday, May 11.
Italian Language Meeting
Speaker: Gianmario Strappati
Topic: Italian Music Masters
Presentation
Gianmario Strappati will guide us on a musical journey through great Italian music: from Vincenzo Bellini to Giacomo Puccini. The first author Vincenzo Bellini represents a famous exponent of the Italian 19th century, capable of uniting neoclassicism and romanticism with his style. In 2025 the anniversary of the 190th anniversary of the musician’s death was held. The second author Giacomo Puccini represents the absolute genius par excellence as far as Italian opera is concerned, author of famous works such as Turandot, Gianni Schicchi etc… with immortal arias for every lover of great music. In this journey the socio-political context of Italian history will be analyzed, with references also to authors of great importance such as Giuseppe Verdi, Gaetano Donizetti, Pietro Mascagni and Gioacchino Rossini, fundamental to understanding the musical and cultural transition over the centuries. The history of great Italian music from the pre-Risorgimento period until the death of Giacomo Puccini, which occurred in 1924.
About the Speaker
Gianmario Strappati earned his bachelor and master degree in Tuba at the G.B. Pergolesi Conservatory in Fermo with full marks, honors and honorable mention, also specializing with music courses at Harvard University, Berklee College of Music, MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), University of North Carolina at Chapen Hill, University of Chicago (USA), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgio), Sorbonne University of Paris (France) with also a graduation in Sciences and Technologies of Arts, Cinema and Entertainment (DAMS L3) and International Relations and Economy. As a soloist he has performed in: USA (Florida State University), England (London, St. Peter Church, British Italian Society, Dante in Cambdrige), Romania (University of Timisoara), Northern Ireland (Titanic Museum in Belfast for the 110th anniversary of the Titanic tragedy, Italian Cultural Institute and Consulate General of Italy in Edinburgh, Honorary Consulate of Italy in Northern Ireland), Albania (Tirana University of the Arts), Spain (Madrid, Italian School Theater, Italian Institute of culture), Germany (Bavaria, Baden Wurttemberg and Saxony , pat. Consulate General of Italy in Stuttgart and Italian Cultural Institute in Munich), Moldova (Organ Hall, Chisinau University of Music), Slovakia, Bulgaria (Haskovo International Festival, Bezisten Hall Yambol, State Vidin Philarmonic Concert Hall, Sirak Stitnik Hall in Sliven) , Finland (Helsinki, Italian Cultural Institute), Hungary (Budapest, Italian Cultural Institute, Verdi Hall), Greece (Athens, Italian Embassy School Auditorium), Czech Republic (Baroque Chapel of the Italian Cultural Institute in Prague), Montenegro (Cetinje National Theater, Kic Budo Tomovic Auditorium of Podgorica, Embassy of Italy), Morocco (Italian Embassy and Institute of culture in Rabat), Switzeland (Italian Institute of culture in Zurich, Aarau Cathedral), Austria (Wiener Saal of Mozarteum in Salzburg) and Russia at the prestigious “Tchaikovsky Music Festival “(performing among other things the famous Concerto by A. Arutiunian for Tuba and Symphony Orchestra at the Izhevsk Opera House), accompanied by the Bacau Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bulgarian National Symphony Orchestra, the Udmurtia Philarmonic Orchestra(Russia), the State Philarmonic Orchestra of Vidin – Bulgaria, the National Chamber Orchestra of Moldova, the Dianopolis Chamber Orchestra (Bulgaria) and the Symphony Orchestra of Kazakhstan, as well as international string and chamber orchestras. On 23 March 2019 he performed at the Bachmuseum in Leipzig for the celebrations of the 334th birthday of J. S. Bach and on 29 June 2019 he gave a recital at the Mozarteum in Salzburg (Wiener Saal), sponsored by the Italian Cultural Institute in Vienna. In January 2020 he performed on Rai 2 a composition for Tuba solo as a world premiere dedicated to the fiftieth anniversary of the birth of Marco Pantani. He was the first tuba player to win the prestigious Nino Rota Award, previously awarded to artists such K. Ricciarelli, P. Principe, L. Luttazzi and J. Horowitz, and his city of Ancona awarded him meritorious citizenship. Since 2018 he is “Ambassador of Don Bosco Missions for music in the world”. Actually He is the Tuba professor at the G. Verdi State Conservatory of Music in Italy. He has held conference, masterclasses and recitals as guest and visiting professor for Universities and Conservatories of: USA (Bard College Conservatory of Music New York), Moldova, South Africa, Romania, Albania, Bolivia, Argentina, Germany, Peru, Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, Kosovo, Macedonia, Spain, Bosnia – Erzegovina, Uganda, Costa Rica, Chile, India, Colombia, Paraguay, Kosovo, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Philippines, Indonesia etc … Previously he was Assistant Professor at the Italian State Conservatory for all brass instrument. He is also the Tuba and Euphonium Professor for the international academic online course at the Higher Institute of Music Jose Hernandez in Buenos Aires (Argentina). On 5th May 2022, he performed a J. S. Bach’s Suite for only Tuba in the J. S. Bach’s Tomb at Thomaskirche in Leipzig. On 11th February 2023, he gave a Recital as soloist (Tuba and Piano) at Mendelssohn Haus in Leipzig. On October 2023, was Guest Professor and Artist at Florida State University with masterclass and concerts. On 10th February 2024, he gave a recital for Tuba and piano in Schumann Haus (Germany). He was awarded as “Artist of the Year 2020” by the Christopher Magazine (USA) , which has reserved the cover of a special issue dedicated to him. He was interviewed by magazines and radio and television broadcasters of the 5 continents, also recording for Rai, Sky Classica, CNN, Rogers Tv, ABC (American Broadcasting Company), Radio Capodistria, Radio Vaticana etc … He has published for Academia and Micropress (the latter works distributed by La Feltrinelli and Mondadori).
Gabriella Vagnoli was born in Pisa, Tuscany, home of the famous Leaning Tower. She grew up in a multicultural family thanks to her Brazilian mom and remembers teaching Italian for the first time as a child to her Brazilian cousins. She obtained a Laurea in English and Spanish Language and Literature at the Università degli Studi di Pisa and during her college years spent a year in the University of Reading, UK, studying mainly the works of Shakespeare. After obtaining a Certificate as a Teacher of Italian (DITALS II) at the Università per Stranieri di Siena, she has taught in a full immersion school in Florence, a children's full immersion program in Chicago and a Community College in Illinois.
Tiziana was born and raised in Sardinia, a beautiful Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea. She has always been passionate about foreign languages and cultures, and studied French and German at the Scuola Superiore Interpreti e Traduttori in Milan, where she obtained her first Foreign Languages and Interpreter BA degree. She then pursued her MA in English and German Language and Literature at IULM, one of the most prestigious universities in Milan, Italy for Language and Communication studies.
Nicla is a native of Napoli, Italy. She has a Laurea in Materie Letterarie (degree in humanities) and a Laurea in Pedagogia (degree in Education) from the Università degli Studi di Cassino. She earned her M.A in Italian and her PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Washington. She has published articles and book chapters on gender and theater as well as politics and religion in Counter-Reformation Italy and in the last years, has been teaching Italian literature, language, and culture in different institutions. In addition to teaching in our program, Nicla is authorized to cover the role of esaminatrice and intervistatrice in our PLIDA Examination Board.
Born in the fabulous 80’s, Isabella was raised in Rome where she got her Degree in Teaching and Translation in foreign languages at the University ‘La Sapienza’.
Eric was born and raised in Como by an American mother and an Italian father. He holds a degree in Business Administration and Management from Bocconi University in Milan and a Master’s in Corporate and International Finance from Durham University in the UK. His international background led him to pursue a business career in the United States, ultimately settling in Seattle, where his wife grew up.