Vocalmente, past and future
A chat with Gianpiero Brignone, director of the Fossano Musica Foundation
Not everybody knows that Vocalmente festival is an idea of the Fossano Musica Foundation. How was Vocalmente born?
Vocalmente was born out of passion… this is the common denominator which has united and driven all those who – for various reasons – have contributed through their passionate work to the growth of the festival.
Surely, through my and Marco Meriggio’s work – Fossano Musica Foundation has had a major role in putting together energies of the enthusiast, from FFM’s choir VoXes to the artistic director Tobia Hug, towards what Vocalmente is.
What are general objectives of Fossano Musica Foundation compared to the festival?
We can say that the objectives are mainly two: educational and artistic.
Educational – as the FFM is first of all a music school striving to keep a “Vocalmente Academy” throughout the whole school year.
Artistic – because there is no “school” if you do not create concrete performing opportunities as well as projects which in this case are artistically connected to the a cappella singing.
For all those who do not know or have only recently known Vocalmente, how has the festival changed over the years?
If we look back from this sixth year to the first, we notice a consistent change that has accompanied the festival to date. Changes can be “physiological” which means they happen naturally during the evolution of a project. These changes have helped creating the identity of the festival, of the school and of the city.
This has followed the development of Vocalmente which – although its peculiarities make a niche festival – it in return, gives a unique identity to FFM and to the hosting city of Fossano.
If you had a crystal ball what would you see in the future of the festival?
In the future, I imagine a wider festival which spans different genres, from pop to rock, from jazz to folk, from polyphonic music to childrens’ choirs, from beatboxers to loopers.
I would love a stage for each of these genres..perhaps even a contest, not horse-race-like but made out of passion, the sole common denominator.