Inauguration of the IX Concert Season City of Bagheria (PA)
XX Epiphany Concert of the Laudate Dominum Choir of Bagheria
6 January 2025 at 7.45pm
Mother Church of Bagheria (Pa)

Plan:
 Te Deum by Marco Frisina
for polyphonic choir with 5 odd voices and orchestra
 A star came out of the sky
Text and music by Salvatore Di Blasi
 Suite of the four classic songs of Holy Christmas
Elaboration by Salvatore Di Blasi
 Cantique de Noel by Adolphe Adam
Elaboration by Salvatore Di Blasi

Anna Giulia Anselmo, soprano
Susanna La Figura, soprano
Laudate Dominum Polyphonic Choir of Bagheria
Bequadro Orchestra of Bagheria
Salvatore Di Blasi, director

The polyphonic choir “LAUDATE DOMINUM” was founded in 1993 by Salvatore Di Blasi, currently its Director, with the aim of serving the Eucharistic celebration of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher of Bagheria with sacred liturgical song. Initially the choir was made up exclusively of children’s voices, but after a few years it dedicated itself to the liturgical and concert promotion of polyphonic-sacred singing, and subsequently also operatic singing. From the year of its foundation to today, it has participated in choral events and solemn celebrations, and also performed in the presence of the Holy Father John Paul II and on Rai1. In September 2012 the choir suspended its Sunday and holiday liturgical commitment and continued its growth for concert purposes only. Since 2013, the choir’s activity has been entirely promoted and organized by the Bequadro Cultural Association, founded from an idea by Salvatore Di Blasi who became its Artistic Director, and is currently under the presidency of Dr. Giovanni Gargano. In the same year it organized the important National Choral Festival of Sacred Marian Music, and in January 2017 the City of Bagheria Concert Season was created, in order to create a city cultural journey with world-famous artists. The choir’s activity is based on weekly technical-vocal study meetings to which career musicians are often invited for collaborations, comparisons, in-depth studies through singing and choral direction Masterclasses, in order to deepen the technical-vocal knowledge of professional singers. what amateurs. Various concert activities and international collaborations have seen the choir engage on an international level, with trips and twinnings with over 500 concerts. The choir’s regular appointments, which have been going on for about 20 years, are: Concerts of “A Christmas Carol in the World”, the Epiphany Concert, the Easter Concert, the International Choral Festival of Sacred Marian Music and MusiCinema mvsi7Ge da film. Since May 2021, the choir has been federated with Chorus Inside Sicilia, under the presidency of Salvatore Di Blasi, who has given greater impetus to musical growth with concert exchanges between the various choirs around the world. From December 2022 a collaboration was inaugurated with Palermo Classica and Ars Nova, the Bequadro Cultural Association, the Artistic Director, Salvatore Di Blasi, the President, Dr. Giovanni Gargano. 

Salvatore Di Blasi is a lyric tenor, choir director and composer. At the young age of 13, he began to work on the creation of the “Santa Teresa del Bambino Gesù” children’s choir in Bagheria. In September 2000, he added the men’s section to the now former white voices, giving life to the Polyphonic Choir “Laudate Dominum”. In September 2001, he resumed his activity with only children’s voices, to recreate and direct the “Santa Teresa del Bambino Gesù” choir of Bagheria.
In September 2002, he founded the cultural, artistic and musical association “Antonio Vivaldi” in Bagheria. In November of the same year, at the “Vincenzo Bellini” State Conservatory of Palermo, he began to attend courses in opera singing at the same time as those in composition, under the guidance of maestro Marco Betta. In November 2004, he founded and directed the “Magnificat” Polyphonic Choir at the “Maria SS. Immaculate” of Bagheria.
In April 2005, she was selected to participate as a chorister in the Funeral Mass of the Roman Pontiff, His Holiness John Paul II, televised worldwide on RaiUno, in the presence of the entire Cardinal Conclave and all the major Heads of State of the world. He also worked as an artist of the choir of the “Rossini” Association of Lecce, at the traditional theater “Giuseppe Di Stefano”, on behalf of the “Luglio Musicale Trapanese” organization of Trapani. Since September 2005, he has been engaged as a choir artist at the “Vittorio Emanuele” Theater in Messina.
In March 2006, he performed in Palermo as a tenor for the Prime Minister, the Hon. Silvio Berlusconi.
In January 2007, he founded the “Jubilate Deo” choir in the community of the Jesuit Fathers of Bagheria. In September of the same year, he moved to Nantes (France) where he worked at the Graslin Theater as a tenor and attended master classes at the Nantes Conservatory. From September 2007 until today, he has taken part in the creation, as a tenor, of some important concert opera productions, for theaters such as the “Opéra” of Lausanne and the Teatro Comunale “G. Verdi” of Salerno, the “Graslin” Theater of Nantes, the “Aurora” National Opera Theater of Malta, and many others. In September 2008, he attended high vocal improvement courses with Maestro Romualdo Savastano, at the A.R.T. academy. of Rome. In November 2009, he entered the opera singing specialization class of Maestro Cristian Papis at the Nantes Conservatory. In October 2012, he took charge of the liturgical and musical direction of the Schola Cantorum “Stabat Mater” of the Mother Church of Aspra (PA).
In January 2013, he was appointed artistic director of the Bequadro Cultural Association of Bagheria and director of the “Laudate Dominum” choir of Bagheria, of which he is also the founder. Since May of the same year, he created and directed the International Choral Festival of Sacred Marian Music. Starting from the same month, he continued his vocal studies with Maestro Provvidenza Tortorella. In February 2014, he founded the Baroque Vocal Ensemble “Cor ad Cor”. From 6 August 2014, he was appointed manager of the blog on liturgical music “Il Canto del Cuore” on the website www.daportasantanna.it.
In November 2015 he received the appointment from the University of Nantes (France) as artistic-musical consultant. Following the nomination, the LAMo (The Ancient, The Modern) Research Center of the French University commissioned the musical composition in false historical on texts extrapolated from the poems 4 and 5 Ciccolella by Giovanni di Gaza, within the “Coricio” conference of Gaza: its time, its places”, an international event organized by the University of Nantes (France) with the collaboration of the Bequadro Cultural Association of Bagheria and the involvement of the classical high schools of Eboli (SA) and Bagheria (PA). Since April 2021 he has been president of the Sicily Regional Chorus Inside of Federcori (World Federation of Choirs with more than 3 thousand members in Sicily).
In June 2022 he was appointed member for the Sicily Region of the Music and Theater department. In April 2023 he published Musica Sacra for the prestigious EDIZIONE PAOLINE. In May 2023 he received the UNESCO “Sciara dell’Etna” AWARD with mention for a recognized international role in vocal, compositional and choral music.
In September 2023 he had the high honor of performing Beethoven’s IX Symphony for the State Youth Orchestra of Turkey conducted by Cem Mansur in a prestigious tour of the archaeological sites of Sicily, heritage of Social Promotion – Via Dante, 28/d – 90011 Bagheria (PA).