CECILIAFRANCHINI

SIMULTANEO ENSEMBLE is a chamber music project founded by Cecilia Franchini in 2003 to promote chamber music workshops, concerts and musical events among teachers, students and composers from “B. Marcello” Venice Conservatoire. Through the years the project has been shared and supported by the seven Music Conservatories in Veneto, patronaised by the Consortium CCVEN (Consorzio dei Conservatori del Veneto) from 2013 on. The SIM is making proposals and initiatives to enhance the position of regional and Italian composers through research and promotion of chamber music activity. Teachers and students from all the seven academies take part to the activities, allowing the best music talents to perform in concert along with recordings, favourite mean to go deep into the chamber music repertoire from '900 to nowadays. SIM premiered in 2004 in Wiener Saal, Salzburg Mozarteum, and througout the years artists perform different repertoires and composers, from Messiaen (2005), Dalla Vecchia (2010) and Debussy (2012) to the Note venete: opere cameristiche delle scuole di composizione nei conservatori del Veneto (2011) to Britten, Hindemith e Poulenc nel rapporto con la storia (2013), “In principio era il Lied” (2014), “Le metamorfosi della musica russa - da Michail Ivanovic Glinka a Sofia Gubaidulina” (2015).

2016 SIM edition dedicated to “La Musica nella Grande Guerra” let the lab work on the composition written in Europe during the conflict, the project was awarded the official logo from the Italian Government, having promoted music of this period.

Music from the eastern Europe is the leit motiv of SIM Ensemble 2017, this started two years before about Russian works and then dedicated to those countries whose music was both inspired by the eastern culture and the forma-sonata of the 19th century. SIM Ensemble 2017 engaged strategies to connect with local communities and with international partners starting a significant partnership with Kazakhstan Republic, special guests some performers from Astana University of Arts.

SIM 2017 and Kazakh players work together under the project “Waiting for Expo 2017”, an international cooperation between the seven Conservatoires in Veneto and the most important music Institutions from Kazakhstan.

SIM – section of Padua and Venice – also collaborate together with two important Festivals in the Veneto region, the Campus delle Arti (Bassano) lead by Angela Chiofalo and the Asiago Festival, lead by Brazzale family, taking part to masterclass with K. Bogino and his assistant C. Franchini, Julius Berger, Claudio Pasceri and Ilya Grubert; SIM high qualified chamber groups won conpetitions and concerts around Italy and abroad.

Veneto Region has choosen Simultaneo Ensemble to represent Venetian music repertoire at Expo Astana 2017.

In 2018 Festival, “Le radici della contemporaneita' e la Grande Guerra” SIM performs a repertoire of music starting from the “Italian generation of the 80s”, across the World War I to nowadays. Guido Alberto Fano's – an active and interesting composer in Padua's landscape – Piano quintet (1917) will be presented together with Alfred Schinittke's Piano quintet (1972-76) as an example of a compelling programme.

SIMULTANEO ENSEMBLE involves an army of more than 250 musicians throughout the Festival season and the year. These artists are representative of the seven Music Academies and of the eight Music High School of Veneto region as a true cross section of the community, increasing the project’s visibility to a wide demographic. Its activity contributes to inspiring individuals who might not otherwise attend concerts and cultural events to feel invested, to love the musicians and the music, and to become lifelong supporters of the project.

This shows the ability of the arts to activate public spaces, engage residents, and transform cultural entities into community anchors.