PRESS RELEASE (9/14/2016)
Friday, September 16, a Loano, l’Oratory of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary will host a new round of the “The Concerts of the Turks.”, organized by the Brotherhood of the Turks' Chapels under the auspices of the’Department of Tourism, Culture and Sports of the City of Loano.
Protagonist of the harp concert, scheduled at 9 p.m. will be the young musician Cassandra Tomella with a repertoire ranging from the seventeenth to the twentieth century.
The concert will open with Sonata VII op. 5 by A. Corelli transcribed for harp by Isabelle Perrin, will be followed by the pieces Bach-Grandjany - Etude N. 3 and Etude No. 6 by J. S. Bach, Sonata III - op. XVI by F. Petrini, A Sigh of Liszt, The Evening Stars of G. Caramiello, Pastels du vieux Japon - op. 47 by. M. Tournier, Variations sur un thème dans le style ancien di C. Salzedo and Sonate Pour Harpe by P. Houdy.
Cassandra Tomella, class of 1999, began studying the harp at the age of eight, quickly moving from Celtic harp to pedal harp.
Since 2012 he has been attending the “Giuseppe Verdi” Conservatory of Milan under the guidance of Professor Anna Maria Palombini.
By nature curious and eager to learn, as well as to constantly improve and enrich her musical experiences, she has attended numerous master classes and harp courses from the very beginning, taught by renowned harpists from Europe and around the world, including Gabriella Dall'Olio, Isabelle Perrin, Ieuan Jones, Chantal Mathieu, Elizabeth Fontan-Binoche, Bernard Andrès, Cormac de Barra, Grannie Hambly and Vincenzo Zitello - the latter three harpists for repertoire on Celtic harp, among others.
She has successfully participated in numerous national and international competitions, obtaining, for example, in 2015 a First Absolute Prize at the National Competition “Ludovico Agostini” in Ferrara, a scholarship at the 2014 International Harp Festival in Wales (in addition to the obligatory pieces by Welsh composers, she presented a varied program, from the Baroque to the early avant-garde), two scholarships bestowed by the Milan Conservatory, respectively ’Giovanissimi Interpreti - Premio Umberto Micheli “in 2013 (for which she performed a thirty-minute program including pieces from the 18th to the 20th century) and ”Premio Valenti“ in 2014. In 2011 and 2013 she was awarded a special prize by the Presidency of the Council of Friuli Venezia Giulia for technique and interpretation at the respective editions of the International Competition in Povoletto (UD). In 2013, at the Welsh national competition Penccerd Gwalia Festival, she distinguished herself as the only foreigner, earning a third prize.
The summer course organized by the Zinaida Gilels School in the summer of 2013 provided Cassandra with the opportunity to perform Wagenseil's Concerto for Harp and Violin with string orchestra, as well as to initiate the harp-violin duo with Elisa Scudeller. Together they participated in February 2014 in the Concurso Ibérico de Música de Cámara with harp in Madrid, where they won second prize in their category.
