The new Camerino Music Academy will be inaugurated on October 1, which was constructed in less than 150 days thanks to the funds and oversight of the Andrea Bocelli Foundation. ABF’s founder, the famous tenor, Andrea Bocelli will also be present at the ceremony. The modern and safe building includes 10 classrooms and an auditorium. It will also serve as a campus for Fermo Conservatory and will be named after the Marche tenor Franco Corelli, friend and teacher to Bocelli.
The Andrea Bocelli Foundation’s third project, built on the crater of the earthquake that hit the Marche region, is coming to a close: on Thursday, October 1 at 3.30 pm, the new Camerino Music Academy will be inaugurated with the Foundation’s top management, regional and national authorities, and the town’s Mayor, Sandro Sborgia, in attendance.
Thus, a suitable home of music (which will also become a campus for Fermo Conservatory) will be officially handed over to the community of this university town, to be an educational and artistic hub that is worthy of the noble tradition that has distinguished the cultural life of Camerino for centuries.
With ABF’s direct intervention, the project was achieved together with the Special Commissioner for Reconstruction from the Italian Government, the Regional School Office (URS) of the Marche region, and the Municipality of Camerino.
The building, which was irrecoverably damaged during the 2016 earthquake, will once again play a central role within education and music production, to the benefit of the local community, the surrounding areas and beyond.
This is the third in a series of integrated projects – indeed it follows on from the reconstruction of the high school with a music-centered curriculum in Sarnano (2018) and the pre-school and elementary school in Muccia (2019) – that is conceived as being the tangible representation of ABF’s support to the Marche region, which was one of the hardest hit by the infamous earthquakes.
The new building in Camerino attests to the central role of art (and music in particular) within ABF’s educational projects, and fully conveys the Foundation’s mission: “Empowering People and Communities”. Almost a decade after it was established, the Foundation is increasingly recognized internationally as a community leader.
“We have invested almost six million euro in the area and today we are especially happy to inaugurate this project – said Stefano Aversa, ABF Chairman – so as to offer Camerino, a city of art and culture par excellence, another reason to start again with drive and to enjoy the beauty of music”.
The Academy embodies a virtuous example of cooperation between the public and private spheres: when we unite forces, we can achieve results that are extremely beneficial for society as a whole, capable of providing solutions to binding problems and important perspectives for the future.
The project’s partners include: the Fondazione De Agostini, Poligrafici Editoriale, the Celebrity Fight Night Foundation, the Associazione Adesso Musica, the PSC Group, Subissati, The Senate of the Republic, Fabbrini Pianoforti, Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America, the Mike Ferry Organization, the Stewart Rahr Foundation, Stefano Ricci SpA, and the Columbus Citizens Foundation, together with Luxy, the Blackfin, Fondazione Varaldo di Pietro, Rotary Club Montecarlo-Piana di Lucca, Club Zeta3mendi, Confartigianato Cremona – Gruppo Liutai E Scuola Internazionale di Liuteria, Italy For Christ, SIAE, Shure, Lenovo, Amitie Sans Frontieres Firenze, Ermenegildo Gnutti, Targetti, Gruppo Giardini, and the Lions Club Busseto.
At the behest of our founder, it will be named after a great artist from the Marche region (not to mention Bocelli’s beloved maestro and friend), Franco Corelli, one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time whose centenary will be celebrated next year.
The project, designed by the Alvisi Kirimoto architectural studio along with Harcome, will not merely give Camerino a space for the Music Academy to welcome over 160 students and the many cultural initiatives of the community, but it will also provide the university city with a new architectural identity.
Spanning 700 m2, the academy has been built using modern, anti-seismic construction techniques. It holds 10 themed classrooms, common areas and a 226-m2 auditorium. Built on two levels (connected by a staircase and an internal elevator), architecturally it is a bright, appealing and modern building. The project is distinguished by its ethereal covering, which is inspired by the wonder and vitality of the clouds. This graceful and resolute building is perfectly set within the landscape, yet is also iconic against the town’s skyline.
As with the schools ABF has built in Sarnano and Muccia, the building in Camerino was also constructed in keeping with our planned schedule of 150 working days. It took 148 days, to be precise, despite the forced pause, caused by lockdown. This represents a success story driven by enthusiasm and a challenge that was achieved thanks to the spirit of sacrifice and the tireless work of a formidable team. With willpower, a sense of responsibility, a lot of energy and virtuous synergies, all the players involved – from technicians to suppliers, workmen and craftsmen – have given their invaluable contribution so that we could keep our promise.
Due to the well-known reasons regarding current health regulations, the inauguration on Thursday, October 1 will take place outside of the building only and the number of guests to the ceremony will be limited to the authorities and the institutional figures who are closely linked to the project. However, just a few hundred meters from the Academy and not far from the gallery, the Municipality has created a much bigger area which will have 600 seats, where you can comfortably and safely watch the ceremony, which will be projected live on a big screen. To take part, you can register for the event on the Municipality of Camerino’s website using the following link: https://www.comune.camerino.mc.it/eventi-cms/inaugurazione-accademia-di-musica-franco-corelli-donata-da-andrea-bocelli-foundation/
The Academy’s wind orchestra will be the star of the ceremony’s musical performances and will have the honor and responsibility of accompanying Maestro Bocelli.
The land on which the building constructed by the Andrea Bocelli Foundation stands was provided by the municipal administration and is located in front of the new university campus. After all, the university and music have always been Camerino’s beating heart and the hub around which the community has rallied and organized.
The seismic events put this combination of local excellences to the test, as the buildings that housed the Rectorate, the Law School and the Computer Science Faculty, as well as a few scientific laboratories and classrooms, were severely damaged.
Starting again with these two institutions and giving the community new points of reference means to give Camerino not only hope, but also a tangible identity that it fiercely strove to preserve in the years following the earthquake.