FESTIVAL THEME 2026: IN PRAISE OF FOLLY

A1 | Nella vecchia airottaf
lecturer: Ilaria Cavalca (Italy)

There is a farm where nothing is as it seems, and crazy stories are told of unexpected animals. An upside-down world to explore, singing with the tone-deaf robin, dancing with Osvaldo the yellow horse and chatting early in the morning with the milk carton woodworm.

primary school* | language: Italian

💒 HALL: Hotel Palazzo Belvedere viale Fedele Fedeli 10, entrance on Via Armando Diaz

CHOIRS OF THE ATELIER
♪ Coro Cavalieri dell’i.c. Cavalieri - Milano | conductor Francesca Radicci
♪ Coro 3D della Direzione Didattica III circolo - Cesena | conductor Maria Roberta Serra 

🌸 STYLE concert atelier: modern-day farmers. Jeans + a cotton shirt (preferably checked) + accessories (straw hat, bandana/scarf, etc.).

A2 | La danza del folle
lecturer: Marco Barbon (Italy)

In Carl Orff's musical world, folly takes the form of dances, nonsense nursery rhymes and irresistible rhythms. Between bizarre songs and irreverent steps, chaos is transformed into a joyful sharing of crazy dancing singers!

primary school and junior high school* | language: Italian

💒 HALL: Grand Hotel Croce di Malta viale IV Novembre 18

CHOIRS OF THE ATELIER
♪ La Musica Unisce dell’istituto M. Luther King - Roma | conductor Guglielmo Pernaselci
♪ Coro della Scuola Musicale C. Eccher - Cles (Tn) | conductor Cristina Tiengo
♪ Coro Voci Bianche Formula Nuova - Atri (Te) | conductor Gaetano Tudini 

🌸 STYLE concert atelier: blue jeans + white T-shirt (plain, no writing or prints), one girl per group dressed as a witch; clown wigs complete with red noses.

A3 | Girotondo, canta il mondo
lecturer: Salvatore Murru (Italy)

The voices of children and poets intertwine in an enlightening dialogue. From Rodari's upside-down logic to De André's Girotondo, where children face the absurdity of the adult world with the power of playing and singing. Because sometimes only children and fools know how to remain human.

primary school and junior high school* | language: Italian

💒 HALL: Hotel Tuscany Inn via Cividale 86/E

CHOIRS OF THE ATELIER
♪ Cuori InCoro dell’i.c. - Gaglianico (Bi) | conductor Francesco Gariazzo
♪ Canto Anch’io - Colle Umberto (Tv) | conductor Beatrice Fioretti
♪ Coro Margaritone dell'i.c. Margaritone - Arezzo | conductor Paola Pasquini

🌸 STYLE concert atelier: black trousers + white T-shirt (plain, with no writing or prints) + red scarf.

A4 | All you need is love
lecturer: Sanna Valvanne (USA/Finland)

To be truly able of loving, we must lose ourselves in love, however crazy that may seem. The same is true of music, which is the privileged language of love and asks us to be madly in love with it, without worrying about the judgement of others; and with this strength bring peace to this world.

primary school and junior high school* | language: English

💒 HALL: Terme Regina piazza Domenico Giusti

CHOIRS OF THE ATELIER
♪ Il Manicoro - Cercola (Na) | conductor Lucia Mazzone
♪ Giovani Voci - Ardea (Rm) | conductor Fabio De Angelis
♪ Coro di voci bianche Euphonios - Prato | conductor Andrea Bochicchio
♪ Coro voci bianche Alessandro Orlandini - Ancona | conductor Laura Ricciotti
♪ Coro Akademia - Fabriano (An) | conductor Paola Taticchi

🌸 STYLE concert atelier: HIPPPIE. Long dresses or skirts with floral or ethnic patterns, flared jeans, T-shirts or shirts with floral or ethnic patterns, fringed waistcoats, crochet tops, etc. Accessories: bandanas, colourful headbands, flower crowns, sunglasses, colourful stacked bracelets, ethnic necklaces.

A5 | Gramelot
lecturer: David Bandelj (Italy)

The poet enjoys himself wildly, immeasurably. And with him, the musicians who delight in invented languages, phonemes at the service of music rather than meaning and reason. “Like when someone starts singing without knowing the words,” that poet would say, while we have a great time!

junior high school* | language: Italian

💒 HALL: Centro Congressi Hotel Vittoria via Guido Baccelli 2A

CHOIRS OF THE ATELIER
♪ I Piccoli Cantori di Novak - Villa Lagarina (Tn) | conductor Sara De Cristofaro
♪ Coro Maria Carta dell’i.c. P. Tola - Sassari | conductors Maria Antonietta Diez e Costantina Deffenu
♪ Coro interclasse Sacro Cuore Trinità dei Monti - Rome | conductor Osvaldo Guidotti
♪ Coro della Scuola Musicale C. Eccher - Cles (Tn) | conductor Cristina Tiengo

🌸 STYLE concert atelier: blue jeans + a YELLOW or ORANGE T-shirt (plain, with no writing or prints).

A6 | Dreaming the impossible
lecturer: Stephan Lutermann (Germany)

Hermann Hesse said that the impossible must be tried, again and again to reach the possible. Could this be the way to overcome our limitations? And could dreams be that place where, free from mistakes, difficulties and obstacles, we can discover how far we can go? Sing your dreams

junior high school* | language: English

💒 HALL: Terme Tettuccio (salone Portoghesi) piazza Domenico Giusti

CHOIRS OF THE ATELIER
♪ Vocal Dreams della scuola sec. di I grado - Castellanza (Va) | conductor Stefano Torresan
♪ Coro Pescetti dell’i.c. n.1 Falcone-Borsellino - Sesto Fiorentino (Fi) | conductor Viviana Apicella
♪ Coro di voci bianche ViviLeVoci dell’i.c. G. Monaco - Firenze | conductor Viviana Apicella
♪ I Tridentini dell’i.c. Ovest 2 - Brescia | conductor Leonarda De Ninis
♪ Coro della scuola sec. di I grado S. Gregorčič dell’i.c. J.Pangerc - San Dorligo della Valle (Ts) | conductor Neda Sancin 

 🌸 STYLE concert atelier: blue jeans + plain T-shirts (no text or prints) in various bright colours (red, orange, green, light blue, electric blue, fuchsia, yellow, and other colours).

A7 | The Crazy Creep Choir
lecturer: Merel Martens (The Netherlands)

With our crazy choir, we will work with groove based pop songs, improvisation and movement, tied together into a performance that celebrates the individual within the group. Every individual gets to show their inner weirdo.

junior high school* | language: English

💒 HALL: Palazzo del Turismo via Verdi 66

CHOIRS OF THE ATELIER
♪ Coro Umberto Postiglione dell’i.c Umberto Postiglione - Raiano (Aq) | conductor Giuseppe Ferroni
♪ I CanTorini dell’i.c. Tommaseo - Torino | conductor Marco Ravizza
♪ Coro della secondaria Bonazzi-Lilli dell’i.c. 14 - Perugia | conductor Vladimiro Vagnetti
♪ Sighele Choir dell’i.c. Riva 2 L. Pizzini - Riva del Garda (Tn) | conductor Claudia Rizzo
♪ Coro di voci bianche Vasilij Mirk Contovello-Prosecco - Trieste | conductor Andreja Štucin Cergol

🌸 STYLE concert atelier: jeans + hoodie, light-coloured trainers.

A8 | Vertigo
lecturer: Serena Peroni (Italy)

Flying means taking risks, leaving the ground behind and challenging not only gravity but also reason. It is an act of trust and imagination. In this programme, every note lifts a fragment of the soul, every chord opens up a new horizon.

junior high school* | language: Italian

💒 HALL: Centro Congressi Hotel Vittoria via Guido Baccelli 2A

CHOIRS OF THE ATELIER
♪ Cigalòbaibamba dell’i.c. G. Monaco - Castel Focognano (Ar) | conductor Luca Nocentini
♪ Coro dell'i.c. R. Giovagnoli - Monterotondo (Rm) | conductor Simona Ivaldi

🌸 STYLE concert atelier: SKY COLOURS. Dresses, trousers, jeans, T-shirts, shirts, skirts in shades of blue, turquoise and white. Accessories: light white scarves, brooches.

A9 | Fuori misura 
lecturer: Maria Carmela Ranieri (Italy)

Sound explorations, unexpected rhythms and bizarre vocalisations give rise to a playful, spontaneous and surprising expressiveness, where the voice meets movement and theatre. Without restraint or balance, with our feet off the ground, we launch ourselves into a sound and musical exploration of “folly”, which in Italian rhymes with irony and eccentricity. And in English with jolly.

junior high school* | language: Italian

💒 HALL: Hotel Tuscany Inn via Cividale 86/E

CHOIRS OF THE ATELIER
♪ Coro dell'i.c. Dante Alighieri - Trieste | conductor Fabio Zanin
♪ Incanto Tra le Note dell’i.c. - Cossato (Bi) | conductor Simona Riussi

🌸 STYLE concert atelier: ALL WHITE with a coloured scarf. T-shirt or shirt and white trousers. Accessory: a coloured scarf in various shades.

A10 | La follia della pace
lecturer: Marianna Setti (Italy)

"Is there anything more insane than engaging in such a conflict for reasons unknown?". Erasmus asks himself about war. Yes, Erasmus, today we are the most insane, as we continue to believe in dialogue and peace and to express our vision of a different world through music and beauty.

junior high school* | language: Italian

💒 HALL: Oratory of the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, Piazza del Popolo (on the right-hand side when facing the church façade)

CHOIRS OF THE ATELIER
♪ In dulci jubilo dell'i.c. G. e: Robecchi - Gambolò (Pv) | conductor Reginella Zorzoli
♪ Coro Arcobaleno dell’i.c. Martiri di Civitella Val - Chiana (Ar) | conductor Eugenio Dalla Noce
♪ Coro InCanto Magno dell’i.c. Alessandro Magno - Roma | conductor Caterina Falcone
♪ Coro Verga… in Canto dell’i.c. Verga - Pachino (Sr) | conductor Lucia Franzò 

🌸 STYLE concert atelier: BLACK trousers and 2 T-shirts: one plain BLACK T-shirt and another plain T-shirt in a BRIGHT colour.

Ateliers: How to practice?

During the festival, each choir will participate in only one workshop, unless otherwise agreed with the organisers. Upon registration, each group will have the opportunity to indicate their preferences, but the final division of choirs into workshops will be determined by the artistic direction and festival organisers based on various factors such as: composition, size of the group, previous participation in the festival, and other characteristics. The choices expressed at the time of registration are therefore to be considered indicative. The workshops are held in Italian or English, as indicated in the section dedicated to their description. No simultaneous translation service is provided by the organisation. In Montecatini Terme, each participant receives the teaching booklet for their workshop, which they must keep carefully for study during the festival.

*Which atelier can I attend?

If the choir is composed solely of primary school children or includes children under the age of 11, you must select workshop A1. You will also be asked to indicate one of workshops A2, A3 or A4 as your second choice.If the choir is composed of both primary school children and junior high-school children, you must indicate your order of preference among workshops A2, A3 and A4. If the choir consists only of junior high-school pupils, the workshops available are A5, A6, A7, A8, A9 and A10.