The Dante Musica Viva was formed under the direction of Francesco Sofo and Corinne Tarnawski in early 2005. It has grown tremendously since then. The DMV is made up of members of the Dante Alighieri Society of Canberra, whose love of Italian language and music has led them to share this passion with others through song. The DMV is supported by members of Canberra’s Mandolin Orchestra and other local musicians. For many years it was very ably led by its musical director, Francesco Sofo, who has now stepped back from this position. His extraordinary musical talents are sorely missed. Fortunately for the choir, its very capable former backup conductor, Saverio Palma, was able to pick up the chief conductor’s baton and is now officially the choir’s musical director.
The choir sings all types of Italian music, ranging from traditional folk pieces to opera arias. We have discovered that the demand for Italian music in Canberra is high and have performed at diverse events including the National Folk Festival, the National Multicultural Festival, the opening of the Italian Cultural Centre in Forrest and Italian community events, including Christmas carols.
While the DMV has professional musicians amongst the group that help to guide and teach us, most of us are dilettantes in the world of music, and so we like to have a lot of fun, and don’t take ourselves too seriously. For this reason we don’t require an audition for you to join us – all that is required is lots of enthusiasm and a willingness to learn and be part of the group.
