Giuseppe Torrisi was born in Catania (Italy) in 1958. He is a self-taught classical guitarist and got his diploma in 1986 at the School of Music
Tito Schipa in Lecce. He has attended to several specialization courses held by great teachers of international reputation such as A. Diaz, R. Chiesa and A. Minella. Since 1983 he collaborates on E.A.R., at the Massimo Bellini theatre, in Catania, for the production of operas, ballets and symphonic concerts such as
Bozzetto Siciliano, a theatre opera by the composer Sylvano Bussotti which had its world’s first performance in 1990. He has been engaged as a mandolinist on several occasions such as
Don Giovanni by W.A. Mozart, as tutor of banjo (in some works by G. Gershwin) and also as a soloist bouzouki-player in the ballet
Zorba the Greek by M. Theodorakis and charango in the
Misa Criolla by Ariel Ramirez. Recently he collaborated with the Orchestra of the Bellini Theatre in the ballet
Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev as mandolin player in Winterreise by Schubert in January 2011 (arr. Zender) and the
Barbiere di Siviglia in May 2011 as guitarist. He has also been featured in many TV and radio broadcasts and in 1986 he won the
Special Award for Entertainment. He is author of many guitar transcriptions and arrangements and in 1999 he recorded a CD,
From Sicily to South America..., proposing personal re-interpretations of famous guitar melodies in an imaginary musical trip through various folkloristic cultures. The CD is available for free download in mp3 and music video formats about his artistic professional activities. Between 2002 and 2004 he held concerts in Romania and in Germany obtaining extensive feedback from audiences. Parallel to the soloist career he has collaborated with different musical backgrounds to the rediscovery and appreciation of folk traditions of Sicily: Ensemble with the Sicilian Plectrum, The Siculae Res and the Armòs, an instrumental and vocal group characterized by the exclusive use of old instruments like the lute, the vihuela and the small guitar. At the moment he plays with the Flam & Co, an instrumental group that runs a music itinerary through Latin culture and its derivations; with this group he has recorded the CD
Onda Nuova (New Wave), published by the prestigious Musical Carosello Records, in Milan. He plays in the vocal group
Voce e Popolo, which, through refined instrumental arrangements, proposes particular interpretations of very famous melodies of the Sicilian and Neapolitan traditions. Giuseppe Torrisi also plays in the
Trio 18 corde, with guitarists Michele Gagliano and Massimo Genovese: together have produced a CD including arrangements of famous classical popular pieces. He is a music teacher at the Middle School Nino Martoglio, based in Belpasso (Catania).
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