Alpha's Tale: Choral Music as a Catalyst for Refugee Integration. Video presentation by Marina Rossi


 Abstract

Choral music holds the potential to profoundly enhance emotional, physiological, and social well-being. For Alpha, a young refugee from Guinea who arrived in Trento in 2016, it has served both as an essential aid to his integration and as a crucial platform for his career as a musician.

This paper explores the impact of Alpha's collaboration with the local choir "Bella Ciao." Their repertoire, focused on labor songs, the Italian Partisan Resistance and emigration, resonatets with themes of welcome and belonging. Alpha, a talented and multifaceted musician, was invited to sing with the choir after a concert at the reception center where he was staying.

Through semi-structured interviews with Alpha and some choir members, this article recounts the profound significance of this experience, which enabled Alpha to forge connections, learn about the local music and history, and feel included. The choir's positive energy facilitated networking, leading to integration and employment opportunities in a small, relatively closed city. This collaboration gained some visibility in local newspapers and on television, as well as through social media. Alpha gained recognition as a musician and had the opportunity to collaborate with bands and participate in significant music projects, such as a national tour and a film with the renowned cellist Giovanni Sollina and his "Ice Cello".

Finally, this study underscores the power of choral singing in fostering individual development and community cohesion, particularly for those navigating displacement and seeking belonging, but also for those extending hospitality, ultimately fostering mutual growth and deeper cross-cultural understanding.

Biography

Marina Rossi is a PhD Student in Musicology at the University of Trento, where she is writing her dissertation on the choral music of Gyogy Ligeti. She holds master's degrees in Musicology, Cultural Heritage Management, Music Teaching, and Choral Conducting. Her research interests include a variety of issues in contemporary music, ranging from vocal music to ballet, and focussing on the relationship between  musicology and performance practice.

She has presented her research at international conferences and seminars (Royal College of Music of London, Sorbonne Universite, Moscow Conservatory, University of Caen-Normandie, and others), and published her work in Polifonie Journal, Russian Journal of Music Theory, Libreria Musicale Italiana, and Mimesis.) 

marina.rossi@unitn.it

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