The Ensemble Sangineto Will Perform at Mountain City Traditional Arts

Apr 30, 2025 8:00 AM

Frostburg State University’s Mountain City Traditional Arts will present The Ensemble Sangineto on Tuesday, May 13, at 7 p.m. at 25 E. Main St. in Frostburg. All concerts are open to the public with a suggested donation of $15.

Formed in 2000 by the twins Adriano and Caterina Sangineto, children of renown harp and psaltery maker Michele Sangineto, the Italy-based group pushes the envelope of tradition. Growing up immersed in classical and folk, the pair later encountered popular music in all its polychromatic facets, with a special preference for the Irish, Breton and French traditions. Today, they skillfully blend ancient harmonies and sonorities with modern rhythms.

The wide-ranging musical experiences of the individual members converge to create fresh and sparkling arrangements of traditional Irish, Scottish, Breton and Italian tunes and original compositions that display influences from many varied musical genres ranging from classical to folk, from Gregorian chant to musical, from pop to Celtic music.

The delicate combination of the pure tones of Adriano's harp and Caterina's bowed psaltery with Jacopo Ventura on guitar intermingle with the three textures evoking dreamlike and airy atmospheres, which are simultaneously joyful and light. 

The groups recently debuted Grand Tour Vol. 1, the first album of a two-part project conceived as a tribute album to Italian traditional music with fresh interpretations of a folk tune from each of the 20 Italian regions. Ensemble Sangineto’s main purpose focuses on the melding of Italian folk tunes with an international modern flavor, in the perspective of a continuity and renovation of the Italian folk music drawing on other European countries’ traditions --especially, Irish, French, Breton and Scottish. 

Charming melodies, original and astonishing arrangements, the delicate polyphonic texture of the three voices and punchy vibrant rhythms, an innovative and unpredictable use of the timbral potentialities of the harp, the bowed psaltery and the bouzouki. Together, Ensemble Sangineto offers a fabulous music journey not to be missed.

MCTA is a program of FSU and a founding member of Maryland’s Folklife Network. It receives support from the Maryland Traditions Program of the State Arts Council. For more information, call 301-687-8040.