General Information
The Terni State Conservatoire of Music (https://www.briccialditerni.it/), located in central Italy, is named after the nineteenth-century flautist Giulio Briccialdi (1818-1881), born in Terni and famous for having perfected the modern flute mechanics by adding a key. The institution has a centuries-old tradition as a music school and is currently located in the prestigious Palazzo Giocosi-Mariani, in the city’s historic centre, which boasts several sixteenth-century frescoes in its halls.
Some 48 teachers work at the Conservatoire of Terni (39 permanent positions; 9 temporary positions). The theoretical and practical teaching follows the Bologna Process approach. Classes, therefore, refer to three academic levels: (1) preliminary level; (2) bachelor degree; (3) master degree. Six administrators and four ushers are also members of the staff.
Currently, 220 students are enrolled at the Terni Conservatoire, of which about 150 are academics, mainly from Lazio and Umbria. Terni is the second most important town in Umbria, a central Italian region which is about a hundred kilometres from the capital. Thanks to its strategic geographical position, even many students living in Rome prefer to study music in Terni, a city on a human scale that can be reached by regional train in about one hour, and whose local Conservatoire offers great attention to personal learning needs. Over time, many students and former students of the “Briccialdi” Conservatoire have distinguished themselves as winners of important national and international competitions, and several alumni work today permanently in prestigious international orchestras (including the Wiener Philharmoniker).
In addition to the more usual courses, Terni offers some absolutely distinctive peculiarities, such as the only Flamenco guitar class in Italy, which grants bachelor and master degrees (students in this class come from all over Italy and even from abroad). Another special feature is the presence of a large section dedicated to Renaissance and Baroque music, which includes classes in singing, harpsichord, flute, hobo, trumpet, and trombone. It is also possible to graduate in Composition for music applied to images, Choral conducting and choral composition, Orchestra conducting, and Accordion. Many Workshops have been regularly set up, mainly involving choral and instrumental ensemble activities. Finally, the Terni Conservatoire also offers the possibility of enrolling in Free classes, where the teaching do not follow pre-established programmes and students are generally pure amateurs.
The Conservatoire of Terni has an internal library available to students and teachers of the institute, but also open to the external public. It contains around 5,000 titles (sheet music, scores, encyclopaedias, modern books, academic journals, musical manuscripts, opera librettos, CDs, and DVDs). The institute has a well-functioning Wi-Fi network, some PC workstations in the library available to students, and is renewing its musical instruments through purchases and extraordinary maintenance.
