Music4D launches “Music from the Ports,” a sonic bridge between two worlds

A transcontinental cultural initiative blending symphonic tradition and digital innovation, bringing together the voices of the ports of Southern Europe and South America in one grand musical narrative. The internationalisation activities of the MUSIC4D Project continue under the artistic direction of Fabio Crescente from the Conservatory of Palermo. 

PALERMO/BUENOS AIRES – A journey through the soundscapes of the Mediterranean, starting from the traditions of Southern Italy, meeting the soul of tango, and arriving at a new digital and immersive dimension. This is the promise of “Music from the Ports”, the new stage of the European project MUSIC4D, led by the Alessandro Scarlatti Conservatory of Music in Palermo, which from August 20 to 29 will come to life in Buenos Aires through a series of dedicated activities.

At the heart of the initiative, under the direction of Maestro Carlo Magni and with the participation of the “Antonio Scontrino” Conservatory of Music in Trapani, is the creation of “Music from the Island – Sicily of Ancient Sounds and Orchestral Weaves”, a major symphonic concert that represents a true embrace between two continents. On Thursday, August 28, the orchestra of the prestigious Conservatorio Superior de Música Manuel de Falla in the Argentine capital will join guest musicians from Italy to perform a program of original compositions and arrangements by Giuseppe Vasapolli.

The performance will feature an essential ensemble: voice, guitar, piano, electric bass, and percussion. It will be a fascinating interplay where ancient rural melodies, drawn from the collections of Alberto Favara, are reinterpreted and placed in dialogue with today’s unpublished works by Sicilian composers. Each piece narrates arrivals, Mediterranean cultural exchanges, and a perfect balance between the sound of tradition and the language of the present—aiming to be universal.

“Music from the Island is not a concert, it is a statement,” says Fabio Crescente, coordinator of MUSIC4D. “It is proof that music is a living language, capable of evolving and forging deep connections. From August 20 to 29, the sounds of our Mediterranean will merge with the harmonies of tango, and we will project all of this into a digital space, into one great musical story. It will be an incredible experience, we are sure of it.”

© Music4D

It is the same blood of the Global South, pulsing in two different dialects. Both the visceral and ancient music of Southern Italy and that born in the ports of Buenos Aires share a common root: they are music of the body, which becomes an instrument, amplifying the feeling of liberation and connection. The repertoire is a tribute to the voices, lively rhythms, and stories that emerge from the coasts and cultural crossroads of the South. “Music from the Ports” is not only a choral performance but the culmination of a rich collaborative journey combining training and interdisciplinary exploration, with the historic Argentine school providing a precious backdrop.

Recognised nationally and internationally for the excellence of its teaching, faculty, and the caliber of its graduates, the Manuel de Falla is today a laboratory where the sonic identity of an entire nation is preserved, questioned, and projected into the future. At the end of August, the musicians will act as international ambassadors, fostering mutual understanding between students and alumni on both sides of the Atlantic through an intensive program of workshops, creative labs, and artistic residencies.

What makes the project revolutionary is its digital dimension, fully aligned with the concept of MUSIC4D. The event experience will be reimagined through a “cybernetic lens” that blends the physical performance with digital and sensory environments. This expansion into state-of-the-art immersive spaces aims to break down geographical barriers, promote inclusion, and enhance the impact of a message that seeks to be universal.

Buenos Aires becomes music, just as the Alessandro Scarlatti Conservatory of Music in Palermo and the Antonio Scontrino Conservatory of Music in Trapani will embody the soul of Southern Italy; among others, also featuring Alba Cavallaro (singer, winner of the “Rosa Balistreri” Prize 2024) and Francesco Maria Martorana (author and guitarist). Together, they will add a new chapter to a project that thus stands as a virtuous model of cultural diplomacy, where art becomes the tool to weave relationships and transform heritage into an authentic, shared experience.

© Music4D

“Tradition and Future: Artificial Intelligence and Sicilian Sound” Lecture

On the 25th August, the Experience Auditorium of the UADE ART University also hosted a lecture by Sicilian composer and researcher Giuseppe Vasapolli: “Tradition and Future: Artificial Intelligence and Sicilian Sound.”

The lecture offered students of Audiovisual Design and Aesthetic Design for Fashion a journey through tradition and innovation. Vasapolli demonstrated how Sicilian folk instruments – from the friscalettu to tambourines – can become virtual instruments through recording, sampling, and programming techniques. Sound objects born in courtyards and popular festivities thus become living material for new compositions, capable of engaging with global languages and digital platforms.

This process of cultural cross-pollination finds in Argentina a profound dimension, where the expressive continuities of Mediterranean music have, through migration, reached distant peoples and places, shaping musical styles and cultures that—even in tango—reflect both nostalgia for one’s roots and a drive to build new opportunities for life.

The second part of the lecture was dedicated to sonification: images, geometries, and videos found a voice, transforming into soundscapes and generative music. An encounter at the crossroads of design, music, and technology, opening creative scenarios for students in immersive art and new forms of audiovisual communication.

“With MUSIC4D we chose Buenos Aires to reaffirm our vision,” says Fabio Crescente, artistic coordinator, “music as a living and global language, capable of uniting different traditions and cultures in a shared vibration, projected into digital space.”

“Vasapolli’s lecture,” adds Michelangelo Galeati, head of international relations, “expresses the experimental dimension of MUSIC4D: transforming research into creative innovation, overcoming boundaries and disciplines, and making technology a tool at the service of culture.”

“My goal,” states Giuseppe Vasapolli, “is to show that Sicilian folk sound is not only memory but living matter. Through artificial intelligence, it can generate new expressive forms, opening unprecedented possibilities for audiovisual design and the music of the future.”

With “Music from the Ports” and this lecture, MUSIC4D confirms itself as an international laboratory of cultural diplomacy: a project that weaves together sounds, images, and immersive technologies to transform Mediterranean heritage into an authentic, shared, and universal experience.