An Advanced Program Under the Direction of Leading Tutors
The Accademia Vicino di Accumoli presents itself as a unique advanced training program for lovers of performance music, combining the development of emerging talent both in the professional and amateur sectors. Under the artistic direction of top-tier musicians with internationally recognized pedagogical expertise, participants from various countries receive high-level instruction. This goes beyond rehearsals and includes a range of public performances. The spectacular landscape of Accumoli and its surroundings provides the ideal setting for a rich and varied program, encouraging interdisciplinary exchange as well as social and intercultural community building.
The goal of Accademia Vicino di Accumoli is to cultivate individual artistic excellence and to explore the full potential of a dynamic orchestral culture. Both instruction and concert performance are designed to enhance artistic capability and enable participants to grow in their musical qualifications. Each musician presents themselves as a master of their craft — with unique stage presence and a virtuosic blend of creativity and spontaneity.
Maestro Richard Josef Sigmund
Richard Josef Sigmund completed his vocal performance studies (concert singing, art song and oratorio, as well as music drama) at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. He subsequently received performance engagements in Vienna, Munich, and elsewhere.
In 1988, he returned to South Tyrol, where he has since been active as a vocal coach, cultural manager, conductor, stage director, and composer. Numerous conducting and directing engagements have taken him to Croatia, Italy, Germany, Austria, France, Spain, Greece, and beyond.
He has successfully initiated and led several cultural projects in Merano over many years. Richard J. Sigmund is an internationally renowned vocal pedagogue and a recognized expert in singing and stage direction for opera and musical theatre.
Marcello Defant, violonist
Marcello Defant was born in Fermo (Italy). He travels extensively in a very active performing and teaching career, which has recently taken him to China, the United States, France, Spain and throughout Italy. He has also performed in Turkey, Japan, South America, Africa, England, Portugal, Germany and the Netherlands.
He studied violin with Ruggiero Ricci, Salvatore Accardo and Franco Mezzena. He has also studied viola and composition with Dino Asciolla and Renato Dionisi, and was recently granted his doctorate at the University of Bologna. Since his first public performance at the age of 15, he has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in a career that is reknowned for its virtuosity and inexhaustible eclecticism. His activity ranges from a well established duo with pianist Giacomo Battarino to performances as first violin of the German based “Concord” ensemble, which reunites outstanding musicians from all of Europe.
Erich Niederdorfer, cellist
Erich Niederdorfer was born in Eisenkappel in Carinthia (Austria). After graduating from high school, he studied cello with Professor Chronopoulos at the University of Music in Graz. Erich Niederdorfer completed additional studies at the Vienna University of Music under visiting professor André Navarra. There he also studied composition with Professor Urbanner. He took part in masterclasses with Maurice Gendron and Paul Tortelier and enjoyed private lessons with Pierre Fournier in Geneva.
Erich Niederdorfer is known for his numerous appearances as a soloist on radio programmes and his work at the Vienna State Opera and the “Vereinigte Bühnen Wien”. He was a member of the Tyrolean Symphony Orchestra Innsbruck for over twenty years. He has founded several chamber music ensembles.
Renato Bizzotto, oboist
Renato Bizzotto is a renowned oboist and was the long-standing principal oboist of the Zurich Symphony Orchestra. From 2000 to 2004, he lived in China and worked as principal oboist with the Beijing Symphony Orchestra and the Shanghai Radio Orchestra.
He is the founder and director of the internationally recognized Muri Masterclasses and The Muri Competition, one of the world's leading competitions for oboe and bassoon. As artistic director of "Musik im Festsaal", he has a formative influence on musical life in the canton of Aargau. Bizzotto is a member of the Aargau Wind Soloists and is intensively involved in chamber music and the organization of international masterclasses and competitions. His repertoire includes works by Mozart, Beethoven, Poulenc, Ibert, Stamitz, and Villa-Lobos, among others; works by C. Diethelm have also been dedicated to him for the Trio d'anches.