Renzo Spiteri, Malta’s cultural ambassador for the European Union’s campaign European Year for Intercultural Dialogue (EYID), 2008, has been invited by the Italian Ministry of Culture to perform during an international event of music and culture entitled “Festival of cultures: intercultural cities award” which is being hosted by the Ministry in the frame of EYID 2008 and the action of the Council of Europe “Intercultural cities: governance and policies for diverse communities”.

The concert marking this event will be held on Friday, 19 September at the Gran Teatro Puccini in Torre del Lago, Viareggio, one of the largest open-air theatres in Europe. Together with Chinese flute player Guo Yue, and British pianist Ben Murray, Mr Spiteri will be showcasing his most recent performance Sketches from Home which was presented in Malta last March at the Manoel Theatre.

The concert will also feature other international high-profile artistes including Italian EYID ambassador Claudio Baglioni, and Romanian Grammy award winner Damian Draghici. Also appearing at the festival will be Andrea Bocelli, Marcello Lippi, Roberto Benigni and Ottavia Piccolo. The event will be featured on Italian national television channels as well as Euronews.

Mr. Spiteri is no newcomer to the world of cross-cultural collaborations. Throughout the years he has performed in over 20 countries, working with world-class musicians from across the globe using the universal language of music to bring different cultures together. He has performed to sell-out audiences in diverse venues, from Greenwich Village (New York City) to the Sahara Desert, and from the National Concert Hall (Dublin) to Beijing (China). Following the event in Viareggio, Mr. Spiteri will be travelling to the Netherlands to work on and present a new performance at the Theatre Kikker in Utrecht, in collaboration with Dutch contemporary music group Rosa Ensemble. Further information about Mr. Spiteri’s work is available at www.renzospiteri.com.