Voice

Michele Ferrara

Italy

Michele Ferrara is a composer, arranger and trombonist.

After his first experiences as singer and text composer in progressive bands at the end of the 70’s, he began his studies in trombone led by the maestro Francesco Vittorio Grigolo with whom he will start an important artistic collaboration.

As trombonist he performed with several symphonic orchestras in Milan like Decorati Orchestra, SDS Ensamble, Flight Band and Big band by Claudio Bolli.

After a period of formation in composing with the maestro Andrea Canzi and in improvisation with maestro Luca Fabio Gusella, he started specializing in composing and arrangement techniques as autodidact.

He wrote and arranged for several musical groups and in 2007 he’s been selected as one of the four arrangers of the FOG Orchestra directed by Maestro Francesco Vittorio Grigolo who worked on the reinterpretation of some movies soundtracks.

In 2009 and 2010 he took part to two electronic music and improvisation workshops with the musicians who formed the SDS Ensemble making concerts with Giancarlo Schiaffini and William Parker.

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In 2012 he founded the A-Material Band, which performed the compositions and the arrangements that he wrote.

In 2019 he started an important collaboration as arranger and trombonist with the Milan Music Collective a group made by the most important jazz musicians of Milano.

Some of his most important works are: the performance of his composition for chorus and band “Stabat Mater”; the arrangement of “Quadri di una esposizione” by M. Musorgskij and performed by the Flight Band together with the pianist G. Vitaletti; he made an arrangement of “C’era una volta il west” by Ennio Morricone, an arrangement of “Lisbon story” by Madredeus and of “Batman” by Danny Elfman and Prince.

He also arranged “Vexations” by Erik Satie then performed at Triennale di Milano in 2009 and in 2009 he performed in the play “DIE PRIVILEGIERTEN – LA CITTA’ IDEALE” with the Orchestra Decorati by Marco Maria Linzi and performed by the company of Teatro della Contraddizione. This play won the prizes “Milano per il Teatro 2009” for the best show produced in Milan and the best direction of a show produced in Milano.

In 2014 there was an important concert of the A-Material Band for the press conference of the XVII Magenta Jazz Festival and in 2015 his composition “The Catcher in the Rye” has been performed with the Orchestra Fronteras Musicales Abiertas and Orchestra di via Padova at Milano Expo for the world food day.

In 2017 he performed a repertoire of John Zorn songs with the A-Material Band and the great jazz musician Riccardo Luppi. In 2018 Michele Ferrara made the arrangements of Franco Battiato’s songs then performed by the A-Material band and the John Zorn arrangements were performed by a great Ensemble of several important artists. In 2019 the A-Material Band participates in the JAZZIN Seregno Festival with Frank Zappa’s repertoire.