Italy

August 5-11, 2024

  • Leaders: Carlo Pozzoli, Matlakala Bopape, Suzannah Park

  • Venue: Abbazia di Maguzzano in Lonato, Italy
    *Plenty of single and twin rooms available; no surcharge needed.

  • Price: $1100 / $950 youth

A week learning Italian, South African and American songs in a magnificent 15th-century abbey.

We aim to make this and our other international camps affordable for high school & college student participation by offering automatic youth discounts.

 

Join us for week of singing, dancing and feasting in northern Italy, tucked in the mountains by the beautiful lake Garda.

With a focus on creating both musical and community harmony, this week will take you on a relaxing dive into a range of traditional world musical styles in one of the most beautiful and serene settings imaginable.

Carlo Pozzoli will teach folk songs from a variety of Italian regions, including Friuli and Sardinia, as well as polyphonic pieces from the early Renaissance and Baroque periods.

Matlakala Bopape will teach folk and church dance songs popular in South Africa.

Suzannah Park will lead the group in traditional Appalachian songs.

We will be based at the Abbey of Maguzzano, with its thousand-year history nestled in the hills and mountains overlooking Lake Garda. The primarily single and twin rooms feature air conditioning and en suite bathrooms; linens are provided.

Near the abbey you will be able to hike in the hills, head down to the waterfront—and just relax and connect with friends old and new.

Meet our teachers

  • Carlo Pozzoli

    Carlo Pozzoli has been a choir conductor since the 1980s, with forty years’ experience leading church and school choirs. At present Carlo conducts the Sacro Cuore liturgical choir, the Ensemble Vocale Milanese and the Associazione Corale Siyaya, in addition to his school chorus. Carlo has helped lead Italian repertoire in 13 different Village Harmony camps since the 1990s, seven of which have been in Italy.

    Carlo has also hosted Northern Harmony several times during their visits to Milan, where he lives.

  • Matlakala Bopape

    Matlakala Bopape, of Polokwane, South Africa, is the director of Polokwane Choral Society—a community-based group whose aim is nurturing musical talent in African society.

    As a director, Matlakala is committed to drawing out musical excellence from her singers, as well as exposing them to musical cultures of the world. Her limitless patience, careful attention to vocal technique, and rich repertoire of folk and contemporary South African choral music make her a formidable teacher.

    Matlakala’s first taught with Village Harmony in Italy in 2000 after a fortuitous initial meeting with Patty & Larry at Festival 500 in St. John, Newfoundland the previous summer.

  • Suzannah Park

    Suzannah Park, a native of Asheville NC, is a performer, teacher, activist, organizer and community leader. She comes from a family of three generations of traditional Appalachian and British Isles singers, storytellers, artists and dancers.

    Founder and director of the Wild Asheville Community Chorus—now under the umbrella of VH—Suzannah was also a founding member of VH alumni group, the Starry Mountain Singers. She is a member of the traditional music faculty and choir director at Warren Wilson College.

    Suzannah has been touring and teaching for the past twenty-five plus years, both in the USA and abroad. She began singing with VH when she was twelve and touring with Northern Harmony at fourteen. One of VH most popular teachers, Suzannah became our acting Board President in 2018 and with the passing of VH founder, Larry Gordon, transitioned to the executive team in 2021.

    www.suzannahpark.com

Rehearsal venue

We’ll be staying in the beautiful 15th century Abbazia di Maguzzano. The Abbey overlooks the southern shore of Lake Garda, near the picturesque medieval town of Sirmione. Built in 1490 on the site of an ancient religious house, the Abbey offers simple and welcoming single and twin rooms, all with en-suite bathrooms and air conditioning. The Abbey is less than a 2 hour drive from Milano Malpensa Airport. By public transportation it is between 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 hours, first by rail to Desenzano and then by bus to Lonato; the Abbey is a bit over a kilometer’s walk from the Lido di Lonato bus station.