Biographies

PASQUALE VALERIO

Pasquale Valerio is the creator, nurturer, mentor, and guiding light for The Villages® Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorale. Pasquale was born in Naples, Italy and began his music studies at the age of 9. He began studying Trumpet Performance at The N. Puccinni Conservatory of Music graduating in 1985. His studies were not limited to trumpet, but included Applied Complementary Piano Studies, Harmony, and Lectures from Maestro Filippo Veniero, who was his guide and mentor from 1967 to 1989. His adult musical career began during his national service as a member of the Carabinieri (Italian Military Police). Fortunately for his musical development, most of this was with the Band. After his discharge, he began studying conducting. Pasquale Valerio served as an apprentice under Sir Antonio Pappano for 6 years. Pasquale followed him all around the world from 2006-2011 and learned directly from the Conductor of the Royal Opera House in London. To that end, Pasquale believes fully in the magic of education through music, and that children are never too young to start discovering to power of harmony. In 1996, Pasquale relocated to the United States continuing his conducting studies with J. Whitney and Günter Schmidt. In 2004, he became the Founder and Music Director of The Villages Philharmonic Orchestra where he continues to serve today. Maestro Valerio was also the founder of Lake Sumter Chamber Orchestra as well as co-founder and conductor of The Florida Lakes Symphony from 20052006. Pasquale has been regularly invited as a guest conductor at the Orchestra Filarmonica 900', Teatro Regio, and the Viotti International Music Festival.

GIUSEPPE BRUNO

Giuseppe Bruno graduated with honors in Piano, Composition and Conducting with Professors Specchi, Zangelmi and Taverna. Maestro Bruno also studied piano with Paolo Bordoni, conducting with Leopold Hager and attended a seminar in composition at the IRCAM in Paris. Performing for several years as a pianist in many different chamber ensembles and as a brilliant soloist, Bruno has played with many important orchestras in Italy, USA, Greece, Bosnia, Romania, Ukraine, Poland and Germany, in a repertory that extends from Mozart to contemporary music. He has collaborated with conductors including Alkis Baltas, Spiros Argiris, Roberto Abbado, Pasquale Valerio, Sam McClure, violinist Sashko Gawriloff, singers Gail Gilmore, Victor von Halem, Monica Benvenuti, and with the Octet of the Berlin Philharmonic. From 1987 to 1992 Bruno participated in the “Festival of Two Worlds” in Spoleto, Italy, and Charleston, South Carolina. Maestro Bruno was a prize winner at the International Piano Contest in Rome in 1991 and also in 1992 at the “Viotti” competition in Vercelli, Italy, in a duo with violinist Alberto Bologni. He has recorded for Nuova Fonit Cetra, Diapason, SAM, Bongiovanni, Ars publica, Sheva, Ars musici, as well as for RAI, Swiss French and Italian radio, Vatican radio and for WDR in Cologne. In the past few years Maestro Bruno has been acknowledged as a highly regarded conductor in Italy and abroad. Maestro Bruno is currently a Professor of the “Giacomo Puccini” Conservatory in La Spezia, Italy and Visiting Professor at Rubinstein Akademie, Düsseldorf.