USA, October 13, 2025 – The future of music knows no boundaries. MUSIC4D, the project dedicated to the internationalization of higher education institutions in the arts and music, takes another important step overseas. Arizona State University in Tempe has, in recent days, become the laboratory for Novus Ritus, an experimental initiative exploring how tradition and technology can come together to create new forms of composition and performance.
Coordinated by Professor Antonino Errera from the A. Scontrino Conservatory of Trapani, Novus Ritus is the preparatory phase of a multimedia work that brings together two seemingly distant sonic worlds: traditional ritual music of the Mediterranean and the language of contemporary music. At the heart of the project is a journey into the boundless world of percussion instruments — many of which originated in the Mediterranean area, and others that have developed in a contemporary context — all enriched by voice, live electronics, and interactive video.
The creative process relies on an advanced real-time interaction system between video and performers (on site), with potential applications for remote collaboration as well. It is developed in partnership with composer Gabriel Bolaño and filmmaker Jacob Solomon from the American university.
This dialogue between cultures, eras, and technologies will culminate in the premiere of the work, scheduled for October 16 in Tempe, at the prestigious Katzin Concert Hall at 7:30 p.m. The performance will feature students from Arizona State University alongside a young Italian talent — Irene Sciacca, a vocal student from the Trapani Conservatory — perfectly embodying the mobility mission of MUSIC4D, a collective project led by the Alessandro Scarlatti Conservatory of Palermo, under the artistic direction of M° Fabio Crescente.
To unveil the preparatory process behind the work, two online meetings have been organized (today and Wednesday, October 15), offering a behind-the-scenes look with a live connection to Tempe, where art and innovation converge. This new American chapter — and therefore Novus Ritus — reaffirms the mission of MUSIC4D: not only to promote the artistic heritage of Southern Italy, but to project it onto a global stage, planting the seeds for a new generation of artists ready to engage with the language of the future.
Details to join the online meetings on October 13 and 15, from 6:30 to 7:30 PM (Italian time):
https://zoom.us/j/97473708069?pwd=2U5B6nbfXw4EaA6QdIJMbKzacA97IK.1
Access Code: 0ihQmR
Facebook Event Link: https://fb.me/e/k4f4ryBmc
