Duo Esterika Sefarati

Sunday, 12 June 2022

Ana María Villamizar

Originally from Bogotá (Colombia), I started singing in the children's choir of the Colombian Opera. After winning competitions and performing in the most important halls of the city, I wanted to have more experiences and learn other musical universes. I came to Switzerland, since 2011, to perfect my skills in contemporary singing with the teaching of Luisa Castellani at the Conservatory of Italian Switzerland in Lugano. My interest in the multitude of vocal possibilities leads me to explore the repertoire of the 20th and 21st century. My opera experience? I have performed Lauretta in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, Zerlina in Mozart's Don Giovanni, Bianca in Britten's The rape of Lucretia, Venus in Eccles' The Judgement of Paris and Amore in Monteverdi's l'Incoronazione di Poppea.

 

Soloist ? My classical repertoire includes, among others, Mozart's Exsultate Jubilate, Vivaldi's Gloria, Fauré's Requiem and Gounod's Gallia.

 

Early music? I have had the privilege of working under the direction of Leonardo García-Alarcón, Gabriel Garrido and Anthony Rooley.

 

I hold a master's degree in vocal pedagogy from the Haute école de musique deGenève, and I alternate my lyrical activity with teaching singing to individuals and in public schools, as well as being a vocal coach in various ensembles in the Lake Geneva region.

 

Any current projects? I have joined forces with Ezequiel Cappellano, composer and guitarist, to lead two projects: the Esterika Sefaratí duo, dedicated to the interpretation of Sephardic music, and the Yara Ensemble, dedicated to Brazilian music.

Ezequiel Cappellano

Born in Mar del Plata, Argentina in 1991, he began playing music at the age of 12 in a music ensemble atelier with professor Diego Rábago, learning the basics of different instruments.

 

In 2015 he graduated from a bachelor's degree in Sociology at the Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMDP) and decide to move to Switzerland for study composition. He was accepted at the Conservatoire Populaire de Musique, Danse et Théâtre de Genève (CPMDT) to study composition and music theory with composer and orchestra conductor Arturo Corrales (El Salvador / Switzerland), giving his first steps in contemporary music. Two years later, he began to study at the Bern University of Arts (HKB) with composer Xavier Dayer (Switzerland) as well as with Simon Steen Andersen (Danemark), Stefan Prins (Belgium) und Gilbert Nouno (France). Also he takes sitar lessons with Maestro Ikhlaq

 

Hussain (Pakistan / United States) with whom he learns the basics of hindustani classical music and the technique of the sitar.

 

Apart from his studies he gives guitar and ensemble lessons and he is involved in several music projects as guitarist, arranger or composer.

 

In october 2020, Cappellano founded the Atahualpa Studio, a very inspiring place in front of Lake Geneva for making music productions, rehearsals