Founded in 1939, the Filarmonica di Castagnola is a concert band ensemble that over the years has evolved from the traditional band music, expanding its repertoire with modern music and swing, but also with classical music, meeting the appreciation of a large audience. Since 1989, under the direction of Maestro Mauro Ghisletta, the Filarmonica di Castagnola has been able to constantly improve the performance quality and variety of the played music scores. The annual activity includes concerts in the cloister of the Lugano town hall for Easter and on August 1^st, the concert in Parco San Michele in June, the concert in the square in Castagnola in September, and the traditional Christmas concert.
Every year, a special event is then proposed: this time "an evening on Broadway" in which the Filarmonica will perform together with musicians from the Arcadia orchestra.
Active in Italian Switzerland since 2001, Arcadia is a symphony orchestra that has around fifty musicians, including high-level amateurs, teachers and music students, and former professionals. It is directed since 2023 by Piotr Nikiforoff, violinist and member of the first violins of the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana, who will be one of the soloists of the evening.
The talented harpist Jasmine Gitti will be a special guest of the ensemble. Graduated from the Conservatorio della Svizzera italiana in 2023, Jasmine is member of the orchestra of the Arena di Verona and of the Accademia Teatro alla Scala in Milan. With the Filarmonica di Castagnola, she has performed during in the "Gran Concerto di Natale" of 2022 at the Palazzo dei Congressi and in the "Natale Barocco" of 2023.
Some musical pieces on the program will be enhanced by the beautiful voice of the mezzo-soprano Valentina Londino, teacher at the Conservatorio della Svizzera italiana, who has already collaborated on several events with the Filarmonica di Castagnola. The latest of which was the “Dancing and Singing” at the Palazzo dei Congressi in October 2023.