JOHN LA BARBERA

For almost four decades, internationally renowned guitar virtuoso, multi-instrumentalist, and composer John La Barbera has enchanted audiences throughout the United States, Europe, and South America. Born in New York City, he discovered at the early age of ten the alluring beauty of the guitar and the richness and power of its rhythm. Immediately after graduating with a Bachelor of Music degree in classical guitar and composition from the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut, he was awarded a scholarship to continue his graduate studies in Siena and Florence, Italy. It was in Florence and Siena in the early 1970s when John launched his professional career, where he first toured Tuscany and Switzerland with the SSMA Chamber Orchestra and Early Music ensemble performing Medieval and Renaissance music. He moved to Florence, where he worked as a full-time guitarist and arranger for the folk music and theater company, Pupi e Fresedde, which honored his virtuosity and brought him acclaim in Italy and the rest of Europe. During those years in Italy, the group left an indelible mark with a tremendous contribution to Italian folk music and was part of the first wave of the 1970s Italian folk music revival. By 1977, the group inspired the German-born director, Peter Schumann, puppet master and founder of The Bread and Puppet Theater, to write "La Ballata di Masaniello" (The Ballad of the 14 days of Masaniello) and to premiere the group on an American and European tour. The group presented to American audiences for the first time, in 1977, the music of the "Pizzica Tarantata" and other traditional folk music from the Salento region and Naples. Upon his return to New York City in 1979, John brought back his experience and his transcriptions to form the Italian folk music and theater company, I Giullari di Piazza, together with vocalist-frame drummer Alessandra Belloni, while he was the co-founder, musical director, and composer- arranger.