Vesuvius Ensemble
2025-2026 season
All concerts at Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton Avenue.
2500 - Napoli Millenaria
A poetic and musical tribute to the Eternal City
september 21, 2025
8:00pm, Heliconian Hall
To mark the 2500th anniversary of Naples’ legendary founding, the Vesuvius Ensemble presents a special concert: a musical journey through Naples past and present, alive in the verses and melodies of her greatest poets and composers.
Salvatore Di Giacomo, Libero Bovio, E.A. Mario, Ferdinando Russo, Raffaele Viviani – words that become song, emotion, memory.
This concert is a tribute to a millennial city – Greek, Roman, Arab, Norman, French, Spanish, and profoundly Neapolitan – told through its refined and popular song traditions.
“2500 Napoli Millenaria” is not merely a collection of pieces: it is a sonic fresco of Neapolitan identity.
Love, the sea, sorrow, celebration, faith, hope: in every note, the echo of a civilization that has sung—unmistakably—for 25 centuries.
With:
Francesco Pellegrino
Lucas Harris
Drew Jurecka
Nathan Hiltz
https://bemusednetwork.com/events/detail/1050
Quanno Nascette Ninno:
Christmas In Southern Italy
December 8, 2025@7pm
7:00pm, Heliconian Hall
The Messiah was born in humble conditions familiar to the peasants of the Southern Italian countryside. These peasants continue even now to mark the season with special music for the zampogne (traditional Italian bagpipes) which is believed to be the very music that was heard on the night Christ was born. Vesuvius’s Christmas program offers Toronto audiences a way to experience this special cultural heritage here in Canada.
With:
Francesco Pellegrino
Lucas Harris
Louis Simão
Tommaso Sollazzo
https://bemusednetwork.com/events/detail/1051
Diapente Renaissance Vocal Quintet
Madrigals in Southern Italy and the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius
February 21, 2026
7:00pm, Heliconian Hall
The Diapente Renaissance Vocal Quintet joins Vesuvius Ensemble in a special program juxtaposing composed and popular music from Southern Italy. Traditional songs from Italy's southern provinces mix with madrigals and villanellas composed by Renaissance masters who worked in the same area. Featuring music by Gesualdo, di Lasso, d'India, Lacorcia, and Michelangelo Rossi's explosive Mentre d'ampia voragine tonante about Mount Vesuvius's eruption in 1631.
Diapente Renaissance Vocal Quintet:
Jane Fingler - Soprano
Peter Koniers - Countertenor
Alexander Cappellazzo - Tenor
Jonathan Stuchbery - Tenor, Lute
Martin Gomes - Bass
https://bemusednetwork.com/events/detail/1052
Viaggio A Napoli With:
Cristina Prats-Costa & Friends
April 21, 2026
7:00pm, Heliconian Hall
Explore the beauty, passion and multifaceted sonic world of old-world Spain. This passionate evening features a diverse array of composers whose music is drawn from sacred devotion, theatrical drama, virtuosic chamber music, and popular dance. From expressive songs by Juan Frances De Iribarren to the virtuosic guitar works of Santiago de Murcia and the haunting recercadas of Diego Ortiz, echoes of the Iberian Baroque celebrates the multi-ethnic, stylistically rich, and rhythmically vibrant musical landscape of the Iberian world from the mid-16th to early 18th century. Curated by Spanish violinist, Vesuvius Ensemble will also be joined.
Cristina Prats-Costa - Julia Wedman - Geneviève Gilardeau - violin
Alison Mackay - violone
Naghmeh Farahmand – percussion
Romina Di Gasbarro – Voice
Lucas Harris – Lute & Guitar
Francesco Pellegrino - Voice
On sale here:
https://bemusednetwork.com/events/detail/1053
The Vesuvius Ensemble
gratefully acknowledges the support of our generous season sponsors.
Presenting Sponsors
The ABCRA Yorkville Cultural Fund
with the support of:
First Capital
Greybrook Realty Partners
Patrons:
John & Angela Caliendo
Paul & Rebecca Elia
Paul Golini
Valerie Elia
Donors:
Antonio Boccitto
Mary & Chris Chalmers
Tony Gagliano
Patrick Luciani
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