Davide Camarda

Davide Camarda was born in Messina in 1992 and began studying percussion at the age of six with Giovanni La Fauci and Pierangelo La Spada. Alongside his studies, he gained a broad range of performing experience that contributed to his musical development. He studied percussion with Maria Grazia Armaleo at the Arcangelo Corelli Conservatory in Messina.

For several years, he performed with the conservatory’s wind orchestra under conductors including Lino Blanchod and Lorenzo Della Fonte, collaborating with soloists such as Gilda Buttà, Ivano Buat, Inigo Alonso, Ronald Romm and Marco Scano. He also appeared with the Messina Brass Band and The Olympic Brass, and as a soloist with the multiethnic orchestra Ritmo Live and other ensembles in Sicily.

His interest in innovative approaches to music education led him to study body percussion and the “Nuova didattica del Ritmo” method, exploring creative forms of communication through rhythm. He attended body-percussion courses with Maria Grazia Armaleo and, in 2014, a “Body and Vocal Percussion” workshop with Richard Filz. Its final concert, on 16 June 2014, was covered by local newspapers and television.

In 2014, he participated in the live recording of the multiethnic album Around the World and played timpani for Il Volo at the Greek Theatre in Taormina on 21 and 22 July. In 2015, he graduated in percussion with the highest marks and also completed a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering.

That year, the Corelli Conservatory selected him for Markus Stockhausen’s “Intuitive Music and More” masterclass at the Musica negli Horti Festival in San Quirico d’Orcia. The project included a concluding concert and the recording of Explorations.

His solo performances of contemporary marimba and vibraphone repertoire included a concert at the Auditorium Annibale Maria di Francia on 15 September 2015, as part of the Riflessuoni season. The programme also featured music for piano and percussion with rhythmic support from a drum kit. On 3 January 2016, he performed at the Church of Santa Caterina in Taormina during Taormina Arte’s winter and Christmas season.

He participated in the Premio Nazionale delle Arti in Mantua in 2010, Novara in 2011 and Rome in 2013, both as a soloist and as a member of percussion ensembles. In the 2013 edition, he appeared in the final concert at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and received a special mention.

In July 2015, he participated in the International Percussion Festival in Montebello, near Pavia. He was also selected for the semifinal stage of the twentieth edition of “Migliori Diplomati 2015” in Castrocaro Terme.