RENZO SPITERI

The International fame holder and multi-ethnic Renzo Spiteri is a versatile solo artiste and session musician who creates “a sheer mesmerising atmosphere whenever he performs. Thanks to his inimitable skills and style, and though he will not admit it, Renzo has become one of the most sought after names in the music scene.

Throughout the years he has been committed to using the universal language of music to bring different cultures together. He participates extensively in cross-cultural music exchanges and collaborations that have resulted in performances with various artistes from Europe, Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia, including Mercan Dede (Turkey), N’faly Kouyaté (Rep. of Guinea), Mousse Ndaiye (Senegal), Trilok Gurtu (India), Joji Hirota (Japan), Yelemba D’Abidjan (Ivory Coast), Nitin Shankar (India). From jazz to classical, from solo percussion performances to fusion, contemporary and world music, his performances and collaborations have been described in a review as “alluring and intriguing … [giving] a very good idea of Renzo’s mastering of the percussion and his ways and means to adapt to different styles”

Recent engagements include performances during the Sori-WOMAD Festival 2006 (Jeonju, Rep. Korea), the vibrant all-percussion performance in collaboration with percussion players from the China Conservatory of Music (Beijing) (presented in Beijing and during the Malta Jazz Festival 2006), Ghadames Festival of the Desert, “Sounds Unlimited” performed during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2005 in Malta (presented by The British Council), and “Re:Public”, in collaboration with Maltese installation artist Vince Briffa, selected as closing event during Cork 2005 – European Cultural Capital 2005.

His solo album entitled “This is my language” (2005) is a collection of ‘sketches’ using traditional as well as unconventional percussive instruments. It is an inner voyage like an abstract painting, there to be perceived by every individual.

Renzo and his music have been featured on MTV music channel and BBC radio stations, and as featured music in art exhibitions in Malta, Florence and Tokyo. He has earned international endorsements from world leading companies Toca Percussion and Paiste Cymbals and is supported by Olimpus Music (Malta).

In recent years, Renzo Spiteri has been exploring the use of the most diverse percussion instruments in order to express himself artistically. His language has expanded and it has become customary for him to use the stage as a meeting point for traditional world instruments and what he calls ?raw materials?. The fusion of these two elements has formed part of Renzo?s research into playing and performing with pure sounds. Renzo explored this fusion in a public performance for the first time in his highly acclaimed ?2000 Rhythms? during the national Millennium celebrations held in Floriana in December 1999. This was followed by a string of solo performances at St. James Cavalier and the Manoel Theatre and by the setting up of the dynamic percussion ensemble, The Katambu Sound Factory, which is also due to perform in Athens in June during the 11th Biennial of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean.

Renzo Spiteri has years of experience as a performer and educator in Malta and abroad. Keeping in view of his high quality unique work in music and his ever increasing popularity, he has been selected to perform in the Malta Jazz Festival 2006.

Renzo Arbore Tickets