Famous songwriter Gatto Panceri in concert with the Jerusalem Magnificat Institute

"Every musician's dream is to play all over the world, but how could a Christian not dream of playing in the Holy Land?" These are the words of Luigi Giovanni Maria Panceri, aka Gatto Panceri, at the end of his concert in Jerusalem. The Italian singer-songwriter, born in 1962, performed for crowded fan audience at the auditorium of the Convent of San Salvatore last Friday November 1st in a concert organized with the Magnificat Musical Institute. The artist, author of famous songs such as "Mia" and "Vivo per lei", after giving concerts in many countries of the world including Japan, wanted to realize his dream: "I realized that it's not easy play on Holy Land, it is not like doing it anywhere else in the world, so I decided to join some friends on a pilgrimage. Thanks to the collaboration of Association pro Terra Sancta I managed to find a place to play. For once it was not only work, a journey and a concert that I have been wishing to do for a long time ”. ATS pro Terra Santa has promoted the bond between Gatto Panceri and the kids of the Magnificat, the Franciscan Musical Institute, who have performed together with the artist. The Institute, led by Fr. Alberto Pari, is a music school open to all children without distinction of language, ethnicity or religion, a center of musical excellence with high-level professors and conservatory programs for all levels of teaching basis. Since 2010 the link with the “A. Pedrollo "of Vicenza has made it possible for the Institute to issue academic titles recognized by the European Union in Jerusalem, thus opening up more possibilities for all the students of the Holy Land. Gatto, not only a singer-songwriter, but a virtuoso guitarist and composer, is sensitive to the theme of musical education: “I graduated from the Conservatory in Milan in guitar, harmony and composition, and I support the boys who study music. At this moment in Europe there is a bit like a shortcut to an easy career, the "base without studying" is enough. I am for study and commitment and I support schools like the Magnificat for this ”. The boys studied and prepared to sing along with the artist "Gioia", one of his most recent successes, a song that speaks of the joy of being together and the meeting: "The boys sang very well, learning the Italian text. I was impressed by their performance and I hope in the future to be able to repay them by learning one of their songs in Arabic. " From a dream out of the ordinary a two-hour concert was born, made in acoustics, with a strong symbolic value and emotional impact: an intimate and direct experience with its fans who followed Gatto in this adventure in the Middle East. "All the journeys of my life have led me to write songs that have given me satisfaction, I hope that from this journey some songs will be born in the future - he tells us - the things we live, remain in the soul, in the reservoir of our experience, then, when God gives you a gift (and mine is writing, he has given me no others), sometimes I fish in this tank and I take out in music what he has most marked me ". The experience together with the Magnificat will remain in the heart of the artist and of the boys who learned his songs with enthusiasm. As evidence of the fact, once again, of how music is a universal language that has no boundaries and that speaks to all peoples.