MUSIC AND TOURISM IN THE SETTING OF A WONDERFUL CITY OF ART
UMBRIA JAZZ WINTER #18 takes the stage once more in Orvieto, as it has every year since 1993. From 29th December to 2nd January, there will be five days of top quality music performed in a truly unique setting - the old town centre of one of the most beautiful and fascinating cities in Umbria, a home to art and fine cooking and where hospitality is one of the distinguishing features of the local people.
The formula for this winter festival was established in its very first year, and in the intervening thirteen years it has been consolidated and fine-tuned. For five days there is music throughout the day and into the wee small hours, and the streets of Orvieto's old town centre become alive with crowds of festive, enthusiastic music fans. It is the combination of culture and tourism that characterises Umbria Jazz and makes it unique among the many Italian music festivals.
The winter edition of Umbria Jazz has two central events: a New Year's Eve dinner to welcome in 2011 (plus there is an outdoor concert after midnight), and a gospel concert for peace in the Cathedral on the afternoon of New Year's Day.
The rest of the programme is to be heard at evening concerts in Orvieto's beautiful Teatro Mancineli and at other venues "round midnight"; at jazz lunches and dinners (Orvieto's fine foods and wines are the perfect accompaniment to the music); at the afternoon concerts in the Palazzo del Popolo; and in the morning, in the Museo Emilio Greco in the midst of the works of art on display. There are also many free concerts at the Palazzo dei Sette, which is also the festival Meeting Point, and here you can enjoy non-stop music from late morning until early the following morning.
One of the well-known characteristics of Umbria Jazz Winter is that, while resisting the temptation to become an event for a musical elite (that is not what Umbria Jazz is about!), it does cater to a more musically knowledgeable audience. Without, however, forgetting that the festival takes place during the festive season. And so, together with the concerts for music lovers and jazz experts, there are also "lighter" concerts of fun music to cater for those who are less well versed in the language of African American music.
