Vocal and Instrumental Music Week

A week of music in the heart of Sicily

The Vocal and Instrumental Music Week is the premier summer event in Altavilla Milicia, a town in the Metropolitan City of Palermo nestled among hills overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. Established in 2017 and growing with every edition, the festival is organized by the Associazione Coralica ETS, an organization founded in Altavilla Milicia that has become a thriving community of over 150 singers, conductors, students, and enthusiasts from across Italy and abroad.

Masterclasses and training

The core of the event is its educational dimension: ten days of activities featuring masterclasses dedicated to choir conducting, orchestra conducting, and vocal technique, led by nationally and internationally renowned instructors. Over the years, participants have come not only from Sicily but from various Italian regions and foreign countries such as France, Lebanon, and Mongolia, demonstrating the international reach the festival has achieved.

• Masterclasses for choir conductors (multiple levels)
• Orchestra conducting masterclasses
• Vocal technique and style courses for singers

Evening concerts

Every evening, following the lessons, the Week offers a series of performances open to the public that span various genres: from operatic and sacred repertoire to choral music, from jazz to traditional Sicilian folk, and even grand tributes (to the Beatles, Mozart, and Puccini). The concerts are primarily held at the Municipal Theatre in Piazza Matrice and in the evocative setting of the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Milicia, an important place of worship and local identity.

An event for the community

The Music Week is now an integral part of the Altavilla Summer and represents a major cultural draw for the entire Palermo province. Admission to the evening concerts is free, reflecting an open approach to both locals and the tourists who flock to the Sicilian Tyrrhenian coast in August. For Altavilla Milicia, it is also an opportunity to promote the region, linking the devotional tradition of the Sanctuary with the vibrancy of an internationally recognized musical event.