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Hi, welcome to Classically Speaking, the podcast
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where we explore the intersections of choral
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music, media, and culture. I'm Sam Estes, composer,
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music technologist, and founding member and chair
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of Voices LA, one of Los Angeles' newest and
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most dynamic choral ensembles. Today, we're celebrating
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a special moment, the release of Italian -American
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tenor Pasquale Esposito's new Holiday album,
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My Christmas by the Bay, which drops today, which
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is November the 21st. Pascale is known for his
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PBS specials, powerful crossover voice, and his
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work bringing Italian music to the audiences
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around the world. He'll be performing an Italian
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Christmas on December 10th at the Broad stage
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here in Santa Monica, which is going to be an
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elegant, heartfelt holiday experience blending
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Italian and American traditions. Welcome to the
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podcast. Thank you. A joy to be here with all
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of you. Wonderful. Let's start off with your
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new album. It just dropped today. I got a chance
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to listen to quite a bit of it and it's called
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My Christmas by the Bay. How's this feel to you?
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It seems like you've been working on this for
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a little while or? I've been working on this
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album for about one year and a half. Okay, excellent.
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Christmas albums are very interesting because
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they have a very short life. It's something that
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you can always postpone, postpone, but... He
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has been in my life, this project for quite a
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bit of time. And sometimes he's beautiful because
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he grows on you and there's no rush. You know,
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you need to wait for the next Christmas and the
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other. And finally he was ready to come out.
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And awesome. It's, it's, it's, it's, uh, I'm
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proud, you know, and I was just listening to
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it and I say, wow, I accomplished what I wanted.
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to deliver. Excellent. Excellent. Now this album
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blends a lot of Italian and American traditions
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and what inspired you to do this fusion? Well,
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the title, everything is in the title. Christmas
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by the Bay because I've been living my Christmas
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by the Bay and by the Bay of Naples where I was
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born. Then I find myself moving in the United
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States at a fairly young age when I was about
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25. So the Bay of San Francisco. So in me, you
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will find this altar boy combined with the Italian
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American that I remember when I came to this
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country, I didn't speak one word in English.
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I know what you're thinking now. You still don't
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speak English. I'm trying my best. And I remember
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going to learn. English at food college in Los
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Altos Hill. So I arrived to California and start
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from zero. I was very lucky to win the green
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card, the lottery, and to support my studying
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and to start to buy my first keyboard and start
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really in the music industry. I went to work
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at the Macy's Stanford shopping center as a,
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and I remember going and take this long shift
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as a sales representative and listening, starting.
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right before Thanksgiving of all this Christmas
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music. And believe me, when you listen that stuff
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for eight hour shifts, you start to hate it.
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You know, I say, my God, you go home and you
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know, you don't want to listen anything more.
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But it's very strange. I figured out that I was
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becoming an American. Finally, my dream came
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true because I am now an American. When I start
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to love that music. that was not the music I
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grew up in the church being an altar boy during
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Christmas time. So in this album, there is this
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combination of these two Bay that have been geographically
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affecting my life, but also cultural affecting
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my life. Interesting. Yeah. Yeah, that's really
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cool. You have on this album, quite a few originals,
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but also some classics as well. It's a very varied
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album. I love the fact that you have a lot of
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some Italian songs on it, a brand new song or
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two original compositions. Is that correct? And
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very difficult. If you listen to it, you will
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see very different stylistic, even though we
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try to blend them in the same sonority, but stylistically
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they are fairly different. I believe that we're
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moving in an era where finally you are a grade
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10 or two, we cannot be locked in a box and say,
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oh, you are good to do Don Insetti or you are
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good to do Crossover. The modern singer, it's
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someone who is able to adapt to everything. And
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that's what you experience in this album. You
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will hear me singing a song from 1700. from Santo
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Alfonso di Liguori to Scendi dalle Stelle. And
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in the same medley, you have a song that was
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just written at the beginning of the past century.
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There is a stylistically, even though we try
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to create a same blending, you see a variation
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in the way that the vocal instrument is used.
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And it's so beautiful. I was reading about your
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podcast and so beautiful that you focus on that,
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on how important is the vocal instrument. I believe
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is the most beautiful instrument that God created
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outside from the piano and the guitars and many
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other instruments. I think the human being instrument,
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it's just like something that, oh, I teach voice
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and I never stop to mesmerize by the progress
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of my student. And when you give them the knowledge
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of that instrument, what they can deliver to
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you. And I believe there is a God connection
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right there. Yeah, I would fully agree with you.
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I mean, we all have an instrument. We all choose
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to use it or not. But that's wonderful. Yeah,
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like I said, I got a chance to listen to much
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of the album. It's beautifully produced and your
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voice is amazing in it. And I really enjoyed
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it. I think we'll be putting it while we decorate
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the tree this holiday season. Some of the things
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that really struck me was you built in a wonderful
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mix of some electronic stuff, some some beats
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if you were. You also brought in some like Irish
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elements, some bagpipes and some whistles and
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some other things to help kind of I don't know
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just provide variety because you know I've listened
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to so many you know Christmas albums that are
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just kind of the same for the whole thing and
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so that's one of the things I really enjoy about
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the album is the variety that you're bringing
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to this so. That's really great. I'm really,
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really pleased with what this is shaping up to
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be. So let's talk a little bit about your collaboration
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with Victoria Tuivy. Where did you find her?
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What led you to do Baby It's Cold Outside? Such
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a classic. Very interesting. What made her right
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for this duet? Tuivy McDowell is also a long
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name. Her mother is a Vietnamese and her papa
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is an African -American gentleman. They came
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to my vocal studio where I am right now when
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she was, believe me, 10 years old. And she started
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and she auditioned for me because I don't take
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any, wow, all the students that fortunately I
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need to be very selective. And for the time I
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have, I would love to do more. But I listened
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to her and I saw this great potential. Even though
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we know that at 10 years old, the voice is just
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blooming and there is going to be change. But
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I strongly believe that if you give to a young
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singer that is mentally there to understand the
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focus that we need to use our body, you can give
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to a young student the foundation of singing.
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Even though the voice is going to change, no
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matter what, the voice changing, if you give
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the foundation of an healthy singing, That instrument
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is going to have longevity. And I was impressed
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about this little beautiful instrument. So I
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grabbed her and she stayed with me for a long
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time. I mean, she's still coming for lesson and
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she's now 22. She took my path and she went and
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she got her vocal degree from San Jose State
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University. We got her a free scholarship. We
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give her a free scholarship in this studio. And
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she became an outstanding singer at the level
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that now she's debuting with San Jose Opera in
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April in La Traviata. A story of success of my
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vocal studio. And, uh, to be honest, I am in
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my 50s and when I... It's wonderful. The joy
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of putting these debits called outside came out.
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I say, you know, I would love to do this with
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you, Vittoria, because she was helping me to
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rehearse the song. You know, I say, I need to
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practice with the soprano. Let's try to do it.
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And you say, I say, I would love to do that with
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you, but you know, it really doesn't match with
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me. And, uh, and she said, Pasquale, can I tell
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you something? I say, yeah. If Tony Bennett can
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do it with Lady Gaga, I can do it with you. And
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that strikes so much, very smart. And I say,
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okay, okay, let me see. And she showed me a video
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of Tony Bennett doing with Lady Gaga. And yeah,
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we start to practice the song and we shape it
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up and we made a totally different arrangement
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as you can hear much more upbeat and fast going,
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less sexy. And it came out. Beautiful. We just,
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uh, filmed a video clip. Yes. In a store in Los,
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uh, in Skatos where she's there with me, but
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in this, in this video clip, I am the, I'm the
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manager of the store and she is there with her
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boyfriend who is flirting with her and I kick
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both out. So it's a funny stuff. I said, this
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is, this is, this is not the right, this is not
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the right place to do this. Go home. I'm glad.
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That's a great take. Yeah. I like that. I really
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like that take. That's great. So you do in this
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album sing, obviously, both Italian and in English.
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I need to say that even though I've been sharpening
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up my accent with IPA when I sing in English,
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there is an accent. There is a very... the contradiction
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on this accent. You know, if you go to a record
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label that now they don't, don't exist anymore,
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approximately there, they will, they will tell
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you on that's, that's a, that's a no -no. But
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I notice that my audience loves that attachment
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to my root in this accent. So I sharpen up so
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people can, can understand me and add more than
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words, but of course you will feel that. I was
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not born in the United States. You know, it's
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something that I could sharper up even more,
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but for marketing purpose, probably I don't do
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it. Of course, if you ask me, where is your comfortable
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range? Where is your comfortable speech? When
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I speak, when I sing in Neapolitan, that is really
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a language. When I sing in Italian, it's really
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my comfort zone. I can express myself better,
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but that doesn't, even in English now. Italian
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and how the difference of singing in Italian
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that is your native language. It's almost wearing
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like that kind of a comfortable shoes that you
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have been wearing so much that is so nice and
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comfortable. When you start to sing in another
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language, you start to think about that special
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sound that you need to strike. And I think it
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can affect a little bit your performance. And
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that is why it takes a long time to do these
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recordings. I've been working with a diction
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coach, Mr. Joseph Frank. So we have been clean
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up the English and ask that people will be able
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to understand what I'm saying. But at the same
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time, they will enjoy the accent and the way
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I express myself. Italian is... Well, I could
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understand you. I could understand you perfectly.
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Thank God. Thank God. I think you did a great
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job. Italian is a beautiful language. It's a
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language of romance and even in these Christmas
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carols expressed very well. Yeah, it's definitely
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one of my favorite languages to sing in for sure.
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I hate singing in English. I hate more singing
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in German, to be honest. Okay. It's a very harsh
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language, but it also does have its beauty as
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well. Wonderful. Well, let's talk a little bit
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about your concert coming up on December 10th
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here in Santa Monica at the Broad Stage. What
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makes this concert? different than a traditional
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holiday program for you. Maybe the combination
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of the son of Mrs. Sophia Loren, Mr. Carlo Ponti,
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with his Italian roots and my Italian roots.
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So it's almost traveling to Europe without buying
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an airline, but at the same time, honoring the
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fact that we are in Los Angeles, we are in the
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United States, and we have so these amazing repertoire.
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That is the American standard Christmas song
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that they are so amazing. So you will hear the
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most beautiful songs. And of course you will
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hear the, the repertoire of when me and Carlo,
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we were in Italy and we were going to the church
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on Christmas Eve here, like the combination of
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these two day that merged into this show with
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the conductor who happened to be Italian like
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me, but also an international gentleman. And
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it's almost. Going back home for Christmas with
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this team, but at the same time, honoring the
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fact that we are in the land of the opportunity
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and this country, United States, made us the
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artists that we are. So tribute to that amazing
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American Christmas songbook, if we want to call
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it like this. So you will hear a song like White
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Christmas and... I'll be home for Christmas and
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all that music. But at the same time, you will
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hear Adeste Fidelis with the wonderful orchestra.
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So it's a combination of that music that was
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when I was an altar boy and when I moved here
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in the United States and I was working at Stanford
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Shopping Center, listening to it over and over
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and made me appreciate it after years. Very good.
00:14:18.500 --> 00:14:20.820
What can audiences expect from the evening? Are
00:14:20.820 --> 00:14:23.559
there any musical moments you're excited about?
00:14:24.419 --> 00:14:28.960
There are some surprise during the evening and
00:14:28.960 --> 00:14:32.059
we are working, probably my children will be
00:14:32.059 --> 00:14:35.799
down and probably they will join the stage. Wonderful.
00:14:37.480 --> 00:14:44.490
13, 11 and 7 years old. Vittorio is 13. and the
00:14:44.490 --> 00:14:47.809
old part of a recording called Feliz Navidad.
00:14:48.409 --> 00:14:51.210
So probably there will be... So that's your children
00:14:51.210 --> 00:14:54.629
on that recording. Oh, that's awesome. It's always
00:14:54.629 --> 00:14:57.269
magical when they come on stage and you have
00:14:57.269 --> 00:14:59.929
a new beginning. It's fresh. So I look forward
00:14:59.929 --> 00:15:03.330
to that and my son is going to perform a song
00:15:03.330 --> 00:15:05.710
by himself. That'll be so fun. That's beautiful.
00:15:05.919 --> 00:15:09.179
Wonderful. That's great. I'm hoping my kids eventually
00:15:09.179 --> 00:15:12.159
get to that place. My oldest daughter's seven,
00:15:12.279 --> 00:15:16.080
so I'm slowly starting to push her into thinking
00:15:16.080 --> 00:15:18.500
about music, but we'll see. Both my wife and
00:15:18.500 --> 00:15:22.039
I are professional musicians, so it's like the
00:15:22.039 --> 00:15:25.600
kids will have no choice at the end. So, you
00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:27.659
know, we talked a little bit about how, you know,
00:15:28.100 --> 00:15:29.700
this concert's going to be blending a lot of
00:15:29.700 --> 00:15:33.830
classical holiday repertoire, but also some What
00:15:33.830 --> 00:15:36.669
I assume are Italian favorites as well. Are you
00:15:36.669 --> 00:15:39.389
spending some time balancing the nostalgia and
00:15:39.389 --> 00:15:41.889
this tradition, but with your own artistic and
00:15:41.889 --> 00:15:44.029
cultural voice when it comes to this concert?
00:15:44.549 --> 00:15:47.990
Are you planning on really bringing some of the
00:15:47.990 --> 00:15:51.610
Italian flair to Santa Monica that probably needs
00:15:51.610 --> 00:15:54.519
it so badly? Definitely. I wanna, I wanna, the
00:15:54.519 --> 00:15:58.519
goal is to be able to bring the audience in a
00:15:58.519 --> 00:16:01.779
trip around our Christmas, how we celebrate Christmas
00:16:01.779 --> 00:16:05.500
in Italy without jumping on an ire. airplane
00:16:05.500 --> 00:16:09.620
for 20 hours. So it's very interesting to listen
00:16:09.620 --> 00:16:12.860
to the story of when you grew up in Italy, what
00:16:12.860 --> 00:16:15.379
is the tradition there and what happened when
00:16:15.379 --> 00:16:17.879
you are an Italian American and you move here
00:16:17.879 --> 00:16:21.200
in the United States and you start to adjust
00:16:21.200 --> 00:16:24.340
to the new country. I believe United States is
00:16:24.340 --> 00:16:26.480
one of the most spectacular place in the world
00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:30.399
because it's the land of immigrants. It's very
00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:34.159
interesting to see how you can move all over.
00:16:34.120 --> 00:16:38.080
the world and always feel like you are a guest
00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:41.059
of that country. But you move into the United
00:16:41.059 --> 00:16:43.700
States and you become an American. For us in
00:16:43.700 --> 00:16:48.399
Italy, we don't have Thanksgiving. We absolutely
00:16:48.399 --> 00:16:51.940
don't even understand what it is. But now that
00:16:51.940 --> 00:16:54.340
I've been here for quite a bit of time, Thanksgiving
00:16:54.340 --> 00:16:58.659
started to take form and it's a tradition that
00:16:58.659 --> 00:17:02.600
you feel. So it's interesting to share with.
00:17:02.750 --> 00:17:08.069
the audience, how you can really adjust to a
00:17:08.069 --> 00:17:12.549
place and create a new style, a new culture,
00:17:12.650 --> 00:17:15.509
a new, that I'm passing on probably to my children,
00:17:15.670 --> 00:17:19.829
that they're all fluent in Italian too, but it's
00:17:19.829 --> 00:17:24.529
this mix that makes the show very interesting.
00:17:25.450 --> 00:17:29.569
And having Maestro Carlo Ponti there, who is
00:17:29.569 --> 00:17:33.319
an outstanding musician, but conductor. It's
00:17:33.319 --> 00:17:36.099
also interesting to share some story with him
00:17:36.099 --> 00:17:39.519
about his Christmas while he was around Europe,
00:17:39.960 --> 00:17:44.039
being the son of such a legendary actress, Mrs.
00:17:44.400 --> 00:17:48.099
Lauren. His Christmas was quite a bit sheltered.
00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:50.980
always, you know, they had to go. He was telling
00:17:50.980 --> 00:17:54.660
me we used to go to the church on the 24th with
00:17:54.660 --> 00:17:57.500
a bodyguard. And, uh, you know, it's, it's, it's
00:17:57.500 --> 00:17:59.819
very interesting to, to listen to that story,
00:18:00.220 --> 00:18:02.640
to share that with the audience. So it's like,
00:18:02.960 --> 00:18:05.619
there is some story behind that we are writing
00:18:05.619 --> 00:18:09.079
and then followed by the music that will make
00:18:09.079 --> 00:18:11.119
sense. We're going to have an amazing writer
00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:14.859
projection of, uh, videos that is going to help
00:18:14.859 --> 00:18:18.579
the audience to. travel with us in this, it's
00:18:18.579 --> 00:18:22.740
a 90 minutes, one hour and 45 minutes show where
00:18:22.740 --> 00:18:25.759
you really sit there and you say, wow, you ended
00:18:25.759 --> 00:18:28.079
the show and you say, wow, I really didn't think
00:18:28.079 --> 00:18:30.779
about my problem, my shopping list and where
00:18:30.779 --> 00:18:32.839
I'm going to go for Christmas. I was there and
00:18:32.839 --> 00:18:35.400
I enjoyed it and I absorb all this wonderful
00:18:35.400 --> 00:18:40.059
music and it puts people in the spirit of the
00:18:40.059 --> 00:18:45.019
holidays. What I see is that when you get to
00:18:45.019 --> 00:18:48.200
this point in the holidays, everything is incredibly
00:18:48.200 --> 00:18:52.960
frenetic. Everybody's running. If you get to
00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:55.099
get in a place where you say, okay, let me enjoy
00:18:55.099 --> 00:18:58.980
here, sit down in a theater and look at an amazing
00:18:58.980 --> 00:19:02.019
orchestra and say, okay, I want to enjoy. That's
00:19:02.019 --> 00:19:05.460
where the connection can be established, where
00:19:05.460 --> 00:19:09.079
you leave everything, the rushing outside and
00:19:09.079 --> 00:19:12.460
we're capable to bring them in in a relaxation
00:19:12.460 --> 00:19:16.960
moment and where they can relax, don't think
00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:19.880
about the problem and really merge into the music
00:19:19.880 --> 00:19:22.380
and the storytelling. And it takes time, it takes
00:19:22.380 --> 00:19:25.559
a commitment, but it's a labor of love and I
00:19:25.559 --> 00:19:27.990
love to do it. Wonderful. That's great. Yeah,
00:19:28.089 --> 00:19:30.329
it's Christmas time is, especially for musicians,
00:19:30.569 --> 00:19:33.009
the most frenetic time of year. It's the one
00:19:33.009 --> 00:19:35.410
time we're always busy. Oh, which is great. Now
00:19:35.410 --> 00:19:37.910
I saw a portion of the proceeds are going to
00:19:37.910 --> 00:19:40.869
benefit notable music and arts organizations,
00:19:41.170 --> 00:19:43.970
NMAO. Can you talk a little bit about what about
00:19:43.970 --> 00:19:48.569
this organization? I was born in a poor part
00:19:48.569 --> 00:19:52.049
of Italy called Naples South and in a poor family.
00:19:52.230 --> 00:19:58.059
I am the only boy of a family of five with my
00:19:58.059 --> 00:20:02.619
four sisters. My father was still alive, but
00:20:02.619 --> 00:20:06.200
he used to be a nurse. So it was quite a bit
00:20:06.200 --> 00:20:10.819
of a challenge to grow up where I grew up. And
00:20:10.819 --> 00:20:14.839
I remember I wanted to study music and I wanted
00:20:14.839 --> 00:20:18.019
to take private lessons, but I couldn't afford,
00:20:18.200 --> 00:20:20.619
my family couldn't afford that. We were five
00:20:20.619 --> 00:20:24.589
in the house. five children. So my only escape
00:20:24.589 --> 00:20:27.549
was the fact that at seven years old, I started
00:20:27.549 --> 00:20:30.430
to sing in this church choir. And thank God that
00:20:30.430 --> 00:20:33.930
church was the church where Erico Caruso was
00:20:33.930 --> 00:20:36.750
born. So they have the tradition of this choir.
00:20:36.930 --> 00:20:40.329
They have the tradition of vocal coaching with
00:20:40.329 --> 00:20:45.750
the priest. And for free, they took me in and
00:20:45.750 --> 00:20:49.009
they made me a singer. But I believe in God,
00:20:49.049 --> 00:20:53.549
and I think God put this in my path. And that's
00:20:53.549 --> 00:20:57.670
why I am where I am today. Now, if you turn on
00:20:57.670 --> 00:21:00.890
the radio, every once in a while I do it while
00:21:00.890 --> 00:21:04.509
I'm driving, and I'm very worried. So I'm very
00:21:04.509 --> 00:21:07.150
worried to what's going on, to what is going
00:21:07.150 --> 00:21:10.910
to happen to this world tenor, you know, soprano.
00:21:11.190 --> 00:21:14.390
What is going to happen to me and you? And, and
00:21:14.390 --> 00:21:19.750
the next, and our children. So we need to make
00:21:19.750 --> 00:21:24.250
the next generation understand that if in order
00:21:24.250 --> 00:21:28.650
to achieve something, we need work hard and sacrifice.
00:21:29.089 --> 00:21:32.650
And the purpose of a notable music and art organization
00:21:32.650 --> 00:21:37.069
is that yes, if you want to work hard and sacrifice
00:21:37.069 --> 00:21:40.549
and work on your instrument, we can help you.
00:21:40.690 --> 00:21:45.000
We, you are not alone. Like I was alone and that's
00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:47.640
why I founded notable music and art organization.
00:21:47.880 --> 00:21:51.259
We have about 20 underprivileged student people
00:21:51.259 --> 00:21:54.299
who like me could never afford music. And I was
00:21:54.299 --> 00:21:56.980
lucky to find that church in my neighborhood
00:21:56.980 --> 00:22:00.700
that opened my eyes to this career. And that's
00:22:00.700 --> 00:22:04.319
what I want to do for the next generation. Give
00:22:04.319 --> 00:22:07.160
to these young students like Vittoria the opportunity
00:22:07.160 --> 00:22:10.059
to understand that you have a gift that you can
00:22:10.059 --> 00:22:13.440
develop that gift and share with the world. Putting
00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:17.779
a prompt inside artificial intelligence, but
00:22:17.779 --> 00:22:21.720
working on your craft. That's my philosophy,
00:22:21.880 --> 00:22:24.579
even though there is some benefit for artificial
00:22:24.579 --> 00:22:26.960
intelligence since we are talking about, but
00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:31.039
I believe that if we want to work... on our instrument,
00:22:31.299 --> 00:22:33.359
we need to have a knowledge of that instrument.
00:22:33.579 --> 00:22:36.640
We need to be able to study, understand how we
00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:40.200
use our body. And this can happen just if some
00:22:40.200 --> 00:22:43.140
human being guides you. The first thing I tell
00:22:43.140 --> 00:22:46.400
to the student when they walk in this room is
00:22:46.400 --> 00:22:49.349
that if you believe that... There is someone
00:22:49.349 --> 00:22:52.049
in the universe that is capable to teach you
00:22:52.049 --> 00:22:54.630
how to sing. This is not the right place for
00:22:54.630 --> 00:22:56.930
you. I strongly believe that there is no one
00:22:56.930 --> 00:22:59.930
who can teach how to sing. We're dealing with
00:22:59.930 --> 00:23:02.490
the feelings. When I talk with you about your
00:23:02.490 --> 00:23:04.930
head voice, your middle voice, your chest voice,
00:23:05.289 --> 00:23:09.250
your mascara, your larynx, you translate that
00:23:09.250 --> 00:23:13.789
in feelings that you feel. Now, how to make your
00:23:13.789 --> 00:23:18.400
student feel that it's incredibly complex. I
00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:22.220
am 90 kilo and I have a certain diaphragm. I
00:23:22.220 --> 00:23:25.500
have a portion of liquids in my body and the
00:23:25.500 --> 00:23:27.859
structure of my body is totally different than
00:23:27.859 --> 00:23:31.759
my students. So what I feel is not what she or
00:23:31.759 --> 00:23:35.480
he is going to feel. And it's very, very complex
00:23:35.480 --> 00:23:38.500
to trust, to give them this sensation and say,
00:23:38.619 --> 00:23:40.460
can you feel that? Can you, can you feel that?
00:23:40.480 --> 00:23:43.579
Yeah, that's what I feel. And I do this in order
00:23:43.579 --> 00:23:46.920
to achieve that. So, uh, it's, it's a process.
00:23:47.180 --> 00:23:49.599
Thank God I had a good coach in my life who were
00:23:49.599 --> 00:23:53.000
able to make me understand how to treasure this
00:23:53.000 --> 00:23:57.319
sensation and translate that to. the young student.
00:23:57.960 --> 00:24:00.880
And that's why I believe notable music art is
00:24:00.880 --> 00:24:05.180
so important because we try to educate the student
00:24:05.180 --> 00:24:07.740
about the crafting of the voice, the instrument,
00:24:07.859 --> 00:24:11.319
music theory, and the passion towards music to
00:24:11.319 --> 00:24:13.839
the universal language. Thank you. That's really
00:24:13.839 --> 00:24:17.380
nice. Wonderful. So I would love to learn a little
00:24:17.380 --> 00:24:20.019
bit more about the Italian Christmas tradition,
00:24:20.200 --> 00:24:22.319
especially from a musical standpoint. There's
00:24:22.319 --> 00:24:26.180
not a lot, you know, other than maybe like whatever
00:24:26.180 --> 00:24:30.039
Andrea Bocelli brought over or whatever, that
00:24:30.039 --> 00:24:34.819
we've gotten some exposure to the Italian music
00:24:34.819 --> 00:24:39.220
tradition for the season. I would love to talk
00:24:39.220 --> 00:24:40.900
a little bit more about that. I mean, because
00:24:40.900 --> 00:24:43.859
you obviously grew up with a different tradition
00:24:43.859 --> 00:24:47.759
than we have here in the States. What strikes
00:24:47.759 --> 00:24:50.559
you as being so different with some of the Italian
00:24:50.559 --> 00:24:52.880
music tradition versus, you know, some of our
00:24:52.880 --> 00:24:55.059
American, you know, even pop sensibilities from
00:24:55.059 --> 00:24:58.720
our tradition? Is there something that resonates
00:24:58.720 --> 00:25:01.079
with you on both sides? Are you more drawn to
00:25:01.079 --> 00:25:03.579
the Italian tradition? I would just love to kind
00:25:03.579 --> 00:25:05.180
of talk about it and learn a little bit more.
00:25:05.279 --> 00:25:08.400
And I believe it has to do with being in Italy
00:25:08.400 --> 00:25:10.960
geographically, being in the place where there
00:25:10.960 --> 00:25:14.440
is the Vatican. So if you talk about... Christmas
00:25:14.440 --> 00:25:17.299
music in Italy, most of the time you will talk
00:25:17.299 --> 00:25:21.440
about religious music. And, uh, and, and, and
00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:24.480
that's, that's what usually happened. It's very
00:25:24.480 --> 00:25:28.759
difficult to find. What I was able to do with,
00:25:28.759 --> 00:25:33.019
uh, in this album and in my past PBS special
00:25:33.019 --> 00:25:35.480
call in the speech and the spirit of Christmas,
00:25:35.759 --> 00:25:38.920
I was able to write some pop Christmas music
00:25:38.920 --> 00:25:43.589
in Italian. And even Andrea was able to do that,
00:25:43.950 --> 00:25:47.950
but we are pretty innovative because it's very
00:25:47.950 --> 00:25:52.630
difficult to find a pop Italian artist or pop
00:25:52.630 --> 00:25:55.890
opera Italian artist who is going to invest in
00:25:55.890 --> 00:25:59.210
that direction. It's incredibly difficult. When
00:25:59.210 --> 00:26:03.089
you deal with Italian repertoire, we're going
00:26:03.089 --> 00:26:06.160
to deal. most of the time with the classical
00:26:06.160 --> 00:26:09.779
religious repertoire that that that is has been
00:26:09.779 --> 00:26:15.180
a very famous. Being an altar boy that's where
00:26:15.180 --> 00:26:18.460
I start to sing when we were singing in that
00:26:18.460 --> 00:26:21.279
choir as a young student of course you want to
00:26:21.279 --> 00:26:24.420
fight to get your soul apart and try to perform
00:26:24.420 --> 00:26:27.240
as best you can but you know you want to sing
00:26:27.240 --> 00:26:30.819
songs like. Silent Night, Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle,
00:26:31.640 --> 00:26:34.619
o Quando Nascete Nino, they are very classical.
00:26:35.440 --> 00:26:38.599
Bingo. You got the point. Or Monteverdi's Vespers.
00:26:39.240 --> 00:26:40.380
You're going to get that kind of a classical
00:26:40.380 --> 00:26:43.279
repertoire. For sure, you're not going to sing
00:26:43.279 --> 00:26:48.460
Last Christmas. It's a... And, you know, in this
00:26:48.460 --> 00:26:51.440
album, you will find me singing Last Christmas
00:26:51.440 --> 00:26:54.140
because my dream came true. Here we go. These
00:26:54.140 --> 00:26:57.059
two cultures where, yeah, I can sing the church
00:26:57.059 --> 00:27:01.500
song I grew up with, but I am now merging a new
00:27:01.500 --> 00:27:05.599
country and this beautiful, powerful music that,
00:27:05.599 --> 00:27:09.680
you know, in some how translates to message of
00:27:09.680 --> 00:27:12.420
peace and love. I strongly believe there is no
00:27:12.420 --> 00:27:15.960
one who thinks about... Christmas song and say,
00:27:16.099 --> 00:27:19.519
Oh, let me sit down and let me talk about a message
00:27:19.519 --> 00:27:22.400
of hate. No, there are messages of peace over
00:27:22.400 --> 00:27:25.900
lost love and everything hands in a, in a, in
00:27:25.900 --> 00:27:29.920
a, in a nice way. So there is definitely in any
00:27:29.920 --> 00:27:33.480
genre of Christmas music hope. And to be honest,
00:27:33.779 --> 00:27:35.980
in this society, when the people will leave the
00:27:35.980 --> 00:27:39.079
broad stage on the tent. I really hope that they
00:27:39.079 --> 00:27:42.680
live with a message of hope that, yes, we can
00:27:42.680 --> 00:27:47.359
build peace. We can build a better place where
00:27:47.359 --> 00:27:50.440
we live. And that is the message we want to deliver
00:27:50.440 --> 00:27:53.180
to the audience. And that's the message I want
00:27:53.180 --> 00:27:57.000
to deliver with this My Christmas by the Bay.
00:27:57.299 --> 00:27:59.759
You know, these two Christmas, the American one
00:27:59.759 --> 00:28:02.460
and the Italian. Wonderful. Yeah. Yeah. Well,
00:28:02.539 --> 00:28:04.640
and you're doing it down in Santa Monica Bay.
00:28:04.819 --> 00:28:08.559
That's great. Yes. That's wonderful. Well, I
00:28:08.559 --> 00:28:10.440
have a couple of kind of rapid -fire questions
00:28:10.440 --> 00:28:13.160
that I always like to end my interviews with.
00:28:14.039 --> 00:28:16.660
Is there an Italian Christmas dessert that is
00:28:16.660 --> 00:28:17.240
your favorite? Believe me, there is one. And
00:28:17.240 --> 00:28:19.839
I believe that I made some damage with it. Let
00:28:19.839 --> 00:28:22.740
me tell you. My wife is gonna bring me the charger
00:28:22.740 --> 00:28:25.460
for this computer before it dies. At that point,
00:28:26.279 --> 00:28:29.819
we were not married. Listen to this story. Okay.
00:28:30.859 --> 00:28:34.380
Bring charger. I just brought to her. So we were
00:28:34.380 --> 00:28:37.710
not married. She, she was my manager before she,
00:28:37.809 --> 00:28:40.190
before she was my wife. And for a long time,
00:28:40.190 --> 00:28:43.410
for about 10 years, I was involved in other relationship.
00:28:43.670 --> 00:28:47.789
And then we finally, I finally discovered that,
00:28:47.789 --> 00:28:50.190
you know, I was in love with her and I couldn't
00:28:50.190 --> 00:28:52.329
see this love because the business was in the
00:28:52.329 --> 00:28:54.630
middle. But then when I was about to lose her,
00:28:54.789 --> 00:29:01.029
she became my wife. It happened to be that we
00:29:01.029 --> 00:29:05.079
had go to. Italy, I invite her to spend the traditional
00:29:05.079 --> 00:29:07.700
Italy with my family. There is a special dessert.
00:29:08.420 --> 00:29:12.539
It's called the Rococo. Rococo. And he comes
00:29:12.539 --> 00:29:15.259
from the Middle East. You should know that in
00:29:15.259 --> 00:29:17.700
Southern Italy, we have so many domination. And
00:29:17.700 --> 00:29:22.319
this Rococo is a very, very hard cookie. Okay.
00:29:22.980 --> 00:29:26.660
And unfortunately she, she bite very hard on
00:29:26.660 --> 00:29:30.279
this cookie and she broke one teeth, one tooth.
00:29:30.430 --> 00:29:33.230
And, and that's something always, even though
00:29:33.230 --> 00:29:36.289
I love that dessert, I am incredibly careful
00:29:36.289 --> 00:29:38.630
when I eat it. It can be very hard, you know,
00:29:38.890 --> 00:29:43.049
hard and sweet with almond inside. Unfortunately,
00:29:43.289 --> 00:29:45.789
I made some damage. We had to run to the dentist.
00:29:45.910 --> 00:29:48.490
We fixed the problem that she came here in the
00:29:48.490 --> 00:29:50.890
United States. I felt so guilty because I should
00:29:50.890 --> 00:29:53.289
have told her and, and that's what happened.
00:29:53.630 --> 00:29:57.400
But it's, it's. Every time I think about my favorite
00:29:57.400 --> 00:30:00.359
and my favorite dessert, I go to that dessert.
00:30:01.279 --> 00:30:05.420
It's spectacular. It's called R -O -C -RO -CO
00:30:05.420 --> 00:30:08.720
-CO. And it's a beautiful, beautiful dessert.
00:30:08.859 --> 00:30:12.160
Very healthy. Yeah. Yes. Okay. I'll have to check
00:30:12.160 --> 00:30:15.259
it out. Yeah. Wonderful. I've actually been in
00:30:15.259 --> 00:30:17.059
Naples a couple of times, but I've not. It's
00:30:17.059 --> 00:30:20.299
always been like summertime. Yeah. I love it
00:30:20.299 --> 00:30:23.980
down there. It can. But I just, I love that part
00:30:23.980 --> 00:30:27.079
of the coast and I don't know, it's very peaceful
00:30:27.079 --> 00:30:29.859
for me. Anyways, I'm envious where you're from.
00:30:29.980 --> 00:30:33.259
I would love to go live there. What is your most
00:30:33.259 --> 00:30:35.640
underrated Christmas song? What do you mean by
00:30:35.640 --> 00:30:39.059
that? A Christmas song no one knows or doesn't
00:30:39.059 --> 00:30:42.299
know very well that they should know very well.
00:30:42.400 --> 00:30:47.779
There is a song, I did a full PBS special when
00:30:47.779 --> 00:30:51.980
PBS... PBS is living a little bit of a crisis
00:30:51.980 --> 00:30:54.759
because they used to be founded by a process
00:30:54.759 --> 00:30:59.039
called Pledge Drive. So I used to produce a show
00:30:59.039 --> 00:31:05.319
for them and be part of their Pledge Drive offering
00:31:05.319 --> 00:31:10.700
CD and DVDs. I was specialized on a special show
00:31:10.700 --> 00:31:14.119
called Doku Concert. So a documentary aspect
00:31:14.119 --> 00:31:18.019
combined with a concert. So using music as tool
00:31:18.019 --> 00:31:22.240
to... educate the audience. And I did four of
00:31:22.240 --> 00:31:25.480
them. So actually my last one was a Christmas
00:31:25.480 --> 00:31:28.680
show called In the Spirit of Christmas that was
00:31:28.680 --> 00:31:33.619
licensed by PBS. It was at that time that I was
00:31:33.619 --> 00:31:39.380
mesmerized by a song that was done by a PBS artist.
00:31:39.619 --> 00:31:42.519
Wonderful soprano. I don't recall the name right
00:31:42.519 --> 00:31:45.740
now. And it's called This Christmas Tide, the
00:31:45.740 --> 00:31:49.220
one you were mentioning right before. So I listened
00:31:49.220 --> 00:31:54.079
to that song and the producer at that time was
00:31:54.079 --> 00:31:58.799
very much pushing to revamp this song that was
00:31:58.799 --> 00:32:03.859
presented in a past PBS special, but never that
00:32:03.859 --> 00:32:07.980
successful. So I took the song and to be honest
00:32:07.980 --> 00:32:11.170
with you. I worked on it for three months. And
00:32:11.170 --> 00:32:13.630
I say this song is not successful because even
00:32:13.630 --> 00:32:18.930
though it has a beautiful melody, a beautiful
00:32:18.930 --> 00:32:21.849
message, I believe we need to try to make it
00:32:21.849 --> 00:32:26.269
more modern. And that's what I did with that
00:32:26.269 --> 00:32:29.569
song. When you hear that Celtic pipes and stuff
00:32:29.569 --> 00:32:32.569
like that, that's when I decided to give that
00:32:32.569 --> 00:32:37.250
evolution. But that song comes from a soprano,
00:32:37.630 --> 00:32:41.240
Jesse Norman. I don't know if, perfect. Yeah,
00:32:41.319 --> 00:32:45.019
I see. So outstanding rendition she does. And
00:32:45.019 --> 00:32:47.740
I was very much inspired. I listened to her,
00:32:48.079 --> 00:32:50.680
I listened to that recording over and over. And
00:32:50.680 --> 00:32:53.500
I came up with this crazy arrangement. I don't
00:32:53.500 --> 00:32:55.259
know if you were able to listen. I did. Yeah,
00:32:55.259 --> 00:33:00.420
I got to hear it. And I believe that that piece
00:33:00.420 --> 00:33:05.440
has incredibly potential as a new Christmas song.
00:33:05.640 --> 00:33:10.049
But it was... It's almost like an unknown song.
00:33:10.230 --> 00:33:15.210
And I spend quite a bit of time to research because
00:33:15.210 --> 00:33:18.170
I believe there are so many beautiful songs in
00:33:18.170 --> 00:33:20.869
a Christmas repertoire that they have not been
00:33:20.869 --> 00:33:28.150
discovered yet. Another one was called Christmas
00:33:28.150 --> 00:33:31.410
by the Bay. The video clip was just released
00:33:31.410 --> 00:33:34.630
today. We wrote this amazing storyline with an
00:33:34.630 --> 00:33:37.920
actress and... Basically, she's in the military.
00:33:38.200 --> 00:33:40.839
I have a video conference with her and she tells
00:33:40.839 --> 00:33:44.460
me that unfortunately she cannot come back home
00:33:44.460 --> 00:33:47.220
for Christmas. And then I come back home and
00:33:47.220 --> 00:33:50.859
she surprised me. And we go around the city at
00:33:50.859 --> 00:33:53.799
the Buena Vista bar and all the marbles place
00:33:53.799 --> 00:33:56.359
in San Francisco to celebrate Christmas together.
00:33:56.519 --> 00:33:59.640
And the Christmas by the Bay, it's a song that
00:33:59.640 --> 00:34:02.940
talks about the beauty of Christmas in San Francisco.
00:34:03.259 --> 00:34:07.039
Not a very well -known song brought by a composer
00:34:07.039 --> 00:34:10.480
in San Francisco with his partner. And to be
00:34:10.480 --> 00:34:14.059
honest, never blooms. So I made a very pop opera
00:34:14.059 --> 00:34:18.280
arrangement. And I hope that we give justice
00:34:18.280 --> 00:34:21.360
to certain music that even though has a great
00:34:21.360 --> 00:34:25.369
potential, because... There is no space for that
00:34:25.369 --> 00:34:28.590
right distribution. It's not known around the
00:34:28.590 --> 00:34:33.110
world. So it's part of our duty to be able to
00:34:33.110 --> 00:34:36.030
discover and research for this piece. There's
00:34:36.030 --> 00:34:38.849
so much beautiful classical music that I find
00:34:38.849 --> 00:34:41.650
myself listening. And I say, Oh my God, imagine
00:34:41.650 --> 00:34:45.630
to do this in a more modern version where we
00:34:45.630 --> 00:34:48.909
can. appeal to young generation. Exactly. And
00:34:48.909 --> 00:34:51.170
that's treasure that we have in this Christmas
00:34:51.170 --> 00:34:55.269
repertoire should be always sought. I did experiment
00:34:55.269 --> 00:34:58.610
this. I decide instead of write and tune my new
00:34:58.610 --> 00:35:01.210
composition, even though arranging, producing,
00:35:01.710 --> 00:35:04.449
transcribing for a full orchestra is commitment,
00:35:04.889 --> 00:35:07.130
also an economical commitment. You say, you know,
00:35:07.369 --> 00:35:10.929
I should commit and do more of my music, but
00:35:10.929 --> 00:35:13.500
being greedy doesn't help. We need to give. So
00:35:13.500 --> 00:35:16.579
if it is possible, if you believe that that composer
00:35:16.579 --> 00:35:19.860
was doing something exceptional, you should be
00:35:19.860 --> 00:35:22.659
able to keep that music alive and give another
00:35:22.659 --> 00:35:25.760
chance to that music. Wonderful. Well, I want
00:35:25.760 --> 00:35:28.980
to thank you so very much. Mille grazie Pasquale.
00:35:28.980 --> 00:35:32.280
Grazie a te. For joining us. Please, please let
00:35:32.280 --> 00:35:36.019
me know. Let me know if you can join us at the
00:35:36.019 --> 00:35:38.159
Broad Stage on December 10th with your family
00:35:38.159 --> 00:35:40.659
and I would love to meet you in person. Sure.
00:35:41.159 --> 00:35:44.420
Yeah, we can try it. It's a very busy time of
00:35:44.420 --> 00:35:46.539
year. We've got two concerts that we can... I
00:35:46.539 --> 00:35:48.780
can imagine. I can imagine. I would love to,
00:35:48.840 --> 00:35:52.039
so we'll try to figure out a way to get down
00:35:52.039 --> 00:35:53.900
there. But thank you so much for being on the
00:35:53.900 --> 00:35:57.059
podcast. It's been a joy to talk to you. I wish
00:35:57.059 --> 00:35:59.920
you great success at the concert. Thank you.
00:36:00.159 --> 00:36:02.500
Again, it's December 10th at the Broad Stage
00:36:02.500 --> 00:36:05.280
in Santa Monica. You can get tickets through
00:36:05.280 --> 00:36:08.300
the Broad Stage and then check out Pasquale's
00:36:08.300 --> 00:36:11.570
new album on Spotify or Apple Music. any of the
00:36:11.570 --> 00:36:14.349
streaming platforms that you can get to and enjoy
00:36:14.349 --> 00:36:16.690
it and have a wonderful holidays. Thank you again.
00:36:16.969 --> 00:36:19.250
Buon Natale. God bless. Ciao. Ciao.
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.520
Hi, welcome to Classically Speaking, the podcast
00:00:02.520 --> 00:00:04.400
where we explore the intersections of choral
00:00:04.400 --> 00:00:07.259
music, media, and culture. I'm Sam Estes, composer,
00:00:07.519 --> 00:00:09.660
music technologist, and founding member and chair
00:00:09.660 --> 00:00:12.060
of Voices LA, one of Los Angeles' newest and
00:00:12.060 --> 00:00:15.080
most dynamic choral ensembles. Today, we're celebrating
00:00:15.080 --> 00:00:17.559
a special moment, the release of Italian -American
00:00:17.559 --> 00:00:21.320
tenor Pasquale Esposito's new Holiday album,
00:00:21.539 --> 00:00:24.539
My Christmas by the Bay, which drops today, which
00:00:24.539 --> 00:00:27.660
is November the 21st. Pascale is known for his
00:00:27.660 --> 00:00:29.940
PBS specials, powerful crossover voice, and his
00:00:29.940 --> 00:00:31.739
work bringing Italian music to the audiences
00:00:31.739 --> 00:00:34.060
around the world. He'll be performing an Italian
00:00:34.060 --> 00:00:36.560
Christmas on December 10th at the Broad stage
00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:38.899
here in Santa Monica, which is going to be an
00:00:38.899 --> 00:00:41.060
elegant, heartfelt holiday experience blending
00:00:41.060 --> 00:00:44.200
Italian and American traditions. Welcome to the
00:00:44.200 --> 00:00:46.640
podcast. Thank you. A joy to be here with all
00:00:46.640 --> 00:00:49.170
of you. Wonderful. Let's start off with your
00:00:49.170 --> 00:00:51.789
new album. It just dropped today. I got a chance
00:00:51.789 --> 00:00:53.990
to listen to quite a bit of it and it's called
00:00:53.990 --> 00:00:56.250
My Christmas by the Bay. How's this feel to you?
00:00:56.469 --> 00:00:57.789
It seems like you've been working on this for
00:00:57.789 --> 00:01:00.149
a little while or? I've been working on this
00:01:00.149 --> 00:01:04.769
album for about one year and a half. Okay, excellent.
00:01:05.189 --> 00:01:07.950
Christmas albums are very interesting because
00:01:07.950 --> 00:01:10.989
they have a very short life. It's something that
00:01:10.989 --> 00:01:14.569
you can always postpone, postpone, but... He
00:01:14.569 --> 00:01:16.650
has been in my life, this project for quite a
00:01:16.650 --> 00:01:19.590
bit of time. And sometimes he's beautiful because
00:01:19.590 --> 00:01:22.590
he grows on you and there's no rush. You know,
00:01:22.810 --> 00:01:24.810
you need to wait for the next Christmas and the
00:01:24.810 --> 00:01:28.290
other. And finally he was ready to come out.
00:01:28.709 --> 00:01:32.290
And awesome. It's, it's, it's, it's, uh, I'm
00:01:32.290 --> 00:01:34.769
proud, you know, and I was just listening to
00:01:34.769 --> 00:01:37.170
it and I say, wow, I accomplished what I wanted.
00:01:37.400 --> 00:01:40.359
to deliver. Excellent. Excellent. Now this album
00:01:40.359 --> 00:01:42.780
blends a lot of Italian and American traditions
00:01:42.780 --> 00:01:46.079
and what inspired you to do this fusion? Well,
00:01:46.500 --> 00:01:48.799
the title, everything is in the title. Christmas
00:01:48.799 --> 00:01:52.680
by the Bay because I've been living my Christmas
00:01:52.680 --> 00:01:56.620
by the Bay and by the Bay of Naples where I was
00:01:56.620 --> 00:01:59.319
born. Then I find myself moving in the United
00:01:59.319 --> 00:02:02.540
States at a fairly young age when I was about
00:02:02.540 --> 00:02:07.159
25. So the Bay of San Francisco. So in me, you
00:02:07.159 --> 00:02:11.360
will find this altar boy combined with the Italian
00:02:11.360 --> 00:02:14.680
American that I remember when I came to this
00:02:14.680 --> 00:02:16.939
country, I didn't speak one word in English.
00:02:17.159 --> 00:02:18.919
I know what you're thinking now. You still don't
00:02:18.919 --> 00:02:22.280
speak English. I'm trying my best. And I remember
00:02:22.280 --> 00:02:27.310
going to learn. English at food college in Los
00:02:27.310 --> 00:02:31.270
Altos Hill. So I arrived to California and start
00:02:31.270 --> 00:02:34.030
from zero. I was very lucky to win the green
00:02:34.030 --> 00:02:36.770
card, the lottery, and to support my studying
00:02:36.770 --> 00:02:40.250
and to start to buy my first keyboard and start
00:02:40.250 --> 00:02:42.689
really in the music industry. I went to work
00:02:42.689 --> 00:02:45.889
at the Macy's Stanford shopping center as a,
00:02:45.949 --> 00:02:48.909
and I remember going and take this long shift
00:02:48.909 --> 00:02:51.849
as a sales representative and listening, starting.
00:02:52.340 --> 00:02:55.280
right before Thanksgiving of all this Christmas
00:02:55.280 --> 00:02:57.780
music. And believe me, when you listen that stuff
00:02:57.780 --> 00:03:00.300
for eight hour shifts, you start to hate it.
00:03:00.500 --> 00:03:02.800
You know, I say, my God, you go home and you
00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:04.500
know, you don't want to listen anything more.
00:03:04.599 --> 00:03:08.060
But it's very strange. I figured out that I was
00:03:08.060 --> 00:03:10.599
becoming an American. Finally, my dream came
00:03:10.599 --> 00:03:13.240
true because I am now an American. When I start
00:03:13.240 --> 00:03:16.759
to love that music. that was not the music I
00:03:16.759 --> 00:03:19.939
grew up in the church being an altar boy during
00:03:19.939 --> 00:03:22.939
Christmas time. So in this album, there is this
00:03:22.939 --> 00:03:26.800
combination of these two Bay that have been geographically
00:03:26.800 --> 00:03:30.219
affecting my life, but also cultural affecting
00:03:30.219 --> 00:03:34.240
my life. Interesting. Yeah. Yeah, that's really
00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:36.960
cool. You have on this album, quite a few originals,
00:03:36.979 --> 00:03:41.280
but also some classics as well. It's a very varied
00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:43.960
album. I love the fact that you have a lot of
00:03:43.960 --> 00:03:47.039
some Italian songs on it, a brand new song or
00:03:47.039 --> 00:03:50.280
two original compositions. Is that correct? And
00:03:50.280 --> 00:03:56.419
very difficult. If you listen to it, you will
00:03:56.419 --> 00:04:00.919
see very different stylistic, even though we
00:04:00.919 --> 00:04:04.360
try to blend them in the same sonority, but stylistically
00:04:04.360 --> 00:04:07.599
they are fairly different. I believe that we're
00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:12.949
moving in an era where finally you are a grade
00:04:12.949 --> 00:04:17.910
10 or two, we cannot be locked in a box and say,
00:04:18.209 --> 00:04:20.769
oh, you are good to do Don Insetti or you are
00:04:20.769 --> 00:04:26.410
good to do Crossover. The modern singer, it's
00:04:26.410 --> 00:04:30.230
someone who is able to adapt to everything. And
00:04:30.230 --> 00:04:32.949
that's what you experience in this album. You
00:04:32.949 --> 00:04:36.680
will hear me singing a song from 1700. from Santo
00:04:36.680 --> 00:04:39.639
Alfonso di Liguori to Scendi dalle Stelle. And
00:04:39.639 --> 00:04:42.699
in the same medley, you have a song that was
00:04:42.699 --> 00:04:45.279
just written at the beginning of the past century.
00:04:45.699 --> 00:04:49.279
There is a stylistically, even though we try
00:04:49.279 --> 00:04:52.300
to create a same blending, you see a variation
00:04:52.300 --> 00:04:55.879
in the way that the vocal instrument is used.
00:04:55.959 --> 00:04:58.319
And it's so beautiful. I was reading about your
00:04:58.319 --> 00:05:01.519
podcast and so beautiful that you focus on that,
00:05:01.560 --> 00:05:05.860
on how important is the vocal instrument. I believe
00:05:05.860 --> 00:05:08.980
is the most beautiful instrument that God created
00:05:08.980 --> 00:05:12.759
outside from the piano and the guitars and many
00:05:12.759 --> 00:05:15.639
other instruments. I think the human being instrument,
00:05:16.120 --> 00:05:20.360
it's just like something that, oh, I teach voice
00:05:20.360 --> 00:05:23.519
and I never stop to mesmerize by the progress
00:05:23.519 --> 00:05:26.720
of my student. And when you give them the knowledge
00:05:26.720 --> 00:05:29.620
of that instrument, what they can deliver to
00:05:29.620 --> 00:05:31.930
you. And I believe there is a God connection
00:05:31.930 --> 00:05:35.110
right there. Yeah, I would fully agree with you.
00:05:35.269 --> 00:05:37.889
I mean, we all have an instrument. We all choose
00:05:37.889 --> 00:05:40.970
to use it or not. But that's wonderful. Yeah,
00:05:40.970 --> 00:05:43.689
like I said, I got a chance to listen to much
00:05:43.689 --> 00:05:46.389
of the album. It's beautifully produced and your
00:05:46.389 --> 00:05:49.089
voice is amazing in it. And I really enjoyed
00:05:49.089 --> 00:05:51.990
it. I think we'll be putting it while we decorate
00:05:51.990 --> 00:05:55.310
the tree this holiday season. Some of the things
00:05:55.310 --> 00:05:58.050
that really struck me was you built in a wonderful
00:05:58.050 --> 00:06:01.910
mix of some electronic stuff, some some beats
00:06:01.910 --> 00:06:04.629
if you were. You also brought in some like Irish
00:06:04.629 --> 00:06:07.550
elements, some bagpipes and some whistles and
00:06:07.550 --> 00:06:09.990
some other things to help kind of I don't know
00:06:09.990 --> 00:06:12.430
just provide variety because you know I've listened
00:06:12.430 --> 00:06:14.310
to so many you know Christmas albums that are
00:06:14.310 --> 00:06:16.910
just kind of the same for the whole thing and
00:06:16.910 --> 00:06:18.750
so that's one of the things I really enjoy about
00:06:18.750 --> 00:06:20.589
the album is the variety that you're bringing
00:06:20.589 --> 00:06:24.120
to this so. That's really great. I'm really,
00:06:24.120 --> 00:06:28.079
really pleased with what this is shaping up to
00:06:28.079 --> 00:06:31.500
be. So let's talk a little bit about your collaboration
00:06:31.500 --> 00:06:34.540
with Victoria Tuivy. Where did you find her?
00:06:34.680 --> 00:06:36.800
What led you to do Baby It's Cold Outside? Such
00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:39.959
a classic. Very interesting. What made her right
00:06:39.959 --> 00:06:45.279
for this duet? Tuivy McDowell is also a long
00:06:45.279 --> 00:06:48.250
name. Her mother is a Vietnamese and her papa
00:06:48.250 --> 00:06:51.149
is an African -American gentleman. They came
00:06:51.149 --> 00:06:54.850
to my vocal studio where I am right now when
00:06:54.850 --> 00:06:59.149
she was, believe me, 10 years old. And she started
00:06:59.149 --> 00:07:02.129
and she auditioned for me because I don't take
00:07:02.129 --> 00:07:05.649
any, wow, all the students that fortunately I
00:07:05.649 --> 00:07:08.569
need to be very selective. And for the time I
00:07:08.569 --> 00:07:11.009
have, I would love to do more. But I listened
00:07:11.009 --> 00:07:13.839
to her and I saw this great potential. Even though
00:07:13.839 --> 00:07:17.120
we know that at 10 years old, the voice is just
00:07:17.120 --> 00:07:19.839
blooming and there is going to be change. But
00:07:19.839 --> 00:07:21.920
I strongly believe that if you give to a young
00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:26.060
singer that is mentally there to understand the
00:07:26.060 --> 00:07:29.959
focus that we need to use our body, you can give
00:07:29.959 --> 00:07:32.540
to a young student the foundation of singing.
00:07:32.740 --> 00:07:35.399
Even though the voice is going to change, no
00:07:35.399 --> 00:07:38.319
matter what, the voice changing, if you give
00:07:38.319 --> 00:07:41.800
the foundation of an healthy singing, That instrument
00:07:41.800 --> 00:07:44.759
is going to have longevity. And I was impressed
00:07:44.759 --> 00:07:48.139
about this little beautiful instrument. So I
00:07:48.139 --> 00:07:50.779
grabbed her and she stayed with me for a long
00:07:50.779 --> 00:07:53.500
time. I mean, she's still coming for lesson and
00:07:53.500 --> 00:07:57.300
she's now 22. She took my path and she went and
00:07:57.300 --> 00:07:59.939
she got her vocal degree from San Jose State
00:07:59.939 --> 00:08:03.339
University. We got her a free scholarship. We
00:08:03.339 --> 00:08:06.550
give her a free scholarship in this studio. And
00:08:06.550 --> 00:08:09.889
she became an outstanding singer at the level
00:08:09.889 --> 00:08:13.310
that now she's debuting with San Jose Opera in
00:08:13.310 --> 00:08:17.529
April in La Traviata. A story of success of my
00:08:17.529 --> 00:08:21.370
vocal studio. And, uh, to be honest, I am in
00:08:21.370 --> 00:08:24.110
my 50s and when I... It's wonderful. The joy
00:08:24.110 --> 00:08:26.870
of putting these debits called outside came out.
00:08:26.970 --> 00:08:29.209
I say, you know, I would love to do this with
00:08:29.209 --> 00:08:31.430
you, Vittoria, because she was helping me to
00:08:31.430 --> 00:08:33.309
rehearse the song. You know, I say, I need to
00:08:33.309 --> 00:08:35.309
practice with the soprano. Let's try to do it.
00:08:35.509 --> 00:08:37.610
And you say, I say, I would love to do that with
00:08:37.610 --> 00:08:41.470
you, but you know, it really doesn't match with
00:08:41.470 --> 00:08:44.590
me. And, uh, and she said, Pasquale, can I tell
00:08:44.590 --> 00:08:48.120
you something? I say, yeah. If Tony Bennett can
00:08:48.120 --> 00:08:52.100
do it with Lady Gaga, I can do it with you. And
00:08:52.100 --> 00:08:55.139
that strikes so much, very smart. And I say,
00:08:55.360 --> 00:08:57.700
okay, okay, let me see. And she showed me a video
00:08:57.700 --> 00:09:01.379
of Tony Bennett doing with Lady Gaga. And yeah,
00:09:01.919 --> 00:09:05.059
we start to practice the song and we shape it
00:09:05.059 --> 00:09:07.440
up and we made a totally different arrangement
00:09:07.440 --> 00:09:10.700
as you can hear much more upbeat and fast going,
00:09:10.960 --> 00:09:16.009
less sexy. And it came out. Beautiful. We just,
00:09:16.009 --> 00:09:19.769
uh, filmed a video clip. Yes. In a store in Los,
00:09:19.909 --> 00:09:22.789
uh, in Skatos where she's there with me, but
00:09:22.789 --> 00:09:25.570
in this, in this video clip, I am the, I'm the
00:09:25.570 --> 00:09:29.509
manager of the store and she is there with her
00:09:29.509 --> 00:09:32.830
boyfriend who is flirting with her and I kick
00:09:32.830 --> 00:09:35.370
both out. So it's a funny stuff. I said, this
00:09:35.370 --> 00:09:37.970
is, this is, this is not the right, this is not
00:09:37.970 --> 00:09:42.100
the right place to do this. Go home. I'm glad.
00:09:42.779 --> 00:09:47.559
That's a great take. Yeah. I like that. I really
00:09:47.559 --> 00:09:52.059
like that take. That's great. So you do in this
00:09:52.059 --> 00:09:55.840
album sing, obviously, both Italian and in English.
00:09:55.840 --> 00:09:59.159
I need to say that even though I've been sharpening
00:09:59.159 --> 00:10:03.019
up my accent with IPA when I sing in English,
00:10:03.220 --> 00:10:11.519
there is an accent. There is a very... the contradiction
00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:13.940
on this accent. You know, if you go to a record
00:10:13.940 --> 00:10:16.120
label that now they don't, don't exist anymore,
00:10:16.419 --> 00:10:18.000
approximately there, they will, they will tell
00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:21.159
you on that's, that's a, that's a no -no. But
00:10:21.159 --> 00:10:26.379
I notice that my audience loves that attachment
00:10:26.379 --> 00:10:30.360
to my root in this accent. So I sharpen up so
00:10:30.360 --> 00:10:33.919
people can, can understand me and add more than
00:10:33.919 --> 00:10:39.159
words, but of course you will feel that. I was
00:10:39.159 --> 00:10:41.539
not born in the United States. You know, it's
00:10:41.539 --> 00:10:44.620
something that I could sharper up even more,
00:10:44.919 --> 00:10:47.279
but for marketing purpose, probably I don't do
00:10:47.279 --> 00:10:50.840
it. Of course, if you ask me, where is your comfortable
00:10:50.840 --> 00:10:53.580
range? Where is your comfortable speech? When
00:10:53.580 --> 00:10:57.220
I speak, when I sing in Neapolitan, that is really
00:10:57.220 --> 00:11:01.240
a language. When I sing in Italian, it's really
00:11:01.240 --> 00:11:04.000
my comfort zone. I can express myself better,
00:11:04.200 --> 00:11:08.500
but that doesn't, even in English now. Italian
00:11:08.500 --> 00:11:12.580
and how the difference of singing in Italian
00:11:12.580 --> 00:11:16.080
that is your native language. It's almost wearing
00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:19.019
like that kind of a comfortable shoes that you
00:11:19.019 --> 00:11:21.840
have been wearing so much that is so nice and
00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:24.139
comfortable. When you start to sing in another
00:11:24.139 --> 00:11:27.720
language, you start to think about that special
00:11:27.720 --> 00:11:31.539
sound that you need to strike. And I think it
00:11:31.539 --> 00:11:34.120
can affect a little bit your performance. And
00:11:34.120 --> 00:11:37.559
that is why it takes a long time to do these
00:11:37.559 --> 00:11:40.220
recordings. I've been working with a diction
00:11:40.220 --> 00:11:43.399
coach, Mr. Joseph Frank. So we have been clean
00:11:43.399 --> 00:11:46.440
up the English and ask that people will be able
00:11:46.440 --> 00:11:48.740
to understand what I'm saying. But at the same
00:11:48.740 --> 00:11:51.960
time, they will enjoy the accent and the way
00:11:51.960 --> 00:11:55.019
I express myself. Italian is... Well, I could
00:11:55.019 --> 00:11:57.120
understand you. I could understand you perfectly.
00:11:57.580 --> 00:11:58.799
Thank God. Thank God. I think you did a great
00:11:58.799 --> 00:12:02.509
job. Italian is a beautiful language. It's a
00:12:02.509 --> 00:12:05.269
language of romance and even in these Christmas
00:12:05.269 --> 00:12:08.230
carols expressed very well. Yeah, it's definitely
00:12:08.230 --> 00:12:10.190
one of my favorite languages to sing in for sure.
00:12:10.389 --> 00:12:13.789
I hate singing in English. I hate more singing
00:12:13.789 --> 00:12:17.450
in German, to be honest. Okay. It's a very harsh
00:12:17.450 --> 00:12:20.429
language, but it also does have its beauty as
00:12:20.429 --> 00:12:22.289
well. Wonderful. Well, let's talk a little bit
00:12:22.289 --> 00:12:24.610
about your concert coming up on December 10th
00:12:24.610 --> 00:12:26.590
here in Santa Monica at the Broad Stage. What
00:12:26.590 --> 00:12:29.070
makes this concert? different than a traditional
00:12:29.070 --> 00:12:31.169
holiday program for you. Maybe the combination
00:12:31.169 --> 00:12:36.230
of the son of Mrs. Sophia Loren, Mr. Carlo Ponti,
00:12:36.409 --> 00:12:39.169
with his Italian roots and my Italian roots.
00:12:39.610 --> 00:12:43.870
So it's almost traveling to Europe without buying
00:12:43.870 --> 00:12:47.269
an airline, but at the same time, honoring the
00:12:47.269 --> 00:12:49.529
fact that we are in Los Angeles, we are in the
00:12:49.529 --> 00:12:53.590
United States, and we have so these amazing repertoire.
00:12:53.820 --> 00:12:56.740
That is the American standard Christmas song
00:12:56.740 --> 00:12:59.639
that they are so amazing. So you will hear the
00:12:59.639 --> 00:13:02.899
most beautiful songs. And of course you will
00:13:02.899 --> 00:13:06.100
hear the, the repertoire of when me and Carlo,
00:13:06.100 --> 00:13:09.419
we were in Italy and we were going to the church
00:13:09.419 --> 00:13:13.059
on Christmas Eve here, like the combination of
00:13:13.059 --> 00:13:16.259
these two day that merged into this show with
00:13:16.259 --> 00:13:18.899
the conductor who happened to be Italian like
00:13:18.899 --> 00:13:21.879
me, but also an international gentleman. And
00:13:21.879 --> 00:13:26.090
it's almost. Going back home for Christmas with
00:13:26.090 --> 00:13:29.909
this team, but at the same time, honoring the
00:13:29.909 --> 00:13:32.090
fact that we are in the land of the opportunity
00:13:32.090 --> 00:13:35.350
and this country, United States, made us the
00:13:35.350 --> 00:13:39.049
artists that we are. So tribute to that amazing
00:13:39.049 --> 00:13:42.190
American Christmas songbook, if we want to call
00:13:42.190 --> 00:13:45.090
it like this. So you will hear a song like White
00:13:45.090 --> 00:13:50.409
Christmas and... I'll be home for Christmas and
00:13:50.409 --> 00:13:53.570
all that music. But at the same time, you will
00:13:53.570 --> 00:13:58.090
hear Adeste Fidelis with the wonderful orchestra.
00:13:58.549 --> 00:14:03.809
So it's a combination of that music that was
00:14:03.809 --> 00:14:08.049
when I was an altar boy and when I moved here
00:14:08.049 --> 00:14:10.750
in the United States and I was working at Stanford
00:14:10.750 --> 00:14:13.029
Shopping Center, listening to it over and over
00:14:13.029 --> 00:14:18.179
and made me appreciate it after years. Very good.
00:14:18.500 --> 00:14:20.820
What can audiences expect from the evening? Are
00:14:20.820 --> 00:14:23.559
there any musical moments you're excited about?
00:14:24.419 --> 00:14:28.960
There are some surprise during the evening and
00:14:28.960 --> 00:14:32.059
we are working, probably my children will be
00:14:32.059 --> 00:14:35.799
down and probably they will join the stage. Wonderful.
00:14:37.480 --> 00:14:44.490
13, 11 and 7 years old. Vittorio is 13. and the
00:14:44.490 --> 00:14:47.809
old part of a recording called Feliz Navidad.
00:14:48.409 --> 00:14:51.210
So probably there will be... So that's your children
00:14:51.210 --> 00:14:54.629
on that recording. Oh, that's awesome. It's always
00:14:54.629 --> 00:14:57.269
magical when they come on stage and you have
00:14:57.269 --> 00:14:59.929
a new beginning. It's fresh. So I look forward
00:14:59.929 --> 00:15:03.330
to that and my son is going to perform a song
00:15:03.330 --> 00:15:05.710
by himself. That'll be so fun. That's beautiful.
00:15:05.919 --> 00:15:09.179
Wonderful. That's great. I'm hoping my kids eventually
00:15:09.179 --> 00:15:12.159
get to that place. My oldest daughter's seven,
00:15:12.279 --> 00:15:16.080
so I'm slowly starting to push her into thinking
00:15:16.080 --> 00:15:18.500
about music, but we'll see. Both my wife and
00:15:18.500 --> 00:15:22.039
I are professional musicians, so it's like the
00:15:22.039 --> 00:15:25.600
kids will have no choice at the end. So, you
00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:27.659
know, we talked a little bit about how, you know,
00:15:28.100 --> 00:15:29.700
this concert's going to be blending a lot of
00:15:29.700 --> 00:15:33.830
classical holiday repertoire, but also some What
00:15:33.830 --> 00:15:36.669
I assume are Italian favorites as well. Are you
00:15:36.669 --> 00:15:39.389
spending some time balancing the nostalgia and
00:15:39.389 --> 00:15:41.889
this tradition, but with your own artistic and
00:15:41.889 --> 00:15:44.029
cultural voice when it comes to this concert?
00:15:44.549 --> 00:15:47.990
Are you planning on really bringing some of the
00:15:47.990 --> 00:15:51.610
Italian flair to Santa Monica that probably needs
00:15:51.610 --> 00:15:54.519
it so badly? Definitely. I wanna, I wanna, the
00:15:54.519 --> 00:15:58.519
goal is to be able to bring the audience in a
00:15:58.519 --> 00:16:01.779
trip around our Christmas, how we celebrate Christmas
00:16:01.779 --> 00:16:05.500
in Italy without jumping on an ire. airplane
00:16:05.500 --> 00:16:09.620
for 20 hours. So it's very interesting to listen
00:16:09.620 --> 00:16:12.860
to the story of when you grew up in Italy, what
00:16:12.860 --> 00:16:15.379
is the tradition there and what happened when
00:16:15.379 --> 00:16:17.879
you are an Italian American and you move here
00:16:17.879 --> 00:16:21.200
in the United States and you start to adjust
00:16:21.200 --> 00:16:24.340
to the new country. I believe United States is
00:16:24.340 --> 00:16:26.480
one of the most spectacular place in the world
00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:30.399
because it's the land of immigrants. It's very
00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:34.159
interesting to see how you can move all over.
00:16:34.120 --> 00:16:38.080
the world and always feel like you are a guest
00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:41.059
of that country. But you move into the United
00:16:41.059 --> 00:16:43.700
States and you become an American. For us in
00:16:43.700 --> 00:16:48.399
Italy, we don't have Thanksgiving. We absolutely
00:16:48.399 --> 00:16:51.940
don't even understand what it is. But now that
00:16:51.940 --> 00:16:54.340
I've been here for quite a bit of time, Thanksgiving
00:16:54.340 --> 00:16:58.659
started to take form and it's a tradition that
00:16:58.659 --> 00:17:02.600
you feel. So it's interesting to share with.
00:17:02.750 --> 00:17:08.069
the audience, how you can really adjust to a
00:17:08.069 --> 00:17:12.549
place and create a new style, a new culture,
00:17:12.650 --> 00:17:15.509
a new, that I'm passing on probably to my children,
00:17:15.670 --> 00:17:19.829
that they're all fluent in Italian too, but it's
00:17:19.829 --> 00:17:24.529
this mix that makes the show very interesting.
00:17:25.450 --> 00:17:29.569
And having Maestro Carlo Ponti there, who is
00:17:29.569 --> 00:17:33.319
an outstanding musician, but conductor. It's
00:17:33.319 --> 00:17:36.099
also interesting to share some story with him
00:17:36.099 --> 00:17:39.519
about his Christmas while he was around Europe,
00:17:39.960 --> 00:17:44.039
being the son of such a legendary actress, Mrs.
00:17:44.400 --> 00:17:48.099
Lauren. His Christmas was quite a bit sheltered.
00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:50.980
always, you know, they had to go. He was telling
00:17:50.980 --> 00:17:54.660
me we used to go to the church on the 24th with
00:17:54.660 --> 00:17:57.500
a bodyguard. And, uh, you know, it's, it's, it's
00:17:57.500 --> 00:17:59.819
very interesting to, to listen to that story,
00:18:00.220 --> 00:18:02.640
to share that with the audience. So it's like,
00:18:02.960 --> 00:18:05.619
there is some story behind that we are writing
00:18:05.619 --> 00:18:09.079
and then followed by the music that will make
00:18:09.079 --> 00:18:11.119
sense. We're going to have an amazing writer
00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:14.859
projection of, uh, videos that is going to help
00:18:14.859 --> 00:18:18.579
the audience to. travel with us in this, it's
00:18:18.579 --> 00:18:22.740
a 90 minutes, one hour and 45 minutes show where
00:18:22.740 --> 00:18:25.759
you really sit there and you say, wow, you ended
00:18:25.759 --> 00:18:28.079
the show and you say, wow, I really didn't think
00:18:28.079 --> 00:18:30.779
about my problem, my shopping list and where
00:18:30.779 --> 00:18:32.839
I'm going to go for Christmas. I was there and
00:18:32.839 --> 00:18:35.400
I enjoyed it and I absorb all this wonderful
00:18:35.400 --> 00:18:40.059
music and it puts people in the spirit of the
00:18:40.059 --> 00:18:45.019
holidays. What I see is that when you get to
00:18:45.019 --> 00:18:48.200
this point in the holidays, everything is incredibly
00:18:48.200 --> 00:18:52.960
frenetic. Everybody's running. If you get to
00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:55.099
get in a place where you say, okay, let me enjoy
00:18:55.099 --> 00:18:58.980
here, sit down in a theater and look at an amazing
00:18:58.980 --> 00:19:02.019
orchestra and say, okay, I want to enjoy. That's
00:19:02.019 --> 00:19:05.460
where the connection can be established, where
00:19:05.460 --> 00:19:09.079
you leave everything, the rushing outside and
00:19:09.079 --> 00:19:12.460
we're capable to bring them in in a relaxation
00:19:12.460 --> 00:19:16.960
moment and where they can relax, don't think
00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:19.880
about the problem and really merge into the music
00:19:19.880 --> 00:19:22.380
and the storytelling. And it takes time, it takes
00:19:22.380 --> 00:19:25.559
a commitment, but it's a labor of love and I
00:19:25.559 --> 00:19:27.990
love to do it. Wonderful. That's great. Yeah,
00:19:28.089 --> 00:19:30.329
it's Christmas time is, especially for musicians,
00:19:30.569 --> 00:19:33.009
the most frenetic time of year. It's the one
00:19:33.009 --> 00:19:35.410
time we're always busy. Oh, which is great. Now
00:19:35.410 --> 00:19:37.910
I saw a portion of the proceeds are going to
00:19:37.910 --> 00:19:40.869
benefit notable music and arts organizations,
00:19:41.170 --> 00:19:43.970
NMAO. Can you talk a little bit about what about
00:19:43.970 --> 00:19:48.569
this organization? I was born in a poor part
00:19:48.569 --> 00:19:52.049
of Italy called Naples South and in a poor family.
00:19:52.230 --> 00:19:58.059
I am the only boy of a family of five with my
00:19:58.059 --> 00:20:02.619
four sisters. My father was still alive, but
00:20:02.619 --> 00:20:06.200
he used to be a nurse. So it was quite a bit
00:20:06.200 --> 00:20:10.819
of a challenge to grow up where I grew up. And
00:20:10.819 --> 00:20:14.839
I remember I wanted to study music and I wanted
00:20:14.839 --> 00:20:18.019
to take private lessons, but I couldn't afford,
00:20:18.200 --> 00:20:20.619
my family couldn't afford that. We were five
00:20:20.619 --> 00:20:24.589
in the house. five children. So my only escape
00:20:24.589 --> 00:20:27.549
was the fact that at seven years old, I started
00:20:27.549 --> 00:20:30.430
to sing in this church choir. And thank God that
00:20:30.430 --> 00:20:33.930
church was the church where Erico Caruso was
00:20:33.930 --> 00:20:36.750
born. So they have the tradition of this choir.
00:20:36.930 --> 00:20:40.329
They have the tradition of vocal coaching with
00:20:40.329 --> 00:20:45.750
the priest. And for free, they took me in and
00:20:45.750 --> 00:20:49.009
they made me a singer. But I believe in God,
00:20:49.049 --> 00:20:53.549
and I think God put this in my path. And that's
00:20:53.549 --> 00:20:57.670
why I am where I am today. Now, if you turn on
00:20:57.670 --> 00:21:00.890
the radio, every once in a while I do it while
00:21:00.890 --> 00:21:04.509
I'm driving, and I'm very worried. So I'm very
00:21:04.509 --> 00:21:07.150
worried to what's going on, to what is going
00:21:07.150 --> 00:21:10.910
to happen to this world tenor, you know, soprano.
00:21:11.190 --> 00:21:14.390
What is going to happen to me and you? And, and
00:21:14.390 --> 00:21:19.750
the next, and our children. So we need to make
00:21:19.750 --> 00:21:24.250
the next generation understand that if in order
00:21:24.250 --> 00:21:28.650
to achieve something, we need work hard and sacrifice.
00:21:29.089 --> 00:21:32.650
And the purpose of a notable music and art organization
00:21:32.650 --> 00:21:37.069
is that yes, if you want to work hard and sacrifice
00:21:37.069 --> 00:21:40.549
and work on your instrument, we can help you.
00:21:40.690 --> 00:21:45.000
We, you are not alone. Like I was alone and that's
00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:47.640
why I founded notable music and art organization.
00:21:47.880 --> 00:21:51.259
We have about 20 underprivileged student people
00:21:51.259 --> 00:21:54.299
who like me could never afford music. And I was
00:21:54.299 --> 00:21:56.980
lucky to find that church in my neighborhood
00:21:56.980 --> 00:22:00.700
that opened my eyes to this career. And that's
00:22:00.700 --> 00:22:04.319
what I want to do for the next generation. Give
00:22:04.319 --> 00:22:07.160
to these young students like Vittoria the opportunity
00:22:07.160 --> 00:22:10.059
to understand that you have a gift that you can
00:22:10.059 --> 00:22:13.440
develop that gift and share with the world. Putting
00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:17.779
a prompt inside artificial intelligence, but
00:22:17.779 --> 00:22:21.720
working on your craft. That's my philosophy,
00:22:21.880 --> 00:22:24.579
even though there is some benefit for artificial
00:22:24.579 --> 00:22:26.960
intelligence since we are talking about, but
00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:31.039
I believe that if we want to work... on our instrument,
00:22:31.299 --> 00:22:33.359
we need to have a knowledge of that instrument.
00:22:33.579 --> 00:22:36.640
We need to be able to study, understand how we
00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:40.200
use our body. And this can happen just if some
00:22:40.200 --> 00:22:43.140
human being guides you. The first thing I tell
00:22:43.140 --> 00:22:46.400
to the student when they walk in this room is
00:22:46.400 --> 00:22:49.349
that if you believe that... There is someone
00:22:49.349 --> 00:22:52.049
in the universe that is capable to teach you
00:22:52.049 --> 00:22:54.630
how to sing. This is not the right place for
00:22:54.630 --> 00:22:56.930
you. I strongly believe that there is no one
00:22:56.930 --> 00:22:59.930
who can teach how to sing. We're dealing with
00:22:59.930 --> 00:23:02.490
the feelings. When I talk with you about your
00:23:02.490 --> 00:23:04.930
head voice, your middle voice, your chest voice,
00:23:05.289 --> 00:23:09.250
your mascara, your larynx, you translate that
00:23:09.250 --> 00:23:13.789
in feelings that you feel. Now, how to make your
00:23:13.789 --> 00:23:18.400
student feel that it's incredibly complex. I
00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:22.220
am 90 kilo and I have a certain diaphragm. I
00:23:22.220 --> 00:23:25.500
have a portion of liquids in my body and the
00:23:25.500 --> 00:23:27.859
structure of my body is totally different than
00:23:27.859 --> 00:23:31.759
my students. So what I feel is not what she or
00:23:31.759 --> 00:23:35.480
he is going to feel. And it's very, very complex
00:23:35.480 --> 00:23:38.500
to trust, to give them this sensation and say,
00:23:38.619 --> 00:23:40.460
can you feel that? Can you, can you feel that?
00:23:40.480 --> 00:23:43.579
Yeah, that's what I feel. And I do this in order
00:23:43.579 --> 00:23:46.920
to achieve that. So, uh, it's, it's a process.
00:23:47.180 --> 00:23:49.599
Thank God I had a good coach in my life who were
00:23:49.599 --> 00:23:53.000
able to make me understand how to treasure this
00:23:53.000 --> 00:23:57.319
sensation and translate that to. the young student.
00:23:57.960 --> 00:24:00.880
And that's why I believe notable music art is
00:24:00.880 --> 00:24:05.180
so important because we try to educate the student
00:24:05.180 --> 00:24:07.740
about the crafting of the voice, the instrument,
00:24:07.859 --> 00:24:11.319
music theory, and the passion towards music to
00:24:11.319 --> 00:24:13.839
the universal language. Thank you. That's really
00:24:13.839 --> 00:24:17.380
nice. Wonderful. So I would love to learn a little
00:24:17.380 --> 00:24:20.019
bit more about the Italian Christmas tradition,
00:24:20.200 --> 00:24:22.319
especially from a musical standpoint. There's
00:24:22.319 --> 00:24:26.180
not a lot, you know, other than maybe like whatever
00:24:26.180 --> 00:24:30.039
Andrea Bocelli brought over or whatever, that
00:24:30.039 --> 00:24:34.819
we've gotten some exposure to the Italian music
00:24:34.819 --> 00:24:39.220
tradition for the season. I would love to talk
00:24:39.220 --> 00:24:40.900
a little bit more about that. I mean, because
00:24:40.900 --> 00:24:43.859
you obviously grew up with a different tradition
00:24:43.859 --> 00:24:47.759
than we have here in the States. What strikes
00:24:47.759 --> 00:24:50.559
you as being so different with some of the Italian
00:24:50.559 --> 00:24:52.880
music tradition versus, you know, some of our
00:24:52.880 --> 00:24:55.059
American, you know, even pop sensibilities from
00:24:55.059 --> 00:24:58.720
our tradition? Is there something that resonates
00:24:58.720 --> 00:25:01.079
with you on both sides? Are you more drawn to
00:25:01.079 --> 00:25:03.579
the Italian tradition? I would just love to kind
00:25:03.579 --> 00:25:05.180
of talk about it and learn a little bit more.
00:25:05.279 --> 00:25:08.400
And I believe it has to do with being in Italy
00:25:08.400 --> 00:25:10.960
geographically, being in the place where there
00:25:10.960 --> 00:25:14.440
is the Vatican. So if you talk about... Christmas
00:25:14.440 --> 00:25:17.299
music in Italy, most of the time you will talk
00:25:17.299 --> 00:25:21.440
about religious music. And, uh, and, and, and
00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:24.480
that's, that's what usually happened. It's very
00:25:24.480 --> 00:25:28.759
difficult to find. What I was able to do with,
00:25:28.759 --> 00:25:33.019
uh, in this album and in my past PBS special
00:25:33.019 --> 00:25:35.480
call in the speech and the spirit of Christmas,
00:25:35.759 --> 00:25:38.920
I was able to write some pop Christmas music
00:25:38.920 --> 00:25:43.589
in Italian. And even Andrea was able to do that,
00:25:43.950 --> 00:25:47.950
but we are pretty innovative because it's very
00:25:47.950 --> 00:25:52.630
difficult to find a pop Italian artist or pop
00:25:52.630 --> 00:25:55.890
opera Italian artist who is going to invest in
00:25:55.890 --> 00:25:59.210
that direction. It's incredibly difficult. When
00:25:59.210 --> 00:26:03.089
you deal with Italian repertoire, we're going
00:26:03.089 --> 00:26:06.160
to deal. most of the time with the classical
00:26:06.160 --> 00:26:09.779
religious repertoire that that that is has been
00:26:09.779 --> 00:26:15.180
a very famous. Being an altar boy that's where
00:26:15.180 --> 00:26:18.460
I start to sing when we were singing in that
00:26:18.460 --> 00:26:21.279
choir as a young student of course you want to
00:26:21.279 --> 00:26:24.420
fight to get your soul apart and try to perform
00:26:24.420 --> 00:26:27.240
as best you can but you know you want to sing
00:26:27.240 --> 00:26:30.819
songs like. Silent Night, Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle,
00:26:31.640 --> 00:26:34.619
o Quando Nascete Nino, they are very classical.
00:26:35.440 --> 00:26:38.599
Bingo. You got the point. Or Monteverdi's Vespers.
00:26:39.240 --> 00:26:40.380
You're going to get that kind of a classical
00:26:40.380 --> 00:26:43.279
repertoire. For sure, you're not going to sing
00:26:43.279 --> 00:26:48.460
Last Christmas. It's a... And, you know, in this
00:26:48.460 --> 00:26:51.440
album, you will find me singing Last Christmas
00:26:51.440 --> 00:26:54.140
because my dream came true. Here we go. These
00:26:54.140 --> 00:26:57.059
two cultures where, yeah, I can sing the church
00:26:57.059 --> 00:27:01.500
song I grew up with, but I am now merging a new
00:27:01.500 --> 00:27:05.599
country and this beautiful, powerful music that,
00:27:05.599 --> 00:27:09.680
you know, in some how translates to message of
00:27:09.680 --> 00:27:12.420
peace and love. I strongly believe there is no
00:27:12.420 --> 00:27:15.960
one who thinks about... Christmas song and say,
00:27:16.099 --> 00:27:19.519
Oh, let me sit down and let me talk about a message
00:27:19.519 --> 00:27:22.400
of hate. No, there are messages of peace over
00:27:22.400 --> 00:27:25.900
lost love and everything hands in a, in a, in
00:27:25.900 --> 00:27:29.920
a, in a nice way. So there is definitely in any
00:27:29.920 --> 00:27:33.480
genre of Christmas music hope. And to be honest,
00:27:33.779 --> 00:27:35.980
in this society, when the people will leave the
00:27:35.980 --> 00:27:39.079
broad stage on the tent. I really hope that they
00:27:39.079 --> 00:27:42.680
live with a message of hope that, yes, we can
00:27:42.680 --> 00:27:47.359
build peace. We can build a better place where
00:27:47.359 --> 00:27:50.440
we live. And that is the message we want to deliver
00:27:50.440 --> 00:27:53.180
to the audience. And that's the message I want
00:27:53.180 --> 00:27:57.000
to deliver with this My Christmas by the Bay.
00:27:57.299 --> 00:27:59.759
You know, these two Christmas, the American one
00:27:59.759 --> 00:28:02.460
and the Italian. Wonderful. Yeah. Yeah. Well,
00:28:02.539 --> 00:28:04.640
and you're doing it down in Santa Monica Bay.
00:28:04.819 --> 00:28:08.559
That's great. Yes. That's wonderful. Well, I
00:28:08.559 --> 00:28:10.440
have a couple of kind of rapid -fire questions
00:28:10.440 --> 00:28:13.160
that I always like to end my interviews with.
00:28:14.039 --> 00:28:16.660
Is there an Italian Christmas dessert that is
00:28:16.660 --> 00:28:17.240
your favorite? Believe me, there is one. And
00:28:17.240 --> 00:28:19.839
I believe that I made some damage with it. Let
00:28:19.839 --> 00:28:22.740
me tell you. My wife is gonna bring me the charger
00:28:22.740 --> 00:28:25.460
for this computer before it dies. At that point,
00:28:26.279 --> 00:28:29.819
we were not married. Listen to this story. Okay.
00:28:30.859 --> 00:28:34.380
Bring charger. I just brought to her. So we were
00:28:34.380 --> 00:28:37.710
not married. She, she was my manager before she,
00:28:37.809 --> 00:28:40.190
before she was my wife. And for a long time,
00:28:40.190 --> 00:28:43.410
for about 10 years, I was involved in other relationship.
00:28:43.670 --> 00:28:47.789
And then we finally, I finally discovered that,
00:28:47.789 --> 00:28:50.190
you know, I was in love with her and I couldn't
00:28:50.190 --> 00:28:52.329
see this love because the business was in the
00:28:52.329 --> 00:28:54.630
middle. But then when I was about to lose her,
00:28:54.789 --> 00:29:01.029
she became my wife. It happened to be that we
00:29:01.029 --> 00:29:05.079
had go to. Italy, I invite her to spend the traditional
00:29:05.079 --> 00:29:07.700
Italy with my family. There is a special dessert.
00:29:08.420 --> 00:29:12.539
It's called the Rococo. Rococo. And he comes
00:29:12.539 --> 00:29:15.259
from the Middle East. You should know that in
00:29:15.259 --> 00:29:17.700
Southern Italy, we have so many domination. And
00:29:17.700 --> 00:29:22.319
this Rococo is a very, very hard cookie. Okay.
00:29:22.980 --> 00:29:26.660
And unfortunately she, she bite very hard on
00:29:26.660 --> 00:29:30.279
this cookie and she broke one teeth, one tooth.
00:29:30.430 --> 00:29:33.230
And, and that's something always, even though
00:29:33.230 --> 00:29:36.289
I love that dessert, I am incredibly careful
00:29:36.289 --> 00:29:38.630
when I eat it. It can be very hard, you know,
00:29:38.890 --> 00:29:43.049
hard and sweet with almond inside. Unfortunately,
00:29:43.289 --> 00:29:45.789
I made some damage. We had to run to the dentist.
00:29:45.910 --> 00:29:48.490
We fixed the problem that she came here in the
00:29:48.490 --> 00:29:50.890
United States. I felt so guilty because I should
00:29:50.890 --> 00:29:53.289
have told her and, and that's what happened.
00:29:53.630 --> 00:29:57.400
But it's, it's. Every time I think about my favorite
00:29:57.400 --> 00:30:00.359
and my favorite dessert, I go to that dessert.
00:30:01.279 --> 00:30:05.420
It's spectacular. It's called R -O -C -RO -CO
00:30:05.420 --> 00:30:08.720
-CO. And it's a beautiful, beautiful dessert.
00:30:08.859 --> 00:30:12.160
Very healthy. Yeah. Yes. Okay. I'll have to check
00:30:12.160 --> 00:30:15.259
it out. Yeah. Wonderful. I've actually been in
00:30:15.259 --> 00:30:17.059
Naples a couple of times, but I've not. It's
00:30:17.059 --> 00:30:20.299
always been like summertime. Yeah. I love it
00:30:20.299 --> 00:30:23.980
down there. It can. But I just, I love that part
00:30:23.980 --> 00:30:27.079
of the coast and I don't know, it's very peaceful
00:30:27.079 --> 00:30:29.859
for me. Anyways, I'm envious where you're from.
00:30:29.980 --> 00:30:33.259
I would love to go live there. What is your most
00:30:33.259 --> 00:30:35.640
underrated Christmas song? What do you mean by
00:30:35.640 --> 00:30:39.059
that? A Christmas song no one knows or doesn't
00:30:39.059 --> 00:30:42.299
know very well that they should know very well.
00:30:42.400 --> 00:30:47.779
There is a song, I did a full PBS special when
00:30:47.779 --> 00:30:51.980
PBS... PBS is living a little bit of a crisis
00:30:51.980 --> 00:30:54.759
because they used to be founded by a process
00:30:54.759 --> 00:30:59.039
called Pledge Drive. So I used to produce a show
00:30:59.039 --> 00:31:05.319
for them and be part of their Pledge Drive offering
00:31:05.319 --> 00:31:10.700
CD and DVDs. I was specialized on a special show
00:31:10.700 --> 00:31:14.119
called Doku Concert. So a documentary aspect
00:31:14.119 --> 00:31:18.019
combined with a concert. So using music as tool
00:31:18.019 --> 00:31:22.240
to... educate the audience. And I did four of
00:31:22.240 --> 00:31:25.480
them. So actually my last one was a Christmas
00:31:25.480 --> 00:31:28.680
show called In the Spirit of Christmas that was
00:31:28.680 --> 00:31:33.619
licensed by PBS. It was at that time that I was
00:31:33.619 --> 00:31:39.380
mesmerized by a song that was done by a PBS artist.
00:31:39.619 --> 00:31:42.519
Wonderful soprano. I don't recall the name right
00:31:42.519 --> 00:31:45.740
now. And it's called This Christmas Tide, the
00:31:45.740 --> 00:31:49.220
one you were mentioning right before. So I listened
00:31:49.220 --> 00:31:54.079
to that song and the producer at that time was
00:31:54.079 --> 00:31:58.799
very much pushing to revamp this song that was
00:31:58.799 --> 00:32:03.859
presented in a past PBS special, but never that
00:32:03.859 --> 00:32:07.980
successful. So I took the song and to be honest
00:32:07.980 --> 00:32:11.170
with you. I worked on it for three months. And
00:32:11.170 --> 00:32:13.630
I say this song is not successful because even
00:32:13.630 --> 00:32:18.930
though it has a beautiful melody, a beautiful
00:32:18.930 --> 00:32:21.849
message, I believe we need to try to make it
00:32:21.849 --> 00:32:26.269
more modern. And that's what I did with that
00:32:26.269 --> 00:32:29.569
song. When you hear that Celtic pipes and stuff
00:32:29.569 --> 00:32:32.569
like that, that's when I decided to give that
00:32:32.569 --> 00:32:37.250
evolution. But that song comes from a soprano,
00:32:37.630 --> 00:32:41.240
Jesse Norman. I don't know if, perfect. Yeah,
00:32:41.319 --> 00:32:45.019
I see. So outstanding rendition she does. And
00:32:45.019 --> 00:32:47.740
I was very much inspired. I listened to her,
00:32:48.079 --> 00:32:50.680
I listened to that recording over and over. And
00:32:50.680 --> 00:32:53.500
I came up with this crazy arrangement. I don't
00:32:53.500 --> 00:32:55.259
know if you were able to listen. I did. Yeah,
00:32:55.259 --> 00:33:00.420
I got to hear it. And I believe that that piece
00:33:00.420 --> 00:33:05.440
has incredibly potential as a new Christmas song.
00:33:05.640 --> 00:33:10.049
But it was... It's almost like an unknown song.
00:33:10.230 --> 00:33:15.210
And I spend quite a bit of time to research because
00:33:15.210 --> 00:33:18.170
I believe there are so many beautiful songs in
00:33:18.170 --> 00:33:20.869
a Christmas repertoire that they have not been
00:33:20.869 --> 00:33:28.150
discovered yet. Another one was called Christmas
00:33:28.150 --> 00:33:31.410
by the Bay. The video clip was just released
00:33:31.410 --> 00:33:34.630
today. We wrote this amazing storyline with an
00:33:34.630 --> 00:33:37.920
actress and... Basically, she's in the military.
00:33:38.200 --> 00:33:40.839
I have a video conference with her and she tells
00:33:40.839 --> 00:33:44.460
me that unfortunately she cannot come back home
00:33:44.460 --> 00:33:47.220
for Christmas. And then I come back home and
00:33:47.220 --> 00:33:50.859
she surprised me. And we go around the city at
00:33:50.859 --> 00:33:53.799
the Buena Vista bar and all the marbles place
00:33:53.799 --> 00:33:56.359
in San Francisco to celebrate Christmas together.
00:33:56.519 --> 00:33:59.640
And the Christmas by the Bay, it's a song that
00:33:59.640 --> 00:34:02.940
talks about the beauty of Christmas in San Francisco.
00:34:03.259 --> 00:34:07.039
Not a very well -known song brought by a composer
00:34:07.039 --> 00:34:10.480
in San Francisco with his partner. And to be
00:34:10.480 --> 00:34:14.059
honest, never blooms. So I made a very pop opera
00:34:14.059 --> 00:34:18.280
arrangement. And I hope that we give justice
00:34:18.280 --> 00:34:21.360
to certain music that even though has a great
00:34:21.360 --> 00:34:25.369
potential, because... There is no space for that
00:34:25.369 --> 00:34:28.590
right distribution. It's not known around the
00:34:28.590 --> 00:34:33.110
world. So it's part of our duty to be able to
00:34:33.110 --> 00:34:36.030
discover and research for this piece. There's
00:34:36.030 --> 00:34:38.849
so much beautiful classical music that I find
00:34:38.849 --> 00:34:41.650
myself listening. And I say, Oh my God, imagine
00:34:41.650 --> 00:34:45.630
to do this in a more modern version where we
00:34:45.630 --> 00:34:48.909
can. appeal to young generation. Exactly. And
00:34:48.909 --> 00:34:51.170
that's treasure that we have in this Christmas
00:34:51.170 --> 00:34:55.269
repertoire should be always sought. I did experiment
00:34:55.269 --> 00:34:58.610
this. I decide instead of write and tune my new
00:34:58.610 --> 00:35:01.210
composition, even though arranging, producing,
00:35:01.710 --> 00:35:04.449
transcribing for a full orchestra is commitment,
00:35:04.889 --> 00:35:07.130
also an economical commitment. You say, you know,
00:35:07.369 --> 00:35:10.929
I should commit and do more of my music, but
00:35:10.929 --> 00:35:13.500
being greedy doesn't help. We need to give. So
00:35:13.500 --> 00:35:16.579
if it is possible, if you believe that that composer
00:35:16.579 --> 00:35:19.860
was doing something exceptional, you should be
00:35:19.860 --> 00:35:22.659
able to keep that music alive and give another
00:35:22.659 --> 00:35:25.760
chance to that music. Wonderful. Well, I want
00:35:25.760 --> 00:35:28.980
to thank you so very much. Mille grazie Pasquale.
00:35:28.980 --> 00:35:32.280
Grazie a te. For joining us. Please, please let
00:35:32.280 --> 00:35:36.019
me know. Let me know if you can join us at the
00:35:36.019 --> 00:35:38.159
Broad Stage on December 10th with your family
00:35:38.159 --> 00:35:40.659
and I would love to meet you in person. Sure.
00:35:41.159 --> 00:35:44.420
Yeah, we can try it. It's a very busy time of
00:35:44.420 --> 00:35:46.539
year. We've got two concerts that we can... I
00:35:46.539 --> 00:35:48.780
can imagine. I can imagine. I would love to,
00:35:48.840 --> 00:35:52.039
so we'll try to figure out a way to get down
00:35:52.039 --> 00:35:53.900
there. But thank you so much for being on the
00:35:53.900 --> 00:35:57.059
podcast. It's been a joy to talk to you. I wish
00:35:57.059 --> 00:35:59.920
you great success at the concert. Thank you.
00:36:00.159 --> 00:36:02.500
Again, it's December 10th at the Broad Stage
00:36:02.500 --> 00:36:05.280
in Santa Monica. You can get tickets through
00:36:05.280 --> 00:36:08.300
the Broad Stage and then check out Pasquale's
00:36:08.300 --> 00:36:11.570
new album on Spotify or Apple Music. any of the
00:36:11.570 --> 00:36:14.349
streaming platforms that you can get to and enjoy
00:36:14.349 --> 00:36:16.690
it and have a wonderful holidays. Thank you again.
00:36:16.969 --> 00:36:19.250
Buon Natale. God bless. Ciao. Ciao.
