Justin Turford on “Be yourself” Truth and Lies Magazine
About Ilario Ferrari
About Ilario Ferrari
Studies and early works
Born In southern Italy in a small city called Terracina, Ilario has manifested a musical vocation since his early years. Though his grandfather was a reputed song-writer, Ilario never had the chance to meet him and grew up in a "non musical" family. He started formal music education as a teenager under the guidance of Andrea Renzelli for guitar, whilst also teaching himself piano and composition. He gained significant experience in local bands before moving to Rome to work alongside sound engineer and lyricist Giovanni Leo at "Studio Mobile" recording studios in Rome for five years.
During this period, Ilario composed/arranged a great variety of music projects from orchestral works to pop/rock productions. Some of these pieces have been performed in festivals and concerts throughout Europe. In 2010 his song “Sto Aspettando” won the "Audience Award" at the Pirogovsky Ravssett Festival in Moscow.
After completing Medical engineering studies, Ilario attended the Licino Refice Conservatory, gaining a First Class Degree with Honours Jazz Piano in 2015, having the opportunity to study with outstanding Musicians.
Immediately after Graduation Ilario won an EU scholarship called "Working With Music". Accordingly, he moved to London to work as pianist and composer at Quadra Recording Studio for seven months. At the studios he arranged for a variety of ensembles including for string players from the BBC Symphony Orchestra. In 2016, as a bandleader & composer, he released "Spread" an album of songs for modern Pop/Funk ensemble and led two music tours in Sicily in 2015/16.
The value of Education
Alongside his commitments as a Musical artist, Ilario values the importance of Music education in shaping the future of our society. He started teaching piano and composition in Colours in Music, in Watford in November 2015. He worked for approximately 3 years in Kings Langley Secondary School as both Music and Maths teacher. He developed the school jazz orchestra, culminating in a tour in 2019 in Germany, which brought 31 young musicians to perform in concerts around the country.
The recent years
Over the past years Ilario’s style has developed towards integrating classical oriented compositions, contemporary Jazz and sounds and rhythms of the Indian and Mediterranean culture. "Awakening”, a piece for a small symphonic orchestra, was a first step in this direction. The piece was premiered in 2019 by the Letchworth Sinfonia conducted by RowanBaker.
In the last couple of years Ilario has intensively focussed on his new trio, composing and performing “Childhood Memories' 'his debut album alongside Charlie Pyne (double bass) and Katie Patterson (drums). The album is now receiving enthusiastic feedback around the world. It has been nominated“One of the best jazz albums in 2021”by the magazine Jazzists. It has been streamed and play-listed in radios in US, Germany, UK, Russia, Japan, Brazil, France, Poland, Spain, and Italy.
The band is establishing itself as one of the most distinguished trios in the Music scene. Invited to perform at the Gala evening of the Watford Jazz Festival in 2022, the trio has premiered “Playground” a composition for Jazz trio and Orchestra that Ilario has composed for the occasion and that started an ongoing collaboration with Mark Armstrong and the National Youth Jazz Orchestra.
The trio celebrated their two years anniversary in January with a sold-out show at the World famous Pizza express Jazz club in London where they introduced singing and vocal harmonies into their repertoire. The trio is establishing itself as one of the most distinguished trios in the Music scene. They are currently working on their highly anticipated second album which is expected in 2024.
Ilario collaborates with inspiring Musicians and human beings worldwide, some of these collaborations are going on for many years like the one with Berlin resident Guitar Player and composer Enrico Olivanti.
Ilario has performed several times over the past year with Cuban violinist Omar Puente developing a project called “Mediterranean meets Cuba”.
Ilario has recently composed two suites for Piano and string quartet, BeYourself 1 and 2. The project in collaboration with the Ondanueve String quartet, will be released as an album through Cadiz Music on the 21st April 2023 and followed by a tour in the UK and Europe featuring the trio and String quartet. The album release party will be at the King’s place in London on June the 1st.
Ilario is committed to continually growing as performer and creator, always exploring the endless possibilities that Music offers to connect, inspire and uplift the hearts of people of all ages and backgrounds.
