Educational Workshop

The day is the last of seven meetings organised by the Diapason Progetti Musicali Association, as part of the “Saturday with the Ocarina” initiative, which, in collaboration with the Municipality of Budrio, is dedicated to promoting the musical heritage of the city among children.

The ocarina is an incredibly versatile, fun, and stimulating instrument, well-suited for educational purposes. This free workshop is aimed at students aged 8 to 11 and is designed to welcome both new participants and children already enrolled in the program.
Children can join the group at any time, following a modular curriculum that allows everyone to learn with ease.

Materials, including ocarinas, will be provided.
The workshop will be held in Italian.

A guided tour led by Cristian Paolini, for the Diapason Progetti Musicali Association. A chance to discover the beating heart of Budrio’s tradition.

The Ocarina Museum in Budrio is the only one in Italy that tells the story of this wonderful instrument, from its origins to new contemporary expressions, through the creations of its original makers (Giuseppe Donati, Cesare Vicinelli, Alberto Mezzetti).

Photographs and score complete a story that has been surprising and enchanting artists from all over the world since the 19th century.

This initiative is part of the broader “Saturday with the Ocarina” project, conceived and organized by the Diapason Progetti Musicali APS Association in collaboration with the Municipality of Budrio, which also includes a workshop for children.

Workshop led by Luca Panetti and Asaka Shirai, with support from Chisato Nakahara

Originating in Bavaria and spreading across Europe at the end of the 19th century, the zither was later adopted by French Benedictine monks to accompany liturgical singing. In the 1970s, they began to build it systematically. The zither reached Japan through this “monastic” route: there, thanks to the country’s rich musical tradition, it quickly gained popularity.

This workshop will explore the history and construction of the chord psaltery (zither). Participants will have the opportunity to learn about the instrument’s mechanism, how it works, as well as tuning and maintenance techniques.

Throughout the workshop, attendees will be introduced to different repertoires and will have the chance to experience musical practice on various zither models.

The workshop will be led by Luca Panetti, a pipe organ and harpsichord maker since 1998, with technical assistance from Asaka Shirai, a renowned performer of the chord psaltery.

The project originates from two extracurricular programs at the School of Budrio, in collaboration with the Municipality of Budrio. Its goal is to transform the museum experience from a mere “showcase” into an interactive workshop, training students to become guides and performers.

Students are taught how to be tourist guides, as well as how to compose and perform a repertoire for ocarina. The project aims to enhance their instrumental, expressive, and communicative skills, empowering them to play a key role in creating cultural events that celebrate the local heritage and share knowledge of the area’s history.

Budrio like you’ve never seen it before: a fully themed ocarina tour.

The journey begins at the Diapason Association, winds through the city’s streets and squares, and culminates with a guided visit to the Ocarina Museum. Along the way, you’ll discover the history and evolution of the instrument, and have the unique opportunity to meet Edward Mezzetti, great-grandson of Alberto Mezzetti, one of the pioneers behind the creation of the first ocarina.

With Edward, we’ll retrace the professional journeys of Alberto and Ercole Mezzetti, from 1870 to their later emigrations to London and Paris.

The tour will conclude with a duo performance: Federica Taglioli and Cristian Paolini, a teacher at the “Vincenzino Grimaldi” Ocarina School, will perform a selection of pieces ranging from traditional ocarina music (including a song by Cesare Testi) to classical works (Mozart, Verdi, Gluck) and iconic movie soundtracks (Piovani, Morricone).

The event

In this unique workshop, Kurt Posch will share his passion for crafting ocarinas—”a fascinating and intriguing instrument”—with the audience.

Self-taught, he quickly began creating concert-quality ocarinas with a rich sound, perfect tuning, and balanced intonation. All the ocarinas in the quintet with which he plays Tonpfiff, and which will perform at the Ocarithon, are crafted by him.

As a self-taught maker, Kurt has always been eager to share his work and collaborate with other craftsmen worldwide. His dedication to sharing his knowledge comes from a desire to spread the charm of the ocarina to others.

The workshop will be conducted in English and will last approximately one hour.

The event

Irish music is both dance and tradition: the common repertoire brings people together, even strangers, to dance and sing. Irish music is fluid, traditionally learned by ear, and often varies from musician to musician.

In this workshop, led by Robert Hickman, you will learn how to adapt Irish music to the ocarina, understand the different types of melodies (Polkas, Jigs, Hornpipes and Reels) and learn how to embellish them with various finger articulations and ornaments as taught in the tradition.

The ocarina is an unusual instrument, but is ideal for Irish music as it offers musical nuances that are not easily achievable on the tin whistle or simple flute.

This is a fully participatory workshop: teaching will be mainly by ear, with sheet music available to give the ‘bones’ of the music. The pieces will be adapted to a single by Alto C ocarina.
The lab will be conducted in English and will last approximately two hours.

Robert Hickman

Robert Hickman began playing Irish songs and folk music on the ocarina in 2011. He adapted his style to the tin whistle technique, and has been performing regularly ever since.
He wrote the book “Serious Ocarina Player”.
As a maker, he has created instruments designed to meet the needs of Irish music, with a minimal breath curve, and a timbre and volume balanced across their range

The event

Irish music is both dance and tradition: the common repertoire brings people together, even strangers, to dance and sing. Irish music is fluid, traditionally learned by ear, and often varies from musician to musician.

In this workshop, led by Robert Hickman, you will learn how to adapt Irish music to the ocarina, understand the different types of melodies (Polkas, Jigs, Hornpipes and Reels) and learn how to embellish them with various finger articulations and ornaments as taught in the tradition.

The ocarina is an unusual instrument, but is ideal for Irish music as it offers musical nuances that are not easily achievable on the tin whistle or simple flute.

This is a fully participatory workshop: teaching will be mainly by ear, with sheet music available to give the ‘bones’ of the music. The pieces will be adapted to a single by Alto C ocarina.
The lab will be conducted in English and will last approximately two hours.

Robert Hickman

Robert Hickman began playing Irish songs and folk music on the ocarina in 2011. He adapted his style to the tin whistle technique, and has been performing regularly ever since.
He wrote the book “Serious Ocarina Player”.
As a maker, he has created instruments designed to meet the needs of Irish music, with a minimal breath curve, and a timbre and volume balanced across their range

In case of sold out, the workshop will be repeated on April 14.