Santa Taranta is a Melbourne-based band playing a mix of original music and traditional music from southern Italy. The group has won over crowds at the National Folk Festival, Illawarra Folk Festival, Brunswick Music Festival, Piers Festival, Fairbridge Festival, as well as many concerts at prominent Melbourne music venues. They have also performed at the Italian Cultural Institute in December 2014 on the occasion of the end of the year soirée. They are returning to NSW in January 2018 to perform at the Illawarra Folk Festival.
Founding member Salvatore Rossano, ethnomusicologist and poly-instrumentalist, has been playing the music of Southern Italy since adolescence. Singer, percussionist and accordionist Francesco Bufarini also has a long and rich history with traditional Italian music and dance. Emiliano Beltzer is a fine guitarist and bass player from Argentina, with a history in classical, jazz, rock and folklore. Hayley Egan is a vocalist and linguist with a background in world music and traditional storytelling through song. Santa Taranta play Pizzica, Tammurriate, Stornelli, as well as Polkas from the barbershop and the occasional serenata d’amore, with a contemporary, worldly flair. Their rhythms are infectious and inspire audiences to get up and dance till they drop!
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