Today November 22nd we celebrate Santa Cecilia, patron saint of music, instrumentalists and singers; what better opportunity to praise the pianist OrlandoPio Guerra: aka “Il Pianista Bendato” from Catanzaro, he is a three-year academic student at the “PI Tchaikovsky” music university in Nocera Terinese (CZ).
OrlandoPio Guerra, born in Catanzaro on 10/01/2007, is awarded as “Youngest academic in Calabria 2023”, by the city councilor Danilo Sergi at the Palazzo De’ Nobili in Catanzaro.
The young sixteen-year-old is no stranger to recognition: the multiple national award winner has already achieved the title of “Boy Prodigy” in the years 2019, 2022, and 2023; he also received recognition from the Calabria Region as “Calabrian Excellence 2023”, for his path full of scholastic and sporting achievements, and for his social and cultural contribution to the community.
Not just music
The boy has been interested in sports since he was a child: at the age of 5 he began practicing Taekwondo and Ninjutsu, until he achieved a black belt in both disciplines. He played in the most prestigious Calabrian football schools such as Polisportiva Milan, Polisportiva Torino and Kennedy Catanzaro. He is a football referee affiliated with the AIA section of Catanzaro, basketball with the FIP-CIA group of Catanzaro, volleyball with FIPAV and table tennis referee with FITeT. In addition to his sporting career, he is a model student in the 4th year of the Vittorio Emanuele II Agricultural Technical Institute, and has written two books sold and printed by Amazon with the titles “La Linea Sottile” and “Diverso, Come tutti i altri”.
The Academic Path
OrlandoPio he began playing the piano at the age of 10 studying at his middle school: after two years he studied at the Torrefranca Conservatory in Vibo Valentia, and thanks to his talent he finished the pre-academic course in just 3 years.
In September 2023 he passed the entrance exams for the three-year academic year 2023-24, becoming the youngest student attending an academy in Calabria. During the summer of this year, he made his first tour as the “Blindfolded Pianist”; the different stages included various Calabrian locations and national television agencies: on Gold TV Roma he participated as a guest in the program “The Best Of Talent” playing pieces such as Azzurro by Celentano arranged by P. Conte, Rose Rosse and Il Cielo è se semper blu, obtaining the “Mr The Best Of Talent 2023”, “Artistic Genius 2023”, “Blindfolded Pianist Revelation of the Year” awards; in July he plays as a guest on the show “La Sai L’ultima Calabrese” broadcast on EsseTivù Lamezia Terme and Sport TV; pays homage to the soprano Maria Callas at the centenary “Callas 100” in the Municipality of Catanzaro, and also enchants several squares: Ferramonti di Tarsia at the “Polvere di Stelle” Bullfight, and her neighborhood of Pontegrande at the Feast of the SS Maria Immacolata, playing pieces such as River Flows in You, Nuvole Bianche and Experience.