Alessia Bonnici, A 17-Year-Old Maltese Pianist With Autism, To Play In Finnish Culture Festival
Alessia Bonnici, a Maltese 17-year-old with autism, is passionate about music and the arts, a medium that has offered her an alternative yet powerful way of expression that allows her to experience a way of being in the world that yields countless joys and satisfactions.
She has now been selected to display her talents at the ACCESS Tampere Next Generation Culture Festival that will be held in Finland in April this year.
ACCESS Tampere Next Generation Culture Festival is an international event that will take place in Tampere from 20th-22nd April 2023. The festival’s program and themes have been designed in close collaboration with a team of young adults.
The program includes concerts, both classical and pop, dance performances, dance and music workshops, a cultural expo, an art exhibition and interesting project presentations by professionals from Finland and abroad. ACCESS Tampere is a forum to network, share visions and develop new possibilities.
The festival promotes equality and diversity especially among youths, through art and culture.
Music has provided Alessia with a wholesome sense of self. It has increased her confidence to interact with others and provided added meaning to her life.
It is not merely a part of Alessia’s world; it has transformed her life on an existential level. Through music Alessia has found a way to communicate artistically that transcends expressive language.
Given her ever-growing musical passion, this festival will provide Alessia with a double opportunity in a pivotal stage of her musical career.
Firstly it will provide her the chance to showcase her musical talent in a space where international professionals who might be interested in the field of diverse musical ability might get to know her and acknowledge and witness the level of playing she has achieved notwithstanding her language and academic difficulties.
Furthermore, with the help of her mother and pianist Rosetta Debattista, she will be able to share the remarkable work she has achieved during her collaboration with established professional artists, serving as encouragement to other professional artists to unearth the powerful voices of artists with disabilities by allowing these individuals to make use of novel and creative ways of expression.
Alessia has been exploring her love for music since 2012. She is a student at the Malta School of Music, currently reading for her Diploma in Piano, and she has also provided with additional theoretical support from Villabianca. Alessia has performed on several occasions in prestigious venues in Malta, as well as Italy and the UK. She is excited to share her music soon at Access Tampere.
Do you believe that increased accessibility for disadvantaged creatives can help us uncover talents which so far remained hidden?
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