In Lazise, 19-year-old Andrea Marcato is steadily building his path toward a dream: conducting opera. Though not from a musical family, he discovered his passion early—sparked by the animated series Little Einsteins. After violin lessons in elementary school and a formative middle school program with teacher Lorella Baldin’s “Archi Volanti,” he began leading small ensembles at just 16. With friends, Marcato founded Armonie senza confini, a cultural association that has grown into an orchestra of about 30 young musicians, average age 18, from Lazise and nearby towns. Their debut major concert took place in Dogana Veneta at Christmas 2023, and since then they have performed regularly, with Marcato on the podium.
This September, the orchestra will play a charity concert with composer Bepi De Marzi and the Costabella choir in Colà (Sept. 6), followed by ASCinema, a program of iconic film scores with projections in Lazise (Sept. 27) and Sandrà (Oct. 4). Marcato, who recently graduated in mechanics from Verona’s Salesian Institute San Zeno, continues his musical training at the Conservatorio Dall’Abaco, preparing for admission to academic studies in choral conducting and composition. Beyond music, he emphasizes the project’s social value: offering young people a healthy, creative space to nurture their passion. “We dreamed big from the start,” Marcato says. “At first it was hard to be taken seriously, but support from families and local institutions has made it possible.”