The stars of The Voice will travel to ‘Little Italy’ for one of Sydney’s biggest street festivals.
Alfie Arcuri, the winner of The Voice 2016, finalist Brianna Holm and Claudia Migliaccio, will all be performing on the Co.As.It. Stage at this year’s Norton Street Italian Festa, on Sunday 29 October.
“Co.As.It. has a long-standing relationship with the Norton Street Italian Festa,” said Thomas Camporeale, General Manager of Co.As.It.
“We have been a part of the Norton Street community since the official opening of our building, Casa d’Italia, in 1998 by the President of the Republic of Italy, His Excellency Oscar Luigi Scalfaro. “We are very proud to be a part of this year’s Festa to help promote the Italian language and culture in NSW.
“Co.As.It. is the leading Italian community organisation in NSW, assisting tens of thousands of Italians for the past 50 years.” Alfie Arcuri was crowned the winner of the fifth season of The Voice, in one of the most competitive fields the show has ever seen. Since winning the popular television show, Universal Music recording artist Alfie has performed at an array of events.
With more than 140,000 people attending Norton Street Festa each year, this is one event that is close to his heart.
“I am so excited to be performing at Norton Street Festa. I feel like this will give me so many grandson points. My Nonnas and Nonnos are going to be so happy,” said Arcuri.
Arcuri was born to a “very Italian” family who are, of course, his biggest fans.
“I am a third generation Italian. My dad’s parents were born in Calabria and migrated here as teenagers. My mum’s parents were born in Sicily and migrated here at a similar age. I am so grateful for my heritage as it has meant that I have been gifted with a very cultured life. We have all the traditional Italian customs still in practice like the sauce making, the Salami, the wine. Both my Nonnas still pickle the eggplant and the artichoke, which are my favourites. So family and food are fundamental things in my life,” said Arcuri.
Arcuri has a special performance lined up and is thrilled to be working with such a well-respected Italian organisation as Co.As.It.
“I am going to mix it up a little for my performance. People can expect a couple of classic hits as well as some originals and an Italian classic that everyone loves.
“It’s wonderful to see an organisation continuing to supporting education, language and aged care services — so important for the entire community,” said Arcuri.
Arcuri has spent the last year collaborating with some of the world’s most sought after-songwriters both locally and in the United States.
“I have a new single out at the moment called ‘Love is Love’ through Universal Music. The title basically explains the theme of the song. I think it’s an important time to release a song with a message of love, equality and acceptance. I am presently in the studio writing and recording an album/EP of original songs for release early next year and hope to hit the road to tour the songs nationally. Stay tuned,” Arcuri said.
Brianna Holm, who featured on team Jessie J and reached the final 16 of the show, is looking forward to her first visit to this well-known Italian Festa.
“My partner Marco is Italian and I’m blessed to have become a part of his family and to experience the culture first-hand. I have also been studying the Italian language at Co.As.It. for the past year,” Holm said.
Holm has a strong connection to Co.As.It. She started as a student attending the Italian classes for adults and now works in the head office, while completing her university nursing course.
“Co.As.It. is a fantastic organisation that assists Italian people and advocates the rich culture and language to the wider community. I feel very lucky I get to be a part of Co.As.It. and benefit from their services,” Holm said.
Since her experience on The Voice, Brianna has been working on her own material which she is looking to release early next year.
“I’ve recently collaborated with a local Sydney rapper called New Age Poet and we have a track coming out very soon,” Holm said.
Claudia Migliaccio, who appeared on Season Four of The Voice, is based in Adelaide and will be venturing to Sydney to perform at this year’s Norton Street Festa.
“I am happy to be heading back up to Sydney to be part of The Norton Street Festa. It is my first year and I can’t wait,“ said Migliaccio.
Migliaccio not only sings a wide range of English songs, but also sings in Italian and has great support from the Italian communities both in Adelaide and Sydney.
“I have a strong Italian background. My grandparents are from Benevento and Calabria. Co.As.It. puts on a variety of amazing Italian events which bring the community together and gives everyone a taste of our Italian heritage and helps to keep it alive,” said Migliaccio.
The Co.As.It. stage will feature a mix of music, entertainment and Italian culture.
“We have worked very hard to put together an amazing line-up of performances that represent the changing face of the Italian community. This includes a performance from our Italian Bilingual School (IBS) and interactive Italian lessons on coffee and gelato presented by students of our Out-of School Hours Italian Language & Culture Program,” said Mr Camporeale.