Amici Veneziani

Soprano Simone Kermes’ many years of collaboration with individual musicians led to the formation of a permanent ensemble in 2017. Since colleagues had become friends over time, the name Amici – friends – was the logical choice. And because they are of Italian origin and their focus is on Italian Baroque music, for which Venice was a kind of hotspot, the name »Amici Veneziani« was born.

The experience of playing together in various formations and orchestras flows together in this ensemble. To be able to make music together, you need mutual respect, love for the cause and the same musical level. The interpretations focus on the energy of the music and the people involved. »Music gives me the opportunity to express myself in a unique way. To come into contact with many people and different realities. It gives me the opportunity to have experiences that I couldn't have elsewhere« – This is how theorbist Gianluca Geremia describes the experience of making music. Double bassist Luca Stevanato puts it this way: »In the moment in which you musically trace a certain sound together, in which you try to really share the sounds and musical gestures with each other, you find a feeling of intense presence and a music that is nothing less than a metaphor for life«.

Each musician also plays in other orchestras such as La Scala in Milan, the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, orchestras in Rome, Padua, Palermo, Turin and in various baroque ensembles around the world. With the Amici, however, energy is released that the audience can feel immediately. Since their foundation, Amici Veneziani and Simone Kermes have performed in major concert halls: Berlin, Cologne, Dresden, Munich, Hamburg, Paris; at festivals from Malta to Lithuania – and of course in Venice.
Kermes and her Venetian Friends also work together in the studio: »Mio caro Händel« was released in 2019, »Inferno e Paradiso« in 2020 and »Eternity« in 2021.