OperAffinity Festival
Composer Residency 14 - 26 September 2026
A New Composition Residency
For the 2026 Festival, OperAffinity launches its inaugural Composer Residency, creating a new opportunity for an emerging Italian composer to work within an international artistic environment and develop new work through mentorship and collaboration.
​
The residency brings together internationally acclaimed composer and arts leader Alan Fletcher, the Accademia Musicale Chigiana, and renowned Italian composer Salvatore Sciarrino, who selected Riccardo Palomes as OperAffinity’s Composer-in-Residence following his work with him at the Accademia’s 2026 Composition Course.​​
​
The project forms part of OperAffinity’s wider commitment to supporting emerging artists and creating opportunities for artistic exchange between established international artists, leading institutions and the next generation of composers.
​
The residency culminates in a Contemporary Music Concert on 24 September 2026 at Todi Arts Studio, the former studio and home of American sculptor Beverly Pepper. The programme will feature music by Alan Fletcher and OperAffinity’s Composer-in-Residence, Riccardo Palomes.
​
Alan Fletcher
Head of the Composer Residency Programme
Alan Fletcher is an internationally acclaimed composer, pianist and arts leader, serving as President and CEO of the Aspen Music Festival and School, one of the world’s foremost music institutions.
​
The composer of more than 200 published works, his music has been commissioned and performed by leading orchestras and organisations including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the National Gallery of Art. His music is published by Boosey & Hawkes.
​
In 2025, Fletcher was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the highest academic honours in the United States.
​
As Head of OperAffinity’s Composer Residency Programme, Fletcher will work with and mentor the Composer-in-Residence during the residency in Todi, supporting the development of his work within the Festival’s international artistic environment.
Riccardo Palomes
Riccardo Palomes was born in Udine on 9 May 2000. His writing, suspended between analytical rigour and melodic tension, draws on a constant dialogue between memory and invention, seeking in sound a form of persuasion that is at once rhetorical and confessional.
​
He has studied composition at the G. Verdi Conservatory in Milan since 2019, initially with Paolo Rimoldi and subsequently with Filippo Del Corno. His training has been enriched by masterclasses with composers including Mario Garuti, Michael Jarrell, José María Sánchez-Verdú and Francesco Filidei, as well as through his work with Salvatore Sciarrino at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana.
His music has been performed in Italy and internationally, including in Milan, Bologna, Lucerne and Madrid, by ensembles including MDI Ensemble and FontanaMix. His recent works include Morir al dia for ensemble (2025), Lettera di una sconosciuta for voice and ensemble (2026), and MACAO for piano (2026).
Accademia Musicale Chigiana
Institutional Partner
Founded in Siena in 1932, the Accademia Musicale Chigiana is one of Italy’s and the world’s leading institutions for advanced musical training, with a long tradition of supporting emerging composers and performers.
Through its Composition Course, directed by Salvatore Sciarrino, Chigiana provided the setting in which Riccardo Palomes worked with Sciarrino during the 2026 programme and was subsequently selected for OperAffinity’s Composer Residency.
Thursday, 24 September 2026 | 18:30
Todi Arts Studio, Todi
The residency culminates in a concert of contemporary music featuring works by Alan Fletcher and Riccardo Palomes, performed at Todi Arts Studio, the former studio and home of American sculptor Beverly Pepper.
​
The evening will open with an introduction by the Beverly Pepper Foundation, exploring Pepper’s life and artistic legacy and her connection to Todi.
In collaboration with
