Moore Joins Italian Cultural Effort

Former Citizens Association of Georgetown President Pamela Moore, who has joined the board of directors of the American Initiatives for Italian Culture (AIFIC), sees some similarities between her work with CAG and promoting cultural interests shared by the United States and Italy.

“One of the things I’ve always loved about being and living in Georgetown, and what makes it so special, is that sense of history, and the appreciation of history here,” she said. “People care about preserving what’s here: the buildings, the streets, the homes.”

The AIFIC was founded in 2013, a year that was designated the Year of Italian Culture in the United States.

Moore decided to get involved in part because of the opportunities she and her husband had to travel in Italy when they were living for a time in neighboring Austria, specifically in Vienna.

“We went to many of the places you’d expect, but also to different parts of the country, the smaller towns and villages, the south. And one genuine characteristic that comes through is that sense of history, which we often don’t quite have a sense of here, but also the friendliness, the welcoming nature of Italians. And there are so many different kinds in the different regions,” she said. “It sparked my interest in the country and the culture, and so here we are. “

Her colleagues on the AIFIC board are Maria Gliozzi and Elisabetta Ullmann.

The still-fledgling organization is engaged in mobilizing resources here and abroad to help support innovative projects in research and education, including programs that center around arts and culture.

One of the concrete and beautiful results of that effort is a collaboration and exchange between the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras of the Washington, D.C., area and the Padua Music Conservatory of Padua, Italy. It is considered a twinning project, which “connects two countries with one heart” through the sound of music.

The two orchestras will perform in Washington and in Padua. Five young musicians will travel to Italy and perform in the Padua concert in October and five young Italian musicians will perform in the American concert.

The concert in Washington will be held April 5 at the Italian Embassy, where AYP Artistic Director Christopher Zimmerman will share the conductor’s podium with Italian maestro Simone Tonin. Soprano Cheryl Porter will be the soloist in the American pieces and soprano Rosella Caporale in the Italian.
“The concert, I think, will show what cooperation can accomplish, and will, it’s hoped, initiate other projects,” Moore said.