Filomena Campus is a jazz singer, composer, lyricist, academic and theatre director, who was born in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label= Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, af ...

and since 2001 has been based in London, England."Filomena Campus"
Isola Delle Storie, 2 July 2014. Her performance style characteristically fuses jazz, theatre and literature, and she is the founder of the company Theatralia, curating the annual Theatralia Jazz Festival in collaboration with the

PizzaExpress Jazz Club PizzaExpress Jazz Club is a jazz club in London, England. Based in Dean Street in Soho, it is situated in the basement of a PizzaExpress restaurant, and was opened by company founder Peter Boizot in 1969. It has played host to Norah Jones, Amy ...

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develo ...

,"Thelonious Monk"
Black History Month 2017. with the aim of uniting British and Italian styles. On December 14th, 2023, Campus was awarded the honour of “Cavaliera” (Dame) of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.

Career

Filomena Campus was born on the Italian island of Sardinia. She earned a degree in English literature from the University of Cagliari, where as a student she started singing and performing."Meet the Artist……Filomena Campus"
''The Cross-Eyed Pianist'', 29 October 2015. In Cagliari she performed and directed ''A Game of Chess'', a project inspired by the work of

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic ex ...

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the Modernism, modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important ...

and

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biogr ...

that was her first experiment in combining live jazz with theatre, in 2001. That year, she relocated to England to study for a master's degree in theatre directing at

Goldsmiths, University of London Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...

. In 2003, she founded the company Theatralia, described as "an international collective of performers and artists whose works combine literature, physical theatre, performance art, digital art with live music and audience participation". She has performed as a vocalist with leading musicians, including

Paolo Fresu Paolo Fresu ( sc, Pàulu; born 10 February 1961) is an Italian jazz trumpet and flugelhorn player, as well as a composer and arranger of music. Career Born in Berchidda, Sardinia, he picked up the trumpet at the age of 11, and played in the ba ...

Evan Parker Evan Shaw Parker (born 5 April 1944) is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation. Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free ...

Guy Barker Guy Jeffrey Barker, (born 26 December 1957) is an English jazz trumpeter and composer. Early life Barker was born in Chiswick, London, the son of an actress and a stuntman. He started playing the trumpet at the age of twelve, and within a year ...

Orphy Robinson Orphy Robinson MBE (born 13 October 1960) is a British jazz multi-instrumentalist who plays vibraphone, keyboards, saxophone, trumpet, piano, marimba, steelpans and drums. He has written music for television, film and theatre. Career Robinso ...

Huw Warren Huw Warren is a Welsh jazz pianist and composer whose work crosses several genres. He is known as co-leader and founder of the jazz quartet Perfect Houseplants. Career Huw Warren was the co-leader and founder of the jazz quartet Perfect Ho ...

Byron Wallen Byron Wallen (born July 1969) is a British jazz trumpeter, composer and educator. He was described by '' Jazzwise'' as "one of the most innovative, exciting and original trumpet players alive". As characterised by '' All About Jazz'', "He does no ...

Cleveland Watkiss Cleveland Watkiss, (born 21 October 1959), is a British vocalist, actor, and composer. Biography Cleveland Watkiss was born in Hackney, East London, to Jamaican parents, and was one of nine children. He is the older brother of pianist Trevo ...

Jean Toussaint Jean Toussaint (born July 27, 1960) is an American jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist. Life and career Toussaint was born in Aruba, Dutch Antilles, and was raised in Saint Thomas and New York City. He learned to play calypso as a child and att ...

Kenny Wheeler Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards. Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he was also active ...

, Laura Cole, Jackie Walduck, Tori Handsley, and

Tony Kofi Tony Kofi (born 10 July 1966) is a British jazz saxophonist and flautist. He leads a trio and quartet and is co-founder of the Monk Liberation Band. His trio includes drummer Winston Clifford and Hammond B3 organist Anders Olinder. Kofi is signed ...

,"Filomena Campus"

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

. and has appeared at several international festivals,"Filomena Campus".
/ref> as well as on radio. Her voice has been described as having a "huge range of truly improvised vocal sounds", and Cleveland Watkiss has called her "one of the most adventurous young female singers/performers/composers based in the UK"."Filomena Campus"
Theatralia website. She has also taught and lectured in theatre, improvisation, voice and related studies at educational institutions such as

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

East 15 Acting School East 15 Acting School (East 15) is a British drama school in Loughton, Essex.Its degrees are awarded by the University of Essex, with which it merged on 1 September 2000. As of 2020, Essex University, where East 15 is located, has been ranked No. ...

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, Essex is one of the original plate glass universities. Essex's shield consists of the ancient arms attributed to the Kingdom of Es ...

Kingston University , mottoeng = "Through Learning We Progress" , established = – gained University Status – Kingston Technical Institute , type = Public , endowment = £2.3 m (2015) , ...

, and Buckinghamshire New University. In 2009, Campus was awarded the Italian Premio Maria Carta and in 2015 the Premio Navicella. In 2010 she formed the Filomena Campus Quartet, with

Steve Lodder Steve Lodder, born Stephen John Lodder (born 10 April 1951, St. Helier, Jersey), is a British keyboardist, composer, and organist. He played piano as a child and took up organ at age 14. He studied organ at Gonville and Caius College, and after ...

on piano, Dudley Phillips on bass and Rod Youngs on drums, with projects including ''Jester of Jazz'' (featuring Jean Toussaint and Rowland Sutherland on a 2011 recording), Italy VS England with Italian writer Stefano Benni, ''Scaramouche'' (2015, with Giorgio Serci and

) and ''Queen Mab''. In addition to her show on

London One Radio London One Radio is an independent, commercial, online radio station in the United Kingdom that serves London's Italian community. Established in 2014 by journalist Filippo Baglini as the UK's first Italian-language radio station, it produces prog ...

interviewing artists, in 2022 that Campus joined Jazz London Radio for her new show ''Filomena Campus' Theatralia Jazz'', airing on Fridays at 5pm and Sundays at 3pm.

Theatralia Jazz Festival

In 2013, Campus founded the Theatralia Jazz Festival – which was originally known as "My Jazz Islands" – which brings together music and theatre from British and Italian musicians and writers, with the production ''Italy VS England'' produced in both Cagliari and London. In 2018 the theme of the festival was "Sardinian Extravaganza", a jazz bridge with the town of

Alghero Alghero (; ca, label=Alguerese, L'Alguer ; sc, S'Alighèra ; sdc, L'Aliera ) is a city of about 45,000 inhabitants in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northwestern Sardinia, next to the Mediterranean Sea. The city's name comes from ...

in Sardinia. In 2019 and 2020 the bridge was going to be between London and Rome, but the pandemic stopped the project. She has said: "Years ago I left my island for another island, that welcomed me and helped me to make many dreams come true. In a moment where everyone seems to draw up walls, I aim to build a bridge between our two countries. A bridge made of jazz notes, theatre and masks, musical encounters enriched by the magic words of great poetry."

Monk Misterioso

Campus adapted and directed

Stefano Benni Stefano Benni (born 12 August 1947) is an Italian satirical writer, poet and journalist. His books have been translated into around 20 foreign languages and scored notable commercial success. 2.5 million copies of his books have been sold in Ita ...

's ''Misterioso, A Journey into the Silence of Thelonious Monk'' (2005) as a theatre production featuring the music of

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...

, staging the show at the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...

in 2008, the

Riverside Studios Riverside Studios is an arts centre on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. The venue plays host to contemporary performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production. Having closed for redevelopment in ...

in 2009, and at a variety of venues in the following years, including as part of the Theatralia Jazz Festival. In 2017 an Arts Council England-sponsored international Monk Misterioso Tour was launched at the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...

in October, culminating with a new dramatised production of ''Misterioso: A Journey into the Silence of Thelonious Monk'' at

Kings Place Kings Place is a building in London’s Kings Cross area, providing music and visual arts venues combined with seven floors of office space. It has housed the editorial offices of ''The Guardian'' newspaper since December 2008 and is the for ...

that closed the

London Jazz Festival The London Jazz Festival is a music festival held every November. It takes place in London venues such as the Barbican and the Royal Festival Hall and in smaller jazz clubs, such as Ronnie Scott's and the Vortex Jazz Club. It is produced by Ser ...

's celebration of the centenary of Monk's birth, and featured Campus alongside Cleveland Watkiss, Pat Thomas, Rowland Sutherland, Orphy Robinson, Dudley Phillips and

Mark Mondesir Mark Mondesir (born 12 December 1964) is an English jazz drummer. His brother, Michael Mondesir, is a bass guitarist. Career Mondesir was born in Stepney, London, on 12 December 1964. Mondesir began his career in 1984 as part of Ian Carr's wo ...

. Reviewing this sold-out performance for ''Jazz in Europe'', Erminia Yardley wrote: "With a mixture of theatrical panache and sheer talent, they all produced a show that raised the bar. The beauty and innovation of the production filled every note and words spoken and sung on the night. Brilliant!"Erminia Yardley
"Magical gig by Filomena Campus et al - the perfect conclusion to the EFG London Jazz Festival"
''Jazz in Europe'', 28 November 2017.

Academic research

In 2020, Filomena was awarded by London Arts and Humanities Partnership (LAHP) an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded Research Studentship at

Royal Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

for a Collaborative Doctoral Award with the Verona State Archive Franca Rame Dario Fo and Fondazione Fo Rame. Work title for this project: 'Liberate Rame! The feminist practices of theatre-maker and activist Franca Rame.

References

External links

Filomena Campus official website.
* Michael J. Edwards
"Filomena Campus"
(interview), ''UK Vibe'', 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Campus, Filomena 21st-century Italian singers 21st-century Italian women singers Italian emigrants to the United Kingdom Italian jazz singers Italian lyricists Italian theatre directors Italian women singers Living people University of Cagliari alumni Women jazz singers Italian women theatre directors Year of birth missing (living people)