Riccardo Formosa (born 1 September 1954) is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

-born Australian musician and composer. He was the lead guitarist of the pop band

Little River Band Little River Band (LRB) are a rock band formed in Melbourne, Australia, in March 1975. The band achieved commercial success in both Australia and the United States. They have sold more than 30 million records; six studio albums reached the top ...

from 1975 to 1976 and recorded their first two albums, ''

'' and '' After Hours''.

Early life

Formosa was born in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Italy, but grew up in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada. He migrated to Australia in 1974 and worked as a music arranger and studio musician. He joined the Little River Band shortly after arriving in Australia.

Little River Band

The original Little River Band (LRB) lead guitarist, Graham Davidge, played only on LRB's first recording session, a cover of

The Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close-harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly and Phillip "Phil" Everly, the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, ...

' song '' When Will I Be Loved''. Formosa replaced Davidge shortly after. Formosa played on the first two LRB albums, ''

'' and '' After Hours'', including the long guitar solo on '' It's a Long Way There'' on the former. For the latter, he wrote the song "Bourbon Street" and co-wrote "Another Runaway" with fellow member

Beeb Birtles Gerard Bertelkamp AM (born 28 November 1948), known professionally as Beeb Birtles, is an Australian musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist. He has been a member of various Australian groups including Zoot (1967–71), Mississippi (1972� ...

. Formosa toured Australia with LRB, playing 311 shows in 1975–1976. He was replaced by David Briggs in August 1976. On 19 August 1980, Formosa joined an ensemble of pop artists in a memorial concert for Andrew Durant, the former Stars' guitarist-songwriter who had died earlier that year. Formosa played

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

, guitar and piano. A live double- LP, ''The Andrew Durant Memorial Concert'', was released on

Mushroom Records Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival ...

in 1980.

Composer

Formosa was awarded an

Australia Council Creative Australia, formerly known as the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announ ...

fellowship in 1983 and studied with Franco Donatoni at the

Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia () is one of the oldest musical institutions in the world, founded by the papal bull ''Ratione congruit'', issued by Sixtus V in 1585, which invoked two saints prominent in Western musical history: Gre ...

in Rome and at the

Accademia Musicale Chigiana The Accademia Musicale Chigiana (''English'': Chigiana Musical Academy) is a music institute in Siena, Italy. It was founded by Count Guido Chigi-Saracini in 1932 as an international centre for advanced musical studies. It organises Master Class ...

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

. He also attended masterclasses in conducting with

Franco Ferrara Franco Ferrara (Palermo, 4 July 1911Florence, 7 September 1985) was an Italian conductor and teacher. Among his many students are various prominent conductors, including Roberto Abbado, Riccardo Chailly, Andrew Davis and Riccardo Muti. Life a ...

. On returning to Australia, Formosa worked for

Victorian College of the Arts The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) is the arts school at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It is part of the university's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music (FFAM). It is located near the Melbourne city centre on the Southbank campus ...

, the Victorian Arts Studio and Musica Viva. Formosa works as an arranger, conductor and studio musician for recordings, radio and television. He also has an extensive catalogue of compositions.

Awards

Formosa has won awards and commendations during his career, including:

Family

Formosa's daughter Antonella is a successful singer who performs and records as

A-Love A-Love is a female Australian-based MC from Melbourne. Her debut album, ''Ace of Hearts'' was nominated 'Best Urban Release' in the ARIA Music Awards of 2008. Biography A-Love was born Antonella Formosa in Rome, Italy on 21 March 1983. Formosa ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Formosa, Ric 1954 births Living people APRA Award winners Australian film score composers Male film score composers Little River Band members Musicians from Rome Australian music arrangers Italian emigrants to Australia Australian record producers Australian rock guitarists Italian emigrants to Canada Lead guitarists Australian conductors (music) 21st-century conductors (music) Australian male guitarists Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia alumni