The future of our planet is now the responsibility of the younger generation. I believe that the discipline of listening and working together to create music and performance can also inspire them to collaborate and be responsible for other aspects of life and community, including respect and care for the natural world.
Alessio Pianelli
Alessio’s BBT Artist Encore project, My Music Cares, in his beloved home city of Trapani in Sicily, was conceived to educate and encourage young people aged 11 to 18 not only to appreciate and enjoy music, but also respect and care for the environment. In collaboration with Plastic Free, a worldwide charity resolutely committed to raising awareness of environmental issues, Alessio introduced his cello to children in local schools and led workshops to demonstrate the importance and relevance of listening, harmony and respect that music teaches and how these values can be applied to social awareness within their community and surroundings.
The culmination of the project in late May 2026 included beach-cleaning activities and a final concert in the spectacular setting of the ancient Mangiapani Caves overlooking the beach and Tyrrhenian Sea beyond. Led by Alessio and his ensemble of young cello students, the audience was treated to a programme ranging from Beethoven and Vivaldi to Cage and Solliman, plus the highlight of the evening – the first performance of ‘My Planet’, a piece specially composed for this project by Alessio and performed with children’s choir and plastic bottle percussionists.
Alessio hopes the success and appreciation of My Music Cares will become a blueprint for many more similar projects in Sicily and beyond. He has pledged to continue bringing his cello into classrooms (having witnessed how “the children’s eyes shone with wonder”) to share with them the wonder of music and the value of social and environmental responsibility.
Alessio is a maestro whom I want to follow all the way and, for this kind of initiative which means so much to me, I’m always there. I will go anywhere.
Student cellist
When I hear the cello, it feels like listening to the sea – sometimes gentle and calm, and at other times powerful and full of energy.
Schoolchild
Read Alessio’s blog about My Music Cares, here