The Atse Tewodros Project is an initiative, coordinated by writer and performer
Gabriella Ghermandi, that forges musical collaborations between Ethiopian and Italian musicians.
Eight musicians are involved in the project. Three of them are Italian: Fabrizio Puglisi on piano, Tommy Ruggero on drums, and Camilla Missio on bass. Four are traditional Ethiopian musicians: Endris Hassen on one-string bowed lute “Masinko”, Misale Legesse on traditional Ethiopian drums, Abu Gebre on traditional bamboo flute "Washint", Anteneh Teklemariam on traditional six-string lyre “Kirar”, and the project conceiver, Italian-Ethiopian artist Gabriella Ghermandi, voice.
The project takes as its symbol Emperor Tewodros, a man who was not of imperial lineage, but still managed to gain the throne through willpower and charisma, breaking with centuries of custom. He was the first Emperor who gave Ethiopia the chance to modernize while respecting its traditions.
In a similar way, the Atse Tewodros Project intends to respect traditional Ethiopian music while opening it up to dialogue and exchange. He was also the emperor who fought against Queen Victoria’s army and defended Ethiopian independence in the century of African colonization.
The Atse Tewodros Project also includes songs from the Ethiopian Resistance that fought against the Italian Fascist Regime. By doing so, it reclaims the past, both for the general public and for the individual, it creates a way to describe the course of human and migrant lives and to talk about plural identities.
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