Marco Werba

Italian Film Composer and Conductor

Born in Madrid (Spain) in 1963. He completed his musical studies in Italy (piano, harmony) and abroad (he attended composition, orchestration and film music workshops at the Mannes College of Music in New York, USA and studied conducting at the "Academie de Musique de Guerande et des Pays de la Loire" in France. Werba has had direct contact or was music assistant to: Jerry Goldsmith, Stanley Meyers, Michael Nyman, John Scott, Georges Delerue and Francis Lai. In 1989, Marco Werba won the prestigious "Colonna Sonora" award for the original motion picture score "Zoo"; an italian production directed by Cristina Comencini (along with Ennio Morricone and Francis Lai, who received the "Colonna Sonora - Lifetime Achievement Award"). Mr. Werba was a member of the "Sanremo Film Festival" jury and, in 1993, vice-president of the competition jury. Werba is the italian correspondent of the Belgian magazine "Soundtrack", specializing in music for films and the creator of the International film music workshop "Music for Images". He collaborates with the choirs of the "Philharmonic Roman Academy" and the "Cappella Giulia" in the Vatican, both conducted by Pablo Colino. With the Vatican choir, he participated in several official events in the presence of the President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, the Nobel award winner Michael Gobaciov, the Holy father Pope John Paul II, and the world famous singers José Carreras and Monserrat Caballé. In 1986, Marco Werba was a guest of the Bielorussian Republic and has had the honour of having some of his compositions performed by the "Gomel City Symphony" and the "Minuet ensemble" of Svelogorsk. Werba has written several chamber music and symphonic compositions like "Cantus Superstium", "Misterium", "Guitar concert", "Dead chamber's adagio", "Adagio for the Auschwitz victims", "Mess in A major" and "Canto al vangelo". This latter composition, dedicated to the Pope, was performed in his presence during a Celebration in 1999.