LUIGI PIGARELLI - Trento, 1875-1964

He got his degree in law at the University of Graz (Austria) and worked as a magistrate from 1902 to 1945. He was Public Prosecutor and then Member of the Supreme Court of Appeal. A refined pianist, he was also a composer and a harmonizer of folksongs, ninety-four of which were specifically dedicated to the SAT Choir (starting from La Paganella in 1925). In 1900 he became Secretary of the Trento Philharmonic Society, but had to step back for a while because of political reasons (before World War I he was friend to G. Manci and C. Battisti). From 1945 to 1958 he was in charge of the Philharmonic Society as its President.

ANTONIO PEDROTTI - Trento, 1901-1975

He was a musician and a world renown orchestra conductor. He was one of Ottorino Respighi's pupils and Bernardino Molinari's vice-conductor in St. Cecilia's Academy Orchestra in Rome . He was headmaster of the Trento Music High School and conductor of the Trento Philharmonic Orchestra since 1932 after Vincenzo Gianferrari. In 1960 he accepted to become conductor of the Bolzano Haydn Orchestra, a role he kept until he died. He also conducted the Milan Angelicum Orchestra, La Scala Orchestra, the Prague Symphonic Orchestra and other world renown ensembles. The International Competition for Orchestra Conductors held by the "Antonio Pedrotti Cultural Association" in Trento has been named after him. During his life he harmonized forty-seven folksongs for the SAT Choir.

ARTURO BENEDETTI MICHELANGELI
Brescia, 1920 – Pura-Lugano, 1995

Excellent pianist, maybe the most famous of the 20th century. His unforgettable interpretations were marked by musical sensitivity and intelligence as well as by an unsurpassed technique. He is remembered for his tireless quest for sound purity. He became friend to the Pedrotti brothers by the end of 1940s while he was studying at Bolzano Conservatory. He fell in love with the SAT Choir interpretations and dedicated to it his amazing nineteen harmonizations, which represent the only compositions of his career.

RENATO DIONISI
Rovigno, 1910 – Rovereto, 2000

He taught General Music Culture, Harmony, Counterpoint and Composition at several conservatories among which the ones in Milan and Bolzano . He was a composer and, since 1940s, such a good friend of the SAT Choir as to harmonize forty-three folksongs for it. His first and last harmonizations (respectively "Ninna Nanna" and "La Vecia Batana") were specifically dedicated to the group he felt so close to.

ANDREA MASCAGNI
S.Miniato, 1917 – Trento, 2004

He graduated in composition at Bolzano Conservatory in 1940, where he worked as a teacher and as its headmaster from 1970 to 1984. He took also charge of the Trento Conservatory and was art director of the Trento and Bolzano Haydn Orchestra for thirty years (up to 1990), which he created and founded in 1960. It was him who called Antonio Pedrotti, already a renowned harmonizer and a good friend to the SAT Choir, to become the first director of the Haydn Orchestra. Besides harmonizing several folksongs coming from different European countries, he composed symphonic, chamber and opera music. He created the regional Festival of Sacred Music as well as the “Antonio Pedrotti” International Competition for orchestra conductors. Member of the Santa Cecilia Academy, he was in charge of the music activities at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa for some years. Besides being senator of the Italian Republic, he was a member of the European Parliament from 1976 to 1987. He was also part of the Higher Council of the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome for a decade, namely from 1960 to 1970. Thanks to his precious work thirty songs from the repertory of the SAT Choir were finely harmonized.