Massimo Palombella

Massimo Palombella SDB (born December 25, 1967 in Turin ) is an Italian religious priest , theologian and church musician and was director of the Sistine Chapel Choir from 2010 to 2019 .

Life

Career

Massimo Palombella studied philosophy and theology at the Pontifical University of the Salesians and graduated with a theological doctorate on a subject of dogmatics . After studying music with Luigi Molfino and Valentino Miserachs Grau , he obtained a diploma from the Turin State Conservatory Giuseppe Verdi . On September 7, 1995, he was in his religious community of the Salesians of Don Bosco for priests ordained .

Until 2011 he taught music and liturgy at the Theological Faculty of the Pontifical University of the Salesians . At the Conservatory of Novara , he was professor of liturgical composition , Roman polyphony and rights of sacred music in the two-year postgraduate course of Musica Sacra . He also taught musical language at the Faculty of Communication Studies at La Sapienza University in Rome and at the Turin Conservatory as well as liturgy at the Pontifical Institute for Church Music .

Musical career

Based on his experience as a music teacher at the Salesian University and as an employee of the Roman student pastoral care ( Pastorale Universitaria ), he founded the Coro Interuniversitario di Roma in 1995 , which he headed until 2011. He saw this vocal ensemble as a 'laboratory' for students from the various universities of Rome who wanted to learn the art of polyphony and singing and acquire direct knowledge of the great classics of the Roman school of polyphony, from Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina to Domenico Bartolucci . In 2004, Palombella received the Pontifical Merit Medal from John Paul II for the services of the inter-university choir to worship and musical culture in Rome .

Between 1995 and 2010, as music director, he was responsible for the musical design of the acts at all encounters between the Pope and university culture. On the occasion of the award of an honorary doctorate from the University of La Sapienza to Pope John Paul II on May 17, 2003, Palombella created the Coro dei Conservatori di Musica italiani , which was composed of the best singers from Italian music academies and conservatories and had its own orchestra . Since 2004 this idea has been promoted by the Italian Ministry of Higher Education, and Palombella has been appointed director of the choir and orchestra. Church music courses are under the auspices of the Pontifical Council for Culture .

Pope Benedict XVI appointed him on October 16, 2010 as director of the Papal Choir of the Sistine Chapel . He took office on November 4, 2010 at the soul mass for the cardinals and bishops who died in 2009 .

On 14 January 2017 he called Pope Francis for a consultor of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments .

Exit

According to press reports, Massimo Palombella offered the Pope his resignation in September 2018. He was suspected of having, together with the trustee Michelangelo Nardella, diverted part of the income of the choir to a private Italian bank account. In addition, following complaints from his parents about his humiliating treatment of the children of the Sistine Choir, disciplinary proceedings were initiated for bullying . At the beginning of 2019, on the instructions of the Pope, the choir was subordinated to the Vatican Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Pope , which was interpreted by observers as a further step towards the disempowerment of Palombella. As choirmaster, he was now subordinate to the Papal Master of Ceremonies Guido Marini , who was appointed in charge of the choir of the Sistine Chapel. On July 10, 2019, the Press Office of the Holy See announced that Pope Francis had accepted the resignation of the previous head of the Papal Choir and that Palombella had terminated his activities in agreement with the Office of Liturgical Celebrations and with his Order. His interim successor was the Brazilian Monsignor Marcos Isola Pavan (* 1962), who previously headed the Pueri Cantores , the choir's youth department. The Salesians of Don Bosco decide on the future use of Palombella.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Nomina di Consultori della Congregazione per il Culto Divino e la Disciplina dei Sacramenti. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, January 14, 2017, accessed January 14, 2017 (Italian). 
2. ↑ Oliver Meiler: Choirmaster of the Vatican: Lawyer wanted. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. September 19, 2018. Retrieved September 22, 2018 . 
3. ^ Matthias Rüb: Conductor resigns. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 22, 2018 . 
4. ^ Vatican choir director Palombella resigns. In: Katholisch.de . July 10, 2019, accessed July 10, 2019 . 

predecessor	Office	successor
Giuseppe Liberto	Head of the Sistine Chapel Choir 2010–2019	Marcos Pavan (acting)