Ugo Viola
Ugo Viola is a musician, founder and artistic director of the Moncalieri Jazz Festival, a music event held every year in Moncalieri, in the Metropolitan City of Turin. Viola has directed the event since its founding [2].
The Moncalieri Jazz Festival
In 2026 Ugo Viola presents the festival's 29th edition, running from 24 October to 8 November, titled «I giovani tornano a corte» ("The young return to court") [1][3]. The edition opens with the Notte Nera del Jazz ("Black Night of Jazz"), eight hours of non-stop music in Moncalieri's historic centre, with a hundred musicians from across Italy brought together in nineteen original concerts spread across the city's squares, streets and venues [1][3]. The programme continues until 8 November, with the festival's centrepiece hosted at the Fonderie Teatrali Limone from 5 to 8 November [1][2].
Projects and statements
At the presentation of the 2026 edition, Moncalieri's mayor Lorenzo Mauro named Ugo Viola one of the city's "ambassadors", tasked with carrying its name "around Italy and the world" [2]. Viola announced that the festival's concert at the RAI Auditorium, absent in 2026 for a sabbatical year, will return in 2027 [2]. Looking ahead to the festival's thirtieth anniversary, due in 2027, Viola welcomed the proposal from councillor for culture Antonella Parigi to give a central role to Moncalieri's Teatro Matteotti, recalling its "perfect acoustics", and announced his intention to host in Moncalieri, for the thirtieth-anniversary edition, an annual meeting of Italy's leading jazz festivals [2].
Social and cultural activity
The 2026 edition of the festival directed by Viola included initiatives linked to social inclusion, such as the "Jazz in compresse" ("Jazz in tablets") project, run in collaboration with the city's pharmacies, together with renewed engagement with local schools [2].
Timeline
- — The Moncalieri Jazz Festival, directed by its founder Ugo Viola, presents its 29th edition from 24 October to 8 November, opened by the Notte Nera with eight hours of non-stop music in the historic centre. → ANSA Piemonte TorinoOggi
Related articles: 29th edition of the Moncalieri Jazz Festival (October-November 2026)
Sources
- La Notte Nera apre il 29/o Moncalieri Jazz Festival — ANSA Piemonte, 20 October 2026
- Gegè Telesforo accende il Moncalieri Jazz Festival: la XXIX edizione ricorderà Miles Davis e John Coltrane — TorinoOggi, 20 October 2026
- Moncalieri Jazz Festival,”I giovani tornano a corte” — Il Torinese, 21 October 2026