Marco Frisina
Marco Frisina (born 16 December 1954, in Rome) is an Italian Roman Catholic priest and composer. He is director of the Pastoral Worship Center at the Vatican. Biography. After the "Liceo classico", Frisina graduated in Letters at the Sapienza University of Rome and subsequently in composition at the Conservatorio Santa Cecilia. After having joined the Pontifical Major Seminary of Rome in 1978, Frisina studied theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University and got the license in Holy Scripture at the Pontifical Biblical Institute of Rome. In 1982 he received the presbiteral ordination and was assigned to the Diocese of  Rome. Member of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization, he was promoted as the chairman of the Diocesan Commission of Holy Arts for the Diocese of Rome and since 2009 rector of the church of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere. He is professor at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross and at the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music. In 1984 he founded the choir of the Diocese of Rome that he directed continuously for over four decades. Formed by 250 elements, the choir got involded in various international events and Holy Masses celebrated by the Pope. Since 1985  he has been the director of the Lateran Pontifical Pious Chapel in the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, a choir which is composed by 32 chantors and 2 organists. In 1991 Frisina started a collaboration with TV series titled "Le storie della Bibbia" produced by Lux Vide, in quality of Biblical consultant and musical composer. For what concerns the musical acitivbity, he involved the Italian composer Ennio Morricone. In 1993 he was appointed as the personal chaplain of the Pope. Four years later, John Paul II made him a virtuous ordinary academic of the Pontifical Academy of Fine Arts and  Letters of the Virtuosi al Pantheon, of which Frisina also became the spiritual assistant. In 2007 he composed the "La Divina Commedia Opera Musical" (second title "L'uomo che cerca l'Amore"), the first musical trasponsition of the omonymous work of Dante Alighieri. It was a two acts drama with libretto of Gianmario Pagano and produced by the Musical International Company. In 2011 he composed the official hymn for the beatification of John Paul II and was the liturgical focal point of the related celebrations. In September 2014 he organized in Rome the first national congress of the Italian religious choirs, which  in October 2016 was followed by the Jubilee of Choirs. Since 2015, he has been Artistic Director of the Concert with the Poor and for the Poor held in Paul VI Hall. He was in charge of the music and direction of the show "Dante in Musica", directed by Andrea Ortis, winner in 2020 of the Persephone Award as best Italian musical of the year.