International Women’s Day (or International Women’s Rights Day) is an international event which is celebrated on 8 March every year and underlines the importance of the fight for women’s rights, in particular for their emancipation, remembering the social, economic and political achievements and bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, discrimination and violence against women.

The Italian Cultural Institute of Sydney celebrates the event with the presentation of a classical music concert performed by the MC/BC Duo composed by the very young and talented violinist Beatrice Colombis accompanied by her proud father, pianist Mauro Colombis.

The highlight of the evening will be a piece by Italian composer Giulia Recli (1884 – 1970), the first Italian woman whose orchestral performances were given access to the world major musical Institutions, such as: the Teatro alla Scala and the Augusteo in Italy, the Metropolitan Opera in America, and the Royal Albert Hall in London. Besides Recli’s piece, from “Tre Tempi” for violin and piano (1925), the program will include music by Niccolò Paganini, Ottorino Respighi, John Corigliano, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Carlo Corazza.

Beatrice Colombis, 20, is an Italian-Australian violinist currently studying at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music under Professor Goetz Richter. She began her studies at the age of 3 with renowned teacher of the Suzuki Method, Yasuki Nakamura, and continued her studies with ACO violinist Ilya Isakovich. After winning the Sydney Conservatorium String Concerto Competition, Beatrice performed Tchaikovsky Concerto with the Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Ola Rudner in 2023. She was the recipient of the 1st and audience prizes at the Kendall National Violin Competition in 2023, the Richard Mills first prize in the 2021 Melbourne Bach Competition and was a finalist in the 2022 Great Romantics Competition. In 2020, Beatrice, with her brother and cousins as the Cousin Quartet, won Musica Viva’s inaugural Strike A Chord national chamber music competition. Beatrice was selected as an Emerging Artist with the Australian Chamber Orchestra in 2023 and 2024. She has played casually with the ACO, Sydney Symphony Orchestra and has led various programs with the Western Sydney Philarmonic, the Sydney Conservatorium Orchestra and Ensemble Apex.

Mauro Colombis is a versatile musician who grew up in Pordenone and lives in Sydney. Once he obtained his diploma in piano with top marks and honors, he perfected his studies at the Moscow Conservatory P.I. Tchaikovsky in Russia and at the DAMS of the University of Bologna. After an initial concert activity focused on the classical piano repertoire, Mauro Colombis dedicated himself mainly to the accompaniment of silent films and was a guest at various film festivals in the most important Australian cities, in Thailand and in China, as well as being a member for years of the team of musicians who accompany the screenings at the Pordenone Silent Film Days. Mauro Colombis has taken part in numerous artistic projects, collaborating with the Italian-Australian singer Nadia Piave, with the theater company Fools in Progress (commedia dell’arte) and with the musical group Mocambo Jam, (repertoire of Italian singer-songwriters). In 2022 he took part in the event Traveling with Dante, organized by the Italian Cultural Institute of Sydney, composing pieces for violin and piano and for string quartet, inspired respectively by the Inferno and the Paradiso of the Divine Comedy. In 2023 he performed in a piano recital with the project The Infinite Loop – A musical journey into the soul, time and space.