Pietro Adragna

Pietro Adragna (Erice, 21 August 1988) is a Sicilian accordionist and internationally acclaimed concert performer. He was crowned World Accordion Champion in 2009 and 2011.

He was born on 21 August 1988 in the Sicilian town of Erice, where he began studying the accordion at the age of six with Maestro Salvatore Graziano. In the following years he further developed his studies with Maestro Roberto Fuccelli and refined his skills in France with Frédéric Deschamps, also dedicating himself to piano, composition, and orchestral conducting.

He attended the Conservatorio Luigi Cherubini in Florence, where he earned a diploma in accordion under Maestro Ivano Battiston and in piano with Maestro Yang Su Cin. He further studied orchestral conducting with Maestro Alessandro Pinzauti, his key mentor, later graduating from the Conservatorio Vincenzo Bellini in Palermo under Maestro Carmelo Caruso.

His artistic work is distinguished by transcriptions for accordion of opera arias originally written for large orchestra.
At the beginning of his career, Adragna took part in the most prestigious accordion competitions, winning the International Competition in Klingenthal (Germany) and the Primus Ikaalinen Accordion Competition in Finland.

In 2009, he was crowned World Accordion Champion for the first time at the CMA World Trophy in Albufeira, Portugal, and repeated this extraordinary success at the 2011 CIA World Cup in China, where he won in both the “Virtuoso Entertainment Music” and “Digital Accordion” categories. That same year, he also won the 5th International Digital Accordion Festival in Rome.

Over the years, he has performed across almost the entire world: Europe, the United States, and Asia. He has appeared on prestigious stages such as the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, the Greek Theatre of Taormina, and the Teatro del Mediterraneo in Naples, and has also collaborated with RAI.

Since 2016, he has been Artistic Director of the World Accordion Festival, a global accordion festival he founded and created in Sicily, and principal conductor of the Youth Symphony Orchestra “Vito Fazio Allmayer” in Alcamo.
Pietro Adragna plays Settimio Soprani (Artist VI) accordions by Maxim’s Group – Castelfidardo (AN), Italy.