Lidia Genta

Italian singer/musician – started singing at a very young age. Born into a Christian family of musician, Lidia witnessed her parent’s love of music and the passion of her siblings (Luca, Marco, Simona) for studying music, playing instruments (cello, piano, guitar), composing, and singing.
She began to play flute at age 11 and to sing as backing vocal at 14. Through the years she acquired a love for choir music and developed a keen ear for vocal harmonization as she listened carefully to the vocals in all the music she was exposed to.
In 1992 she toured with British Continental Singers in Great Britain and Scandinavia and the following year she created a choir in her hometown church, The Free Voices. The choir was instrumental in sharing Jesus in the local area.
In 1995 Lidia began to collaborate intensively with the vocal quintet Gospel Sound, performing at many events such as the first GOSPEL JUBILEE FESTIVAL of Turin (international festival that has hosted the Sweden By Grace Gospel and Bungaro).
In 1996 she began teaching vocal technique and music theory at various musical organizations of the Piedmont area (her region in Northern Italy): Astinsieme (AT), Sonoria (Cossato, BI), Circolo Filarmonico Astigiano (AT), AltriSuoni (AT), Musicainsieme (Fossano, CN), Futuro Musica (Villafranca, AT).
In 1998 she graduateed from the "G. Verdi" Conservatory in Turin with a specialization in flute, Soon after she met Stefano Rigamonti, a pianist and composer with deep musical sensitivity, with whom she shares her dream of spreading God’s love to the people through music.
In 1999 she was Director of Italian Continental Singers
In 2003, Lidia’s gospel choir Free Voices released the CD “Guarda in Alto” (Look Up). She and Rigamonti, her husband and arranger, were the artistic producers of the album.
Over the years, she sang in various famous Italian theaters such as: the Smeraldo, the Rolling Stone in Milano, the Palazzetto dello Sport in Acireale, the Fenice in Senigallia, the Palapartenope in Naples, the Giacosa in Aosta, the Piccolo Regio in Torino, and the Ariston in Sanremo, to name a few.
In 2007 Lidia became a spokesperson for Compassion Italy Onlus, a Christian organization involved in child sponsorship in 25 different countries of the developing World.
She sang in more then 50 significant studio recording as a background vocalist or soloist, for various Cristian inspired discographic productions: Gospel Sound, Albino Montisci, Continental Singers, Free Voices, Scott Alan Hansen, Sefora Tripodi, Giorgio Ammirabile, Sara Serio, Urs Bader and others.
Since 2009 Lidia has been actively involved teaching, in collaboration with the Futuro Musica association, found by Dr. Aldo Sardo. As her passion grew more and more for her “first instrument”, Lidia gave herself fully to mastering a deeper, more creative and more authentic understanding and use of the voice. She applies these same principles even today in her teaching of children, teenagers and adults. She teaches individual lessons in modern singing and leads music labs in vocalization, musicality and creative writing for primary and secondary schools along with Dr. Giuliano Porcellana, with whom she collaborated on the direction of three musicals for children: Fiabe sul mondo (Fairy tales over the world), L'Albero della Parola (The tree of the Word) and L' Isola Ritrovata (The rediscovered Island).
Since 2010 she has been leading a choir of voice students of the music school “Futuro Musica” and collaborating with Dr. Sardo and Dr. Beppe Rosso (director of the School of Rock in Asti) present many concerts during the year for the projects Rock Lab and Musica d’Insieme.
Her husband Stefano Rigamonti has been writing many, many songs, lyrics and music for a long time. Finally in 2010 Lidia released her first solo album – Così lontano, così vicino (So far, so near) written entirely by Stefano Rigamonti (words and music). The album was produced by Matthias Heimlicher from Switzerland under the record label Revive Records of Italy.
In 2013 Stefano Rigamonti wrote and produced by himself the concept album YESHUA, the story of the nativity of Christ Jesus in music - Lidia is the lead solo voice on the album.
In May 2015 Lidia released her third album Inverti il senso (Reverse the course), 12 original songs also written and composed by Stefano Rigamonti, that call us to stop and take notice of what is around us, to choose a direction, to contemplate the manifestation of God in nature, to taste fully the greatness of small things; to recognize our fragility and our need to be understood and loved. A song to life that calls us to lift up our eyes and choose to meet Him who created it. The album was produced under the record label The Rooms Records.
In Spring 2015 Stefano & Lidia released the album 5x5 inediti vol. 2 containing six original praise & worship songs written by Stefano. This too was released under the record label Revive Records.
In September 2015 Lidia has been involved in a special project with the United Bible Society: she has translated in italian the song YOUR WORD, written and produced by the Grammy texan christian artist BILLY DORSEY; she went to Houston for a week, together with other 12 christian artists from all over the world to shoot the video of the performing song, which will be released in November 2015 for the INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE BIBLE.