Riccardo Formosa (born 1 September 1954) is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

-born Australian musician and composer. He was the lead guitarist of the pop band

Little River Band Little River Band (LRB) are a rock band originally formed in Melbourne, Australia, in March 1975. The band achieved commercial success in both Australia and the United States. They have sold more than 30 million records; six studio albums rea ...

from 1975 to 1976 and recorded their first two albums, ''

'' and '' After Hours''.

Early life

Formosa was born in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy, but grew up in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. He migrated to Australia in 1974 and worked as a music arranger and studio musician. He joined the Little River Band shortly after arriving in Australia.

Little River Band

The original Little River Band (LRB) lead guitarist,

Graham Davidge Graham Davidge is an Australian musician. He has played with Little River Band (1975), Tidewater (1976), Goanna (1982–83) and numerous other Australian bands. Davidge was chosen as the original lead guitarist for Little River Band. He played ...

, played only on LRB's first recording session, a cover of

The Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...

' song '' When Will I Be Loved''. Formosa replaced Davidge shortly after. Formosa played on the first two LRB albums, ''

'' and '' After Hours'', including the long guitar solo on '' It's a Long Way There'' on the former. For the latter, he wrote the song "Bourbon Street" and co-wrote "Another Runaway" with fellow member

Beeb Birtles Beeb Birtles (born Gerard Bertelkamp, 28 November 1948) is an Australian musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist. He has been a member of various Australian groups including Zoot (1967–71), Mississippi (1972–74), Little River Band (1975 ...

. Formosa toured Australia with LRB, playing 311 shows in 1975–1976. He was replaced by David Briggs in August 1976. On 19 August 1980, Formosa joined an ensemble of pop artists in a memorial concert for Andrew Durant, the former Stars' guitarist-songwriter who had died earlier that year. Formosa played

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

, guitar and piano. A live double- LP, ''The Andrew Durant Memorial Concert'', was released on

Mushroom Records Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival Mu ...

in 1980.

Composer

Formosa was awarded an

Australia Council The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...

fellowship in 1983 and studied with

Franco Donatoni Franco Donatoni (9 June 1927 – 17 August 2000) was an Italian composer. Biography Born in Verona, Donatoni started studying violin at the age of seven, and frequented the local music academy. Later, he studied at the Milan Conservatory ...

at the

Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia ( en, National Academy of St Cecilia) is one of the oldest musical institutions in the world, founded by the papal bull ''Ratione congruit'', issued by Sixtus V in 1585, which invoked two saints prom ...

in Rome and at the

Accademia Musicale Chigiana The Accademia Musicale Chigiana (''English'': Chigiana Musical Academy) is a music institute in Siena, Italy. It was founded by Count Guido Chigi-Saracini in 1932 as an international centre for advanced musical studies. It organises Master Classe ...

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

. He also attended masterclasses in conducting with

Franco Ferrara Franco Ferrara (Palermo, 4 July 1911Florence, 7 September 1985) was an Italian conductor and teacher. Among his many students are various prominent conductors, including Roberto Abbado, Riccardo Chailly, Andrew Davis and Riccardo Muti. Life and ...

. On returning to Australia, Formosa worked for

Victorian College of the Arts The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) is the arts school at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It is part of the university's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. It is located near the Melbourne city centre on the Southbank campus of the ...

, the Victorian Arts Studio and

Musica Viva Musica Viva was founded in 1945 by Romanian-born violinist Richard Goldner, with the aim of bringing chamber music to Australia. The co-founder was a German-born musicologist, Walter Dullo. At its inception, Musica Viva was a string ensemble per ...

. Formosa works as an arranger, conductor and studio musician for recordings, radio and television. He also has an extensive catalogue of compositions.

Awards

Formosa has won awards and commendations during his career, including:

Family

Formosa's daughter Antonella is a successful singer who performs and records as

A-Love A-Love is a female Australian-based MC from Melbourne. Her debut album, ''Ace of Hearts'' was nominated 'Best Urban Release' in the ARIA Music Awards of 2008. Biography A-Love was born Antonella Formosa in Rome, Italy on 21 March 1983. Formosa ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Formosa, Ric 1954 births Living people APRA Award winners Australian film score composers Male film score composers Little River Band members Musicians from Rome Australian music arrangers Italian emigrants to Australia Australian record producers Australian rock guitarists Italian emigrants to Canada Lead guitarists Australian conductors (music) 21st-century conductors (music) Australian male guitarists