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 Classes in the major musical instruments as well as singing, conducting and composition. During the summer months a series of concerts are held under the title of Estate Musicale Chigiana.

In 1983 the Accademia Musicale Chigiana, Fulvia Casella Nicolodi and Guido Turchi created an International Composition Competition named after Alfredo Casella, for the one hundredth anniversary of his birth. The International Accademia Musicale Chigiana Prize has been assigned, and among the winners’ names are some of the most famous ones in international concert circles: the violinists Gidon Kremer (1982), Shlomo Mintz (1984), Anne-Sophie Mutter (1986), Viktoria Mullova (1988), Frank Peter Zimmermann (1990), Gil Shaham (1992), Maxim Vengerov (1995), Julian Rachlin (2000), Hilary Hahn (2002) and Sarah Chang (2005), the pianists Peter Serkin (1983), Krystian Zimerman (1985), Andras Schiff (1987), Andrei Gavrilov (1989), Evgeny Kissin (1991), Andrea Lucchesini (1994), Lilya Zilberstein (1998), Leif Ove Andsnes (2001) and Arcadi Volodos (2003), as well as the orchestral conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen (1993), the Hagen Quartet (1996) and the Artemis Quartet (2004), the violist Tabea Zimmermann (1997) and the violoncellist Matt Haimovitz (1999). These names join the history of the Accademia Chigiana, already studded with illustrious presences. In (2006) the Prize has been assigned to the pianist Paul Lewis. The 2010 Prize goes to Polish pianist Rafal Blechacz.

The Gallerie dell'Accademia is a museum gallery of pre-19th century art in Venice, northern Italy. Situated on the south bank of the Grand Canal, within the sestiere of Dorsoduro, it gives its name to one of the three bridges across the canal, the Ponte dell' Accademia, and to the boat landing station for the vaporetto water bus. It was originally created as an art school.

The Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia was founded in 1750 by the Venetian Senate as Venice’s school of painting, sculpture, and architecture. Installed as its first president was Giambattista Piazzetta, with other advisors Giambattista Pittoni and Gianmaria Morlaiter. The aim was to replicate official institutions which had existed for many years in other major artistic centers including Rome (Accademia di San Luca), Florence (Accademia del Disegno), Milan, and Bologna (Accademia Clementina). It was one of the first institutions to study art restoration starting in 1777 with Pietro Edwards, and formalized by 1819 as a course. Among teachers at the Academy in past and modern times were Tiepolo, Hayez, Nono, Ettore Tito, Arturo Martini, Alberto Viani, Carlo Scarpa, Afro, Santomaso, and Emilio Vedova.

Oscar Ghiglia (born 13 August 1938) is an Italian classical guitarist.

Born of an artistic family - his father and grandfather were both famed painters, his mother an accomplished pianist – Oscar Ghiglia had to choose between a path strewn with brushes and colours and a world cut into harmony and melody.

Though his early choice produced a few hundred water colours and a number of oil paintings, he soon realized music was his way. For this decision he thanks his father, who one day made him pose for a painting showing a guitarist. For this he had to hold his father’s guitar, a companion to his artistic musings in front of his forming works. This painting was the start to a lifetime of disciplined dedication to music.

Oscar Ghiglia graduated from the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome and soon began study with Andres Segovia, who was his major influence and inspiration during his formative years. Later Oscar Ghiglia “inherited” Segovia’s class in Siena’s Accademia Chigiana and spread his own teaching around the five continents in a sister vocation to his concertizing.

Alessandro Carbonare is an Italian clarinetist.

Carbonare started on E♭ clarinet at age 5. At age 21 he became co-principal of the Lyon Opera Orchestra, and later joined the Orchestre National de France. has been the principal clarinetist with the Orchestra di Santa Cecilia in Rome since 2003. He has played principal with the Berlin Philharmonic. He also plays with Quintetto Bibiena.

Carbonare plays a Selmer Recital clarinet and a Vandoren B40 mouthpiece (which he adjusted by hand).