This year’s International Music Festival, organised by Din l-Art Ħelwa at the medieval church of Bir Miftuħ, will feature four high-calibre concerts performed by international and local musicians. Two concerts will be held in April and two in May.
The first concert is A Clarinet and Piano Performance by the duo Kermani-Gentili on April 10. Kymia Kermani (clarinet) and Alba Gentili (piano) will play works by Brahms, Clara Schumann, Schultz, de Sarasate and Lai. This performance is supported by the German-Maltese Circle and the Goethe Institute.
A Vocal and Piano Performance will follow on April 24. Supported by the Embassy of France, the performance will be presented by soprano Gillian Zammit, with mezzo soprano Raisa Marie Micallef, tenor Dillon Camilleri and baritone Joseph Cutajar. They will be accompanied by pianist Maria Elena Farrugia as they perform works by Gounod, Charpentier, Fauré, Thomas, Lalo, Saint-Saëns, Gluck, Duparc and Viardot.
The vocalists all form part of the Opera Nova Project founded by Zammit and Denise Mulholland with the aim of providing a holistic high level of musical education to talented young voice students and to create a local and international platform for them.
The festival will then continue on May 23 with A String and Clarinet Performance by Cuarteto IberMalta, featuring Ester García Salas (viola), Inmaculada Muñoz Salgüero (violin), Isabel Anaya Herrera (violoncello) and Javier Zamora Morano (clarinet). The ensemble will play works by Arriaga, Turina, De Pablos and Albéniz. This concert is supported by the Embassy of Spain.
The final concert is An Evening of Song and Strings on May 30. Soprano Miriam Cauchi will perform accompanied by Simon Abdilla Joslin (violoncello) and Maria Elena Farrugia (piano).
The programme includes works by Gounod, Massenet, Franck, Lucantoni, Brahms, Foerster, Previn and Vella Gregory, as well as a premier of a short composition Melita Rose by Mark Pullicino.
All recitals start at 7.30pm. Tickets for each event are against a donation of €25 per person and include refreshments after the performance in the church grounds. Block bookings are against a donation of €95 for four concerts, €70 for three concerts and €46 for two concerts.
The medieval church of Santa Marija ta’ Bir Miftuħ is located outside the Malta International Airport, near the roundabout to Gudja.
For more information, call Din l-Art Ħelwa on 2122 0358 or e-mail info@dinlartħelwa.org.