This coming Friday, to mark the seventieth birthday of Professor Joseph Vella, the maestro di cappella of St George’s Basilica, the Laudate Pueri Choir together with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra will perform two of his most famous works.

The concert is to be held at St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta, starting at 7.30pm, with guest of honour, the newly-elected Auxiliary Bishop of Malta, Mgr Charles J. Scicluna, whose episcopal consecration will take place the day after in the same cathedral church.

This year, Professor Vella is celebrating his seventieth birthday with several concerts of his works, both in Malta and abroad. The latter include two in Paris, two in Salzburg, Austria and three concerts in Italy: Pistoia, Collodi and Milan.

His concert for cornet and brass band, performed by French musicians in Creteil, near Paris, was recorded live. Recently he was also commissioned by the Fondazione Nazionale Collodi with the new musical work Pinocchio in Musica, which was premiered in Italy.

Last but not least, Professor Vella, who lectures Music at the University of Malta, was invited to give a public lecture at the University of Salzburg about his compositions and professional activities. To mark this anniversary, Professor Vella has also launched a personal website, www.josephvella.com.mt, which includes a very interesting catalogue of his works.

The concert on 23 November will be the grand finale for all these activities. Soprano Maria Frendo, tenor Cliff Zammit Stevens, the Laudate Pueri Choir of St George’s Basilica, and the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra will perform together under the direction of Professor Vella himself.

The programme consists of two major choral works, namely, Vella’s Domine Jesu Christe and the Symphony No. 3 “Apocalypse Verses,” which both had already been performed at St George’s Basilica in the Grand Final Concert of the Victoria International Arts Festival in July 2007.

Being the eve of Mgr Charles Scicluna’s ordination as Auxiliary Bishop for Malta, Mro Vella has invited him to be honorary patron of the event, which will see over fifty guests coming in from Rome and England, including two cardinals; together with the patronage of the local ecclesiastical and civil authorities. The national TV station, PBS, is filming the concert.

St George’s Parish said that it “joins the local community in wishing Bishop-Elect Mgr Charles Scicluna Ad multos annos… and – even though he was born in January – a Happy Birthday to Professor Vella!”

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