Malta Philharmonic Orchestra

The orchestra was founded on April 1, 1968 and was originally known as the Manoel Theatre Orchestra. It was comprised of a number of musicians who had previously formed part of a chamber orchestra in the employment of the Commander-in-Chief of the British Navy (Malta), better known as the C-in-C Orchestra that had been disbanded one day earlier. It was the orchestra in residence at the homonymous theatre and regularly performed operas and symphonic concerts under the direction of its resident conductors Joseph Sammut (1968-1992) and Michael Laus (1992-1997).

In September 1997 the orchestra became an independent body and was officially named The National Orchestra of Malta. Its first resident conductor was Joseph Vella. Ten years later, in December 2007, the orchestra augmented its compliment and performed for the first time as The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra on January 12, 2008 on the occasion of Malta's entry into the Eurozone.

The orchestra's extensive calendar of events consists mainly of symphonic concerts at the Manoel Theatre, the Mediterranean Conference Centre and other venues, apart from opera productions in Malta and Gozo as well as abroad. The orchestra also ventures into the light popular repertoire with dedicated concerts scheduled during the spring/summer months. It is also heavily involved in education programmes for children, involving them in workshops and creative talks on topics that cover the whole spectrum of music-making.

Since January 2005, co-operation programmes with foreign orchestras were initiated. These have led to various learning and cultural exchanges with orchestras such as the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra Sinfonica di Pesaro, Orchestra e Coro di Milano La Verdi, Orchestra e Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana, and others.

The orchestra toured for the first time, in its previous chamber formation, during the season 2001-02. In Belgium the orchestra performed at the City Hall in Brussels under the direction of Michael Laus, who still occupies the post of resident conductor to date, while in Sicily it took part in a five-performance production of Mozart's Così fan tutte in Palermo. In June 2003, the National Orchestra participated in the production of Leonard Bernstein's Candide at Rome's Teatro Argentina, followed by a concert in the evocative ruins of Villa Adriana in Tivoli. Further concert tours followed, namely, a joint venture with the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra in Brno in 2006, in Pesaro in 2007, and in Lugano and Zaragoza in 2008.

The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra has performed with distinguished conductors and musicians in both concerts and operas. It is also a predominant exponent of Maltese composers and one of its ambitions is to promote Maltese compositions beyond our shores and make them known to important international music centres as well as to a wider public around the world.

Malta Philharmonic Orchestra Website