Voices to perform for charity in October

Voices choir has raised Lm250,000 in the seven sets of concerts given over the past 12 years.

The money has been donated to a variety of local and international charities, including Unicef, Amnesty International, Red Cross International, UNHCR (Malta), the Hospice Movement, Eden Foundation, Jesuit Refugee Service, Cash for Cancer, YMCA, Fondazzjoni Suret il-Bniedem, Razzett tal-Hbiberija and others.

This year's biennial live performances by the Voices choir and band are being held over 10 nights at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, in Valletta in October.

Auditions have already been held and over 250 performers have been chosen, making it the largest choir to date, choir director Martina Caruana said.

"Rehearsals have been underway for the past eight weeks and the choir members and musicians are working hard to produce the best musical product possible," she said.

During yesterday's launch at the Radisson SAS Bay Point Resort, Voices committee spokesman Adrian Mamo said that since the first performance in 1991, which was organised to raise money for St Aloysius College, Voices has grown to what can now be described as a much awaited event, on an unsurpassed scale locally.

The scope of the concerts is to raise positive awareness on social issues and to collect money. Each set of concerts has been given a particular title, including Voices Forever Young and Voices Homeless.

"This year the concerts are being called Voices Extraordinaire... Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things, emphasising the fact that together we can achieve a lot for the benefit of society. This has always been the spirit behind Voices and the aim is to create awareness about those who, through teamwork, provide support to members of our society," Mr Mamo said.

Family and Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina, who presided over the launch and is a self-confessed fan, said Voices was yet another example of what Maltese solidarity was all about, voluntary work being a pillar of Maltese society.

Vodafone Malta is the major contributor of the Voices concert for the third time running.

While delivering high-quality entertainment, the concerts are driven by a noble cause, Vodafone Malta Foundation chairman Gemma Mifsud Bonnici said. These events manage to create awareness about important social issues affecting Maltese society and also raise money to assist local charities dealing with these issues, Mrs Mifsud Bonnici said.

Silver sponsors include Island Hotels Group, Kinnie and Roland Keyboards, as well as Salvo Grima Group, Nestlé Products (Malta) Ltd, Kind's Auto Sales Ltd, P. Cutajar & Co and Frank Salt Real Estate.

Mr Mamo appealed to potential sponsors to contact Voices on tel. 2149 9250, or via e-mail on committee2004@voices.org.mt for further details.

The 2004 event is being held between October 6-10 and October 13-17.