A unique experience

As I return to Malta after attending the world's largest tourism and travel fair in Berlin, I am convinced more than ever before that as the competition for visitors becomes tougher Malta must present itself as a unique experience rather than as one more destination to choose from.

That was what the restructured Malta Tourism Authority is actively working on and I am glad that our Berlin meetings went well and should lead to positive results especially with regard to the German market.

A crucial element of what can provide a unique experience is the professional organisation of events that serve as magnets for more visitors to our country. That was one of the aims behind setting up, as far back as 1989, the Malta International Choir Festival held annually in the second week of November. Choirs from different parts of the world visit our country and through them we manage to attract more visitors in a time of the year where we could do with more growth.

This has been a positive initiative that did yield results over the years. In an industry as dynamic as tourism, it is always good to have a closer look even at success stories to assess if any changes are necessary in order to do it better. Over the past year I have discussed with the MTA how the international choir festival can be revamped to enable it to make a further leap forward.

We gave last year's edition a miss as we set out to recreate this event. The right opportunity came in 2003, when one of the artistic directors of Interkultur Foundation, Christian Ljunggren, was here as our guest at the festival. This foundation is known all over the world for organising festivals of the highest calibre and I felt that associating with such an organisation would help us give our own event a more recognised and prestigious international flavour which is what we want to do if the event is to attract more visitors to our country.

With this aim in mind I set up a committee chaired by Fr John Galea, an authority on the subject, and the committee started discussions with Interkultur. In the meantime, as part of the restructuring that has been carried out at MTA, the organisation of all events has moved directly to the ministry to ensure cost effectiveness, more synergy between tourism and culture, as well as allowing the MTA to focus more directly on its core marketing tasks.

The discussions led to the signing of an agreement of collaboration between my ministry and Interkultur through which, as of this year, our event has been renamed The Malta International Choir Competition and Festival. The first edition will be held between November 9 and 13.

As a press release issued by Interkultur on March 1 in Germany makes clear, hundreds of singers will be coming to Malta this November. At the core of the event will be a competition where the choirs perform in different categories. Some will compete in the sacred music categories, some in the folk music category. The children's choirs will have their category and there will also be sections for adult male choirs, female choirs and mixed choirs.

An international group of renowned jurors will come to Malta. Among the more well known, we will have among us Sir David Willcocks from the United Kingdom, André J. Thomas from the United States, and Gary Graden from Sweden.

Moreover, the jurors will meet the choirs in workshops to be held in Malta on the flanks of the competition and festival. The workshops will offer a brilliant opportunity to impart further knowledge and training in choir singing and international repertoire.

A large-scale festival will surround the competitions. There will be various concerts and manifestations that will be organised throughout the country as opposed to limiting the organisation to one venue. The manifestations include an event in Mdina, where we have ensured that the 'silent city' becomes for one evening the 'singing city' as all the choirs gather there.

Another event will be an ecumenical 'peace Mass'. All events lead to a final celebration where a prize giving ceremony will take place followed by the concert of the prize-winning choirs.

Choirs from the whole world are being invited to team up with choirs in Malta in what promises to be a unique opportunity.

The agreement with Interkultur means that Malta's event becomes part of the Musica Mundi series which is synonymous with first class international choir competitions and festivals and is one of the most successful cultural events worldwide. Interkultur Foundation is seeing to marketing the Malta festival and competition and is receiving applications from the hundreds of choirs that are associated to it to come over to Malta in November.

The Musica Mundi events are not just competitions and international choir festivals but there is growing importance given to the pedagogical offers through conventions, seminars and lectures.

The most significant success of Interkultur so far has been to bring the ancient Olympic idea to the choral world. The Choir Olympics 2000 in Linz, Austria, and more recently in Bremen, Germany, in 2004, will be followed by the World Choir Games in Xiamen, China in 2006. These have grown to be the largest choral events in the world.

Interkultur also arranges all sorts of other choral festivals since the first one held in Budapest in 1988. Performances are organised in concert halls as well as churches. Events organised by Interkultur in 2006 include a competition in Riva del Garda, Italy and a festival in Venice, both taking place next month, a festival in Warsaw in May, the Choir Games in Xiamen, China. in July, a festival in Rimini, Italy, in September, a competition and festival in Zwickau in Germany as well as a festival in Majorca, Spain, both happening in October, and then the Malta event in November. Already the programme for 2007 is being set.

Two specific components in this year's Malta programme worth looking forward to are the opening ceremony which should involve the choirs from different parts of the world walking through Valletta and then convening at a venue to be announced later, as well as the Saturday night event where the different choirs will be accompanying the National Orchestra at a major concert being held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre.

Our National Orchestra has over the past years become synonymous with musical events that make us all proud. The musicians, spurred on by their artistic director and a board brimming with enthusiasm, are only too pleased to rise to one challenge after another and do so with talent, commitment and determination.

I am all for the orchestra becoming known to new audiences and that is why I encourage the orchestra to engage in teaching experiences with students in various schools as well as organising new events including the innovative annual "National Orchestra goes Pop" that was launched two years ago and bringing over elements that help to enhance it and broaden its perspectives.

The people of Malta love music. That explains why our country has so many band clubs that throughout the years have not merely provided merriment during village feasts, but also impart knowledge to their young and capable trainees as well as organise concerts that help people from all walks of life know, understand and appreciate music. Through music, one not only conveys a sense of joy, but also provides for more fulfilment in life.

In Malta's case, music can be considered as another component of our national DNA - our national European and Mediterranean identity that not only enhances our own sense of well being but also makes us that much more of a unique magnet to the visitors whom we wish to attract to our shores. It is part of the cultural diversity that our country stands for and that is now recognised as one of the core values in the branding exercise that we are carrying out to strengthen our tourism industry.

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