Leading composer honoured

A ceremony was recently held at the Aula Mgr G. Farrugia in St George's Basilica in Victoria to honour composer Joseph Vella, who was recently awarded an international Premio alla Carriera by the Trapani region of Sicily in collaboration with the Mazzara del Vallo muncipality.

Present for the occasion were friends and colleagues, and representatives of three major religious and cultural entities with whom Mro Vella has had a long and close working relationship. Rev Dr Mgr Joseph Farrugia, archpriest of the basilica, congratulated Professor Vella on yet another milestone in his long and very successful career.

He said the basilica was proud to have had Mro Vella for over 30 years as its maestro di cappella. He has enriched the basilica's musical tradition not only through the excellent musical services and concerts with which the basilica has now become synonymous, but also with his many compositions.

Dolindo Cassar, secretary of La Stella Band Club, also congratulated Mro Vella. He said that this year was the 37th anniversary since Mro Vella took over the band. He recalled the great artistic strides the club has made over the years, recalling concerts played in Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Piazza Navona in Rome, in Venice, Prague, Vienna, Toronto, and other important venues.

He also highlighted Mro Vella's pivotal role in the widely acclaimed opera productions at Astra Theatre. Mr Cassar then referred to Mro Vella's compositional output found in the archives of the band, which include six symphonic pieces for wind band, 30 funeral marches specifically written for the Good Friday procession, 26 festive marches, and other pieces.

Fr George Frendo, director of the Laudate Pueri Choir, spoke of the close collaboration with Mro Vella, and how over the years, they performed memorable concerts such as the ones at the Lincoln Centre, St Patrick's Cathedral, the UN headquarters in New York, St Martin's in the Fields, Westminster Cathedral in London, and St Catherine's College in Cambridge.

Apart from international concerts, Fr Frendo also mentioned performances held in Malta, including Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Orff's Carmina Burana, and Lloyd Webber's Requiem. Through Mro Vella, the choir also features prominently in the ongoing series of recordings of Maltese music.