On August 2, the King’s Own Band of Valletta gave a concert on the eve of the feast of St Dominic Guzman, the band’s patron saint. The concert is usually held in Merchants Street, Valletta, close to the Basilica of Porto Salvo, however since this year the band is celebrating the 140th anniversary, this time it was held at St George’s Square.

The performance was very well attended by members and supporters of the band, as well as distinguished guests, including the mayor of Valletta, Prof. Alexei Dingli and Valletta councillors, and was enjoyed by members of the public, including many tourists.

The band first marched from the basilica to the Square, playing festive marches along the way.

The concert on St George’s Square was conducted by John Galea, and also featured baritone Noel Galea.

The concert opened with a hymn to St Dominic, composed by Fr Salv. Galea and was followed by Twilight Rhapsody by Sunny Galea. Other pieces played were Peasants’ Polka by Johann Strauss Jr., The Rock by Smith, Zimmer and Williams, and Thunder Crest by Eric Osterling. The overture to Bellini’s Norma concluded the first part of the concert.

Noel Galea later sang Old Man River by Oscar Hammerstein and If I were a rich man from the musical Fiddler on the Roof. This band then played Dynamic Pop by Daniele Carnevali and ended the concert with excerpts from Verdi’s Il Trovatore and Bizet’s Carmen.

Vincent Galea, the band club’s senior vice president, on behalf of Joseph Borg, then presented Mro Galea with a score by Aurelio Doncich, one of the band’s most distinguished conductors, under whom the band had won the title of Eccellenza when it performed at an international band festival in Algiers in 1912.

The band concluded the concert by playing the Innu tal-Eccellenza and Omaggio alla King’s Own, as fireworks were let off in the background.