Denise Azzopardi interviews principal trombone player for the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, Roderick Bugeja, as he prepares for his solo part in the MPO Soloists Gala Concert, which is now just around the corner.
How has the MPO’s vision of giving its musicians a platform to develop as soloists helped you to grow as a musician and performer over the past season?
I would firstly like to thank MPO’s management team – Sigmund Mifsud and Maestro Brian Schembri – for this opportunity. Forming part of an orchestral setting is a great achievement, albeit a daunting task for a musician, as it involves daily physical and mental preparation – studying the orchestra’s repertoire, understanding the conductor’s vision of a piece, while working as a team with fellow musicians... In being a soloist, one has more freedom in their contribution towards the final production. It is both a test and an opportunity to maximise the skills honed during orchestral preparation.
What is your contribution as soloist to this much-awaited gala concert? Can you describe your experience in preparing for your role in this concert?
My preparation for such an event begins months in advance. As a brass player, it involves self-training such as daily routine exercises for good sound quality, exercises that consolidate technique, breathing exercises, mental training, and studying my part.
I also study the conductor’s score to clearly visualise what the composer had in mind. The composer creates rhythmic materials around which all the work is created. I aim to create sounds that together form a harmony of ideas, which becomes a continuous dialogue with the orchestra.
The audience is in for a great experience as it can witness the culmination of all the efforts put in by all members of the orchestra throughout the year in the final concert of the season
What are your personal feelings about Gregson’s Trombone Concerto?
When asked to propose a piece, I was naturally inclined to choose a Trombone Concerto by contemporary composer Edward Gregson, whose music has been performed, broadcast and commercially recorded worldwide. The writing for trombone is of course virtuosic, encompassing the whole range of the instrument, while exploiting the rather beautiful lyrical sound that this instrument is capable of producing, which also compliments the great acoustics of the Mediterranean Conference Centre Republic Hall as well as its ambience.
What can the audience expect from such a grand-scale concert as this?
The audience is in for a great experience as it can witness the culmination of all the efforts put in by all members of the orchestra throughout the year in the final concert of the season. This concert promises to be an exciting one as it involves music that is ear-catching and popular with the audience at large.
Audience members will surely be entertained by the orchestra’s rendition of Gioacchino Rossini’s La Gazza Ladra Overture, and Maurice Ravel’s Bolero as finale. The three other interesting pieces that make up the programme are Gregson’s Trombone Concerto, Gian Carlo Menotti’s Triplo Concerto à Tre, and Nino Rota’s Divertimento Concertante for Double Bass.
What’s also very important to mention is that this is the very first time that Malta will be seeing 11 soloists performing in one concert. These soloists will feature in the last three pieces of music that I mentioned, which, to my knowledge, have never been performed in Malta so far. Isn’t that grand?!
The MPO Soloists Gala Concert, comprising a one-hour-and-thirty-minute programme (excluding interval), will take place at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta on Saturday at 7.30 pm. Tickets at €10, €20, €30. For tickets e-mail bookings@mcc.com.mt or phone 2559 5750. For further information, visit www.maltaorchestra.com.