The Royal Northern College of Music Big Band, directed by Mike Hall, entertained the crowds at the Malta International Arts Festival over the weekend.
As it took centre stage at the newly-restored Fort St Elmo in Valletta, the band played Darryl Brenzel’s arrangement of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. The concert also included other Big Band numbers, such as Heated Think Tank by Colin Towns, Gordon Goodwin’s Hunting Wabbits, samba with a Claudio Roditi long-time favourite The Monster and The Flower, an experimental Country Roads by Maria Schneider called The Pretty Road and Bob Mintzer’s Elvin’s Mambo.
The RNCM Big Band has been in existence for some 30 years. It is open to all students at the college and provides opportunities to those who wish to develop their skills in jazz, commercial music and improvisation.
A major college ensemble, they perform at least five different programmes every year, usually each with a different guest soloist who brings their own musical flavour, repertoire and compositions.
Recent guests have included Clark Tracey, introducing the music of his father Stan Tracey; Matt Ford, celebrating the birth of Frank Sinatra; virtuoso trombonist Mark Nightingale with his own arrangements; and composer Colin Towns, sharing two of his wacky and ambitious suites for big band and multi-media.
The RNCM Big Band has been in existence for some 30 years. It is open to all students at the college and provides opportunities to those who wish to develop their skills in jazz, commercial music and improvisation
The RNCM Big Band also perform on their own. In 2014, they recreated the music of the Northern Dance Orchestra and were featured on BBC R3’s radio programme In Tune. Also memorable was their tribute to Billy Strayhorn last autumn.
In another performance, harpist Caroline Calleja, the first-prize winner of various competitions who has performed extensively both in Malta and abroad, wowed the crowds with her music abilities.
Performing at Fortress Builders in Valletta, Ms Calleja gave a 50-minute performance on the harp.
Ms Calleja studied piano and harp with Hervé Billaut and Christophe Truant at the Conservatoire National de Region de Lyon. She continued her studies at the University of Malta, obtaining a first class Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree as well as a Master of Music with a major in piano performance under the tuition of Michael Laus.
She has worked closely with internationally-renowned musicians at the Dartington International Summer School in Devon, the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena and the Moscow State Conservatory in Russia. In 2003, she was invited to tour Italy and France with the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra.
