Whether you enjoy drama, dance, singing or playing a musical instrument, the Maltese Islands Festival has a category for you – and applications for its second edition are now open.

Last December saw hundreds of talented children and adults flock to Spazju Kreattiv in Valletta to showcase their skills in the performance category of their choice – everything from solo singing and violin-playing to group ballet and hiphop. Now, the Maltese Islands Festival is returning on a bigger scale with even more categories to choose from and even more performers.

“The first edition of the Maltese Islands Festival was a huge success with lots of brilliant performers of all ages taking part in a vast range of categories across the disciplines of dance, drama, singing and music,” says festival manager Cathy Lawlor.

“The international adjudicators – who flew to Maltese especially for the festival – were very impressed by the island’s high performance standards.”

The festival will return from December 13 to 17 – and the organisers stress that this year’s will be bigger and better, with a larger venue especially for group numbers and even more categories.

“Having reviewed the structure used in the first year, some categories have been removed and others added in,” says Kathy. “These include original songwriting, duo/trio/quartet music, more musical theatre, Spanish ballroom, ballet pointe work, opera, split categories for adult and children’s choir, a pop category, as well as sections for brass, woodwind and strings instruments. Several categories will also be open to broader age groups.”

Once again, international adjudicators will judge each category, personalised feedback will be provided to each participant and awards will be given to the best performers.

The examiner was very sweet and supportive, and she did her best to instil the courage for him to perform

This adjudication aspect was particularly popular among participants last year, including 11-year-old Daphne Delicata, who performed Dr Gradus Ad Parnassum from Debussy’s Children’s Corner Suite.

“I was thrilled to place first in my category and that I was given a trophy to keep as a memento,” she says. “The judge, an English lady, was really kind and I appreciated all of her feedback. I am now looking forward to taking part again, especially as it was an honour to play on the beautiful piano in the St James Cavalier Music Room.”

Francesca Sofia

Daphne’s mother, Nadine, also looks back on the experience as a very positive one.

“We are always on the lookout for opportunities for Daphne to perform as she loves it,” she says. “She practised hard ahead of the festival so that she could perform her song from memory – which is the best way possible to ensure she connects emotionally with her audience.

“Thankfully it went really well and we were also very pleased with the way it was organised, as everything ran on time and the ambience was very comfortable. It was all very positive and we will certainly consider taking part again.”

Agreeing, parent Dorothy Busuttil explains that she wanted her daughter Francesca Sofia to take part because she believes in the educational power of performing.

“Francesca Sofia also played the piano and she loved being in front of an audience. It was nice that she could choose which category to take part in and that she was free to perform in whatever way she wanted. It was a very positive experience for her. On the other hand, my six-year-old son suffered from stage fright on the day. Thankfully, the examiner was very sweet and supportive and she did her best to instil the courage for him to perform. This year both of my children will be taking part again and I have no doubt that they will enjoy it just as much as they did last year.”

Applications for the second edition of the festival are open, with the early bird offer closing on Wednesday, and general applications closing on November 6. The festival is open to anyone aged four-plus and applications can be downloaded online.

The Maltese Islands Festival is being organised in collaboration with Spazju Kreattiv and is endorsed by European Capital of Culture Valletta 2018.

www.themalteseislandsfestival.com