Hundreds of children applied to sing in the choir accompanying Joseph Calleja and Michael Bolton in their concert at the Luxol Grounds on Sunday but only 250 made it.

The young choristers are now in their very final preparations under the sharp direction of soprano Gillian Zammit.

They will be accompanying the tenor and the pop star for great music pieces including Con Te Partirò and Nessun Dorma, from Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot.

"Both Joseph Calleja and Michael Bolton have performed to enthusiastic Maltese audiences before but this joint interpretation accompanied by a young choir promises to be a surprisingly different act that entertains crowds of all ages with music that varies from classical to contemporary," said Nigel Camilleri of NnG Promotions, organisers of the concert.

He was grateful for the promoters' annual sponsor, HSBC, which, he said, allowed NnG not only to bring the Maltese stage at a par with top concert cities around the world with top performers but, as in this case, also to give children a taste of what it was like to sing along top notch professionals.