Malta’s own national choir –KorMalta – will be launched next month with free public concerts in Valletta and Siġġiewi.

Its debut concert – Motets & Madrigals: From Sacred to Profane – will be held at the St Paul’s Anglican Pro-Cathedral in Valletta on Sunday starting at 6pm. A repeat performance will take place on December 4 at the Siġġiewi parish church, at 7.30pm.

National and state choirs can be found in many countries around the world, and while Malta does boast of a number of choirs, the need for it to follow suit was felt by Arts Council Malta. The council has recently overseen the establishment of a number of public cultural organisations, with the setting up of national dance ensemble ŻfinMalta and national theatre company Teatru Malta preceding KorMalta’s own.

While KorMalta is not a full-time choir – large-scale professional choirs are a rarity – choristers receive payment for any rehearsals and performances they’re involved in.

But its establishment will ensure that choristers will regularly be provided with professional training, to help raise the bar for choral singing in the Maltese islands.

The first masterclasses, overseen by internationally-acclaimed English tenor and tutor Nicolas Mulroy, are taking place this month, in preparation for the official launch.

The choir will be responsible for the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra’s choral projects – it absorbed the MPO’s own choir, supplementing its ranks through public auditions – but will also regularly organise solo concerts, starting with its debut. Overseas tours are also in the pipeline.

KorMalta’s debut will be an acappella concert. To make full use of the acoustic properties of the concert venues, choristers will position themselves in a number of areas during the concert.

The choir will be tackling sacred and secular choral music spanning five centuries, ranging from Renaissance works from composers including Palestrina and Monteverdi to contemporary works such as Morten Lauridsen’s O Magnum Mysterium and a choral reworking of Elgar’s moving Nimrod.

Admission to both performances is free.