Artistic director Colin Attard brings the 14th Gaulitana: A Festival of Music to a close. It features, among others, local compositions, a (belated) tribute to Beethoven and an organ concert by Wayne Marshall.

For the third part of this year’s Gaulitana Festival, which presents live public events once again, artistic director Colin Attard pulls out all the stops: the Gaulitanus Choir, its soprano soloists, violinist Pierre-Louis Attard, the Armed Forces of Malta Band, the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and an MPO Duo. World-class musician Wayne Marshall, an in-demand conductor, pianist and organist, will give an organ recital in Gozo for the first time.

His milestones include work with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the Wiener Philharmoniker and the London Symphony Orchestra. As recently as June, a worldwide audience saw him online conducting the Berlin Philharmonic and performing as a piano soloist at the same time.

For Gozo, Marshall has come up with an organ recital at Xewkija rotunda during which he will present works that mean a lot to him personally: some French romantic music as well as organ improvisations, for which he is famous.

AFM Band. Photo: AFM

This phase of the festival will open on Friday, with a concert wherein the audience will experience their homeland from different perspectives. The Gaulitanus Choir, together with its soprano soloists, as well as the strains of violinist Pierre-Louis Attard, will present Maltese compositions dealing with local traditions, folklore and ambience. The works will range from Carmelo Pace’s very well-known L-Imnarja to Charles Camilleri’s Ħames Kanti Popolari, and from Joseph Vella’s Rapsodija Maltija to Stephen Attard’s Żewġ Għanjiet minn Għawdex. The concert will be held in the charming courtyard of the Ministry for Gozo in Victoria.

A week later, the AFM Band will be coming to Gozo for a varied open-air concert at the same courtyard. The platoon-sized AFM Band represents the units of the Armed Forces of Malta. Its roots lie in the Royal Malta Artillery Band of 1890, while the AFM Band was formed in 1970. The more than 40 musicians also have military obligations. As a marching band, it usually accompanies official national events, but also masters a classical and popular repertoire.

The Gaulitanus Choir itself will return in early October, this time with a wholly choral sacred concert: Songs of Praise. Special about it are the arrange­ments, which were written especially for this group. The songs, in English, are therefore unique and can only be heard from the Gaulitanus Choir.

Malta Philharmonic Orchestra. Photo: Ken Scicluna

The finale week is then devoted to collaborations with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra: a chamber ensemble recital (on Tuesday, October 5) is followed by a symphonic finale.

The MPO marks its return to the Gozi­tan stage at the Aurora Theatre, Victoria, on October 9, after the very long forced absence.

As a kind of echo of the 250th birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven, his great Third Symphony, the Eroica, will be performed under the direction of Mro Attard. This revolutionary work was first presented in Vienna in 1804. Already with the first two chords, it becomes clear that an important composition is unfolding here. In its grandiosity, it will also do honour to the postponed but saved edition of the Gaulitana: A Festival of Music in 2021.

Wayne Marshall. Photo: Charles Best

“We are looking forward to getting back to our public,” says Attard. “The performances will not only bring a lot of emotion and involvement to the visitors. It is also a moving moment for us musicians to return to a live stage.”

Further information, including programmes and reservation details, can be found on the facebook page Gaulitana: A Festival of Music and www.gaulitanus.com.

The festival is principally supported by the Gozo Cultural Support Programme of Arts Council Malta and the Ministry for Gozo. All health and safety directives issued by the Health Authorities will be adhered to.

The four solo virtual recitals in this year’s festival as well as the Viva Verdi operatic scenes can still be watched for free on the festival’s digital channels on Youtube, Facebook and the website.

Mro Colin Attard. Photo: Gaulitanus Choir