National Orchestra in need of instruments but has no money

A cash shortage at the National Orchestra means the orchestra does not have any money to invest in much needed instruments. As it is, its president said, the National Orchestra barely has enough money to pay the salaries of its 41 full-time musicians, amounting to around Lm300,000 a year.

As a result the orchestra has to resort to using revenue raised from its concerts to meet part of these running costs, National Orchestra president Mario Tabone-Vassallo said. The situation is to be discussed at a meeting with representatives of the Finance Ministry later this month.

Mr Tabone-Vassallo said the instruments used by the National Orchestra were owned by the musicians themselves, who also paid the bills for maintenance and insurance.

The lack of funds meant that the orchestra could not buy the instruments needed to play baroque music, which, according to Mr Tabone-Vassallo, was catchy, was popular with the Maltese and appropriate to be played in local baroque buildings.

The instruments shortage has led to the setting up of a chord orchestra, which the board hopes will in time develop into a National Baroque Orchestra. The plan is for the orchestra to put up a baroque concert on a monthly basis.

The president stressed the importance for a decision on whether the government and the people wanted a quality orchestra and to make the best use of it. He stressed that the orchestra could reach a very high level.

Mr Tabone-Vassallo said that among the projects which the orchestra had recently embarked on were auditions for extra musicians. He said the international minimum acceptable number of musicians in an orchestra was 60, but they could work well if it was made up of 50 musicians, and he expressed hope that the orchestra would be able to add another nine musicians, and use the extras for certain compositions.

Meanwhile, the auditions have led to the setting up of a small orchestra, where young musicians can be trained. He said this was going very well, and the plan was that in time this would expand to a music academy.

Another novelty this year was the Music Feast, which should become an annual activity. Mr Tabone-Vassallo said that during the third Sunday of June sections of the orchestra go out to play in different localities.

"We hope that this feast continues to expand across Malta and Gozo," he said.

Mr Tabone-Vassallo stressed the need for the National Orchestra to be given a seat at lower St Elmo, where it would be able to hold open-air concerts.

In a bid to raise more money, and also expose more people to orchestra music, the board is thinking of school children for the final rehearsal at a lower price.

Mr Tabone-Vassallo stressed that orchestra music was not getting the appreciation it deserved locally. He said it was imperative that this was taken closer to the people, and that was one of the reasons behind the orchestra having gone to play in various localities.

During yesterday's press briefing the programme for the coming season was unveiled. The new programme will kick off with a concert marking Independence Day at the President's Palace courtyard. The September 21 concert programme will be made up solely of music by Maltese composers, including a new concert for guitar.

The 40th anniversary of independence will also be celebrated by the Finnish-Maltese society, who asked the National Orchestra executive official, Christopher Muscat, to write a composition for clarinet, violin and piano with Maltese folk characteristics. The composition will be played in Helsinki toward the end of the month.

Other activities include the Tosca at the Astra Theatre, Guiseppe Verdi's Nabucco at the Aurora Theatre and a concert by Olivieri Munroe and Carmine Lauri at the Mediterranean Conference Centre. There are plans for a concert by violinist Ivry Gitlis and another of music by Paul Pabst - who did the official transcriptions of Tchaikovsky's music - which was lost and found after 100 years.