As Mro Joseph Vella celebrates his 70th birthday, he takes a trip down memory lane with Jo Caruana while focusing on a special upcoming concert.
This is an exceptional year for Mro Joseph Vella. After all, turning 70 (while still keeping up with the demands of an international music career) is no mean feat.
The art of creation gives me far more creative fulfilment than that of re-creation
Arguably the most widely-played contemporary Maltese composer in the world, Vella is the first to admit that he’s been on the local music scene for quite some time. Almost 50 years, in fact.
“It is with a sense of artistic satisfaction that I look back and note that, over the years, I have been involved in practically every musical project of importance that has happened locally,” he smiles.
His favourites were large choral concerts, setting up the National Orchestra and the School of Music, and introducing the study of music at tertiary level. There was also his pioneering research and editing of old Maltese music manuscripts.
Enjoying the trip down memory lane, the maestro recalls the evolution of local pantomime – a beloved tradition for many local families. “Until the late 1960s this production was typically British and restricted to the services,” he says. “It was performed in Tal-Ħandaq or Ħal Far and was chiefly targeted towards the service personnel and their families.
“Most locals, including myself, had little idea what it consisted of. So, when the Ariel Players decided the show should leave the services precincts and make its way to the Manoel Theatre to be introduced to the public, I was thrilled to be asked to conduct the orchestra. I then conducted it for 20 years in succession!”
Meanwhile, Mro Vella was also integral to the opening of the School of Music. “I was one of the original team,” he recalls, “teaching harmony, counterpoint and history of music when it opened in the 1970s. Eventually, I was appointed principal. It was a stint in my career that I still remember with pleasure, especially the three school opera productions that we presented at the Manoel Theatre during that time.”
Mro Vella also recalls his early stint as a pop singer. “I was still in my teens, in Gozo where I was born. When I was 12, I started composing short pieces that I played at home with my father on the violin or with his small orchestra (he was maestro di cappella in several Gozitan parishes).
“When the first-ever Malta Song Festival was put on at the Radio City in Hamrun in 1960, I took part by composing a song that, eventually, I also sang myself. It was one of my first tentative efforts to break loose from my Gozitan artistic restrictions and was actually quite successful as I placed third. Then, in 1962, the Malta Song Festival moved to the newly set-up Malta Television. This time I presented two of my songs, and placed first and third! It was an exciting time but quite short-lived – as I was soon made a conductor of the Festival Orchestra, instead.”
In fact, Mro Vella is far better known as a conductor and composer – roles he has played for most of his life. “First and foremost I consider myself to be a composer,” the musician continues, adding that he has worked across Europe, as well as in the US and Japan. “The art of creation gives me far more artistic fulfilment than that of re-creation (in the sense of performance and interpretation). Completing a new composition leaves me with a great feeling of achievement and satisfaction.
“Having said that, I must admit that I enjoy conducting, especially when I interpret my own work. Besides, I am the musical director at Teatru Astra in Gozo – a position that has enabled me to conduct some 50 opera performances and work with singers like Ghena Dimitrova, Aldo Protti and Dimitra Theodossiou. I’m also proud to have given Joseph Calleja his first-ever professional singing engagement in 1997, when, as a young lad of 19, he auditioned for me at my home in Rabat (Malta) and I chose him to sing the miniature role of Macduff in Verdi’s Macbeth at the Astra.”
But although Vella’s past has been full of opportunities that translate into charming anecdotes, he’s no less excited by the present. His current roles include that of composer-in-residence at the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO), where he composes at least one new work a year. “The MPO has made giant leaps forward and has played some very successful concerts. The up-and-coming Malta Youth Orchestra, launched two years ago, is also making steady headway.”
Meanwhile, several international concerts have recently been held to honour his birthday – including two in Salzburg solely devoted to his chamber works. It’s high praise for a man who has never forgotten his humble Gozitan roots (something he is very proud of).
Asked about which he considers to be his best musical works, Mro Vella smiles. “That’s a tricky question,” he says. “In the world of art, the word ‘best’ does not necessarily come in terms of size, quantity or quality. Nevertheless, I do have my favourite – and that would have to be my Symphony No. 3.”
And it is that symphony that audiences can look forward to hear at an upcoming concert to celebrate his 70th birthday. It will feature two large-scale choral works from his opus – Domine Jesu Christe Op. 38, and Symphony No. 3, which is sub-titled The Apocalypse Verses. It will be performed by tenor Cliff Zammit Stevens, the Laudate Pueri Choir of St George’s Basilica under the direction of George Frendo and the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Marcelline Agius.
Mro Vella will, of course, be conducting. “It is a proud moment for me and an exciting time. My 70th has been a special year, with so many wonderful events to attend – and this will be the culmination.
“But it doesn’t stop here: I am also working on my 28th music CD and looking forward to other international engagements. I hope there will be many more!”
Music For The End of the World will be held at St John’s Co-Cathedral, Valletta, on Friday at 7.30pm. Entrance is free.
www.josephvella.com.mt