The Malta Independent on Sunday
Small, intimate and ground-breaking: contemporary music leaves the concert hall
The Regional Concert Series will bring contemporary music to your community
Modern Music Days (MMD) recently announced six dates for its Regional Concert Series as part of the culture programme of Valletta 2018.
“The strategy is to take contemporary music to places where it is not being heard,” says Ruben Zahra, the artistic director of MMD. “Another important strand is to present these concerts in unique, lesser-known heritage or cultural sites within the six districts of the Maltese Islands, including Valletta.”
Taking place between April and November, the six concerts will be held at Ta’ Bistra Catacombs in Mosta, the Victor Passmore Gallery in Valletta, Mnajdra Temples in Qrendi, Castello Lanzun in San Ġwann, the Żejtun Parish Crypt and the Citadel Cultural Centre in Gozo, respectively.
The first concert, Kantilena Procession, which will take place on Saturday, 7 and Sunday, 8 April, will feature a site-specific electronic music work by Dutch composer Luc Houtkamp at Ta’ Bistra Catacombs in collaboration with Heritage Malta. Then, on Friday, 4 and Saturday, 5 May, the second concert, entitled Transition, will feature Maltese pianist Tricia Dawn Williams at the Victor Pasmore Gallery with an interdisciplinary piano recital portraying video-art, electronic music, motion-capture technology and extended piano technique. Transition is being organised in collaboration with Central Bank of Malta, Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti and The Victor Pasmore Gallery.
The third concert, Ritual, celebrates the summer solstice at the Mnajdra Neolithic temples with a music performance by Scottish trombonist John Kenny, who will be tracing the evolution of the instrument by commencing the concert on a seashell, moving on to the Celtic war horn known as the “carnyx” and ending with the modern trombone. Ritual is organised in collaboration with Heritage Malta and will be held twice: on Saturday, 23 June at sunset and Sunday, 24 June at sunrise.
“Reaching out to different communities is an important part of Valletta 2018, as well as any European Capital of Culture,” Zahra continues. “Outreach, however, doesn’t have to be mainstream. In fact, MMD is committed to presenting artistic excellence to all audiences.”
Although each event within the MMD Regional Concert Series is limited to a small audience – mostly due to the intimate setting of the historical venues – ticket prices have been kept as low as possible to ensure that anyone who wishes to join can do so.
MMD is organised by Teatru Manoel, the Malta Association for Contemporary Music and the Valletta 2018 Foundation as part of the culture programme of Valletta 2018 – European Capital of Culture. Tickets to ‘Kantilena Procession’ start at just €15 and can be purchased from https://shop.heritagemalta.org. For more information visit www.modernmusicdays.eu