The Jubilate Deo Choir will be giving its annual Christmas concert on Thursday at the parish church in Naxxar.
Under the direction of its musical director Christopher Muscat, together with organist Ronald Camilleri who will play the historic 1775 Santucci organ, the Jubilate Deo Choir will perform a varied programme of works by Camille Saint-Saens, David Willcocks, John Rutter and Mykola Leontovych, among others.
Furthermore, to pay tribute to 89-year-old Naxxar composer Joseph Fenech, the choir will sing two excerpts from Fenech’s Messa Pastorale. Christmas plain chants will be sung by
the choir’s own Cappella
Gregoriana.
This year’s concert is being held in aid of the Richmond Foundation. The Richmond Foundation aims to help people with mental health problems by providing residential and day community-based rehabilitation facilities,
providing opportunities for housing and assisting them to remain in the community and to live as full a life as
possible.
It also provides opportunities for training, employment and support in the work place and promotes the development of self-help in the field of mental health, while assisting in the promotion of good mental health among the general public.
The popularity of the Jubilate Deo Choir’s Christmas Concert increases year after year, and the event has become an annual appointment for many – an appointment that the choir has kept since its foundation in 1974. The choir has been led over the years by Rev. Paul
Caruana, Rev. Richard Borg and Rev. Rene Vella (assisted at times by Lawrence
Scicluna).
In June 2004, the choir was entrusted to Christopher Muscat. Since then it has embarked on a number of ambitious projects and has taken part in a number of extremely successful concerts, among which was last year’s Christmas Concert when the choir performed the first performance in Malta of Camille Saint-Saens’ Oratorio di Natale and the recent revival performance of Paolino Vassallo’s majestic Messa da Requiem with the National Orchestra of Malta.
The concert starts at 7.30pm and admission to the concert is free. There will be a collection during the concert in aid of the Richmond Foundation.