Minister for Justice, Culture and Local Government Owen Bonnici visited the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra to welcome musicians and management back from their MPO Valletta 2018 International Tour in Russia and the USA.

The six concerts were all well received with great and critical acclaim from the public, including standing ovations in some of these prominent concert halls.

Minister Bonnici commended the National Orchestra's work and stated that, "through this tour, we have helped to export our country's musical identity, through performances by our national orchestra, whilst offering new motivation to our musicians by providing them with this important experience to perform in such prestigious concert halls".

"We are fully committed to keep working to provide an international platform for our local talent, in a manner that the culture sector is more inclusive and accessible, whilst strengthening professionalism within it", he continued.

This tour launched with a concert held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in November. It provided a unique opportunity for our National Orchestra to perform in numerous prominent locations, namely the Carnegie Hall in New York, the Kimmel Centre for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, The Music Centre at Strathmore in North Bethesda, the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, and the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg.

The orchestra made sure to include a piece by a Maltese composer when performing abroad. This year, the natural choice was Joseph Vella, who passed away in February 2018. For many years, Vella was also the composer-in-residence of the MPO and for this tour, his most popular piece, Ir-Rebbieħa, Op.45. was chosen.

During Minister Bonnici's visit, the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra was rehearsing for its upcoming concert Aranjuez, which will be held this Friday, 14 December at Teatru Manoel.