In his speech, Prof Charles Camilleri said that this is definitely the greatest opportunity for young Maltese musicians. He said that, last year, larger countries had complained that although they sent hundreds of musicians for auditions, a musician from tiny Malta obtained a place, despite having a much lower level of participation.

He gave details about the progress of Etienne Cutajar who managed to pass the auditions last year and is now playing as 1st Horn with the orchestra, a very prestigious and competitive position.

He urged wider participation from Maltese musicians, pointing out that the European Union Youth Orchestra is conducted by such artistic legends as Vladimir Ashkenazy and Bernard Haitink, – surely a dream for our young musicians.

Giving details on the logistical aspect of the auditions, Prof. Camilleri said that these will begin on 3 December. Applicants will initially be short-listed by three local judges and in January, a team of foreign judges will come to Malta to take the final decision as to who is chosen.

Applications for the auditions will be available from the Department of Culture at Casa Gaspe’ in Valletta from Thursday.

Musicians who are currently studying abroad may perform their auditions in their temporary country of residence. A series of master classes for the participants will be organised in the near future while test pieces are also available.