The St Paul Choral Society is paying tribute to prolific Maltese composer Carmelo Pace, on the first centenary of his birth with a concert that is being held on 2 June at 7.30pm at the Sacred Heart Auditorium.

This event is being sponsored by Bank of Valletta and Valletta Fund Management in line with the commitment of the BOV Group to support and promote arts and culture.

The general public is invited to attend and admission is free of charge.

Choir director Hugo Agius Muscat announced that during this concert, the St Paul Choral Society will be interpreting some of Carmelo Pace’s most important secular and choral works, including excerpts from his opera Caterina Desguanez and his best loved works of Maltese folklore – Lapsi, Btajjel and L-Imnarja.

The concert will feature soloists Rosabelle Bianchi, soprano; Charles Vincenti, tenor and Albert Buttigieg, bass. Elisabeth Conrad will accompany the choir and the soloists on the pianoforte.

“We are looking forward to this concert which will feature some of the most important works of this leading Maltese composer,” said Dr Agius Muscat. “Carmelo Pace was the first Maltese composer to systematically collect existing Maltese folk themes and blend them seamlessly with his own original material (both words and music) to create a number of much loved pieces that have been great favourites with Maltese choirs and with Maltese and international audiences for almost fifty years,” said Dr Agius Muscat.

The St Paul Choral Society was established in 1988. Today, it is considered to be one of Malta’s leading polyphonic choirs.

The choir has gained a reputation for quality after successful a cappella concerts at St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral, Mdina Cathedral, the President’s Palace and the Istituto Italiano di Cultura.