The collaboration between the Orkestra Nazzjonali and Teatru Manoel resulting in joint concerts held at the Manoel Theatre is bearing excellent fruit.

The next event in this series of concerts will take place on Tuesday 30 January at 7.30pm at the Manoel Theatre. The concert will feature the National Orchestra Brass Ensemble in a colourful programme of all-time favourites which will juxtapose the old with the new in an attractive array.

Starting with an arrangement of Giuseppe Verdi’s “Grand March” from “Aida”, it will end with Ruben Zahra’s “Halel” or “Big Waves”, which has become the highlight of the composer’s folk ensemble Nafra, and which he converted into an outstanding showpiece for virtuouso brass ensemble for this concert.

In between these two extremes there will be a wide range of exciting samples of the best of brass encompassing a century or so of originals and arrangements bound to generate instinctive clicking of fingers and tapping of feet and enthusiastic applause.

The programme has been purposely formulated to suit all ages and musical tastes. It comprises Bizet’s “Carmen Suite”, Suppe’s “Poet and Peasant Overture” (soloist Roderick Bugeja), Botsford’s “Black and White Rag”, Mortimer’s “Jelly Roll Blues”, Morricone’s “Gabriel’s Oboe” (soloist Kevin Abela), Sousa’s “Washington Post”, Mancini’s “Theme from Pink Panther”, Monty’s “Theme from James Bond”, Irving Berlin’s “Puttin’ on the Ritz”, Jan Hadermann’s “Joy of Music”, and a traditional arrangement of “Carnival of Venice” (soloist Sigmund Mifsud) and of the Best of Maltese Folklore.

Reservations for the concert by the Brass Ensemble of the National Orchestra performance at the Manoel may be made from the Manoel Theatre Booking Office, tel: 21246389, e-mail: [email protected].