The word “orchestra” is derived from the Greek orkhestra, which is the space in front of the stage in Greek theatres where the chorus performed.

Orchestras have their origins in the noble houses of15th and 16th Century Italy, when nobles would hire musicians for entertainment. With the emergence of opera in the 17th century, music started to be written for an ensemble and so orchestras came to be.

Along the years orchestras developed accordingly and influenced by the trends of the time. Indeed, in the 1920s, the orchestra Persimfans in the USSR even became conductor less to honour Marxist principles of equality between all men! This experiment was successful for some years but was eventually disbanded when individual talents started to rebel against the rigid control under which they were expected to play.

Orchestras are divided into four sections – woodwinds, brass, percussions and strings. Each section in turn has a leader.

Orchestras come in different sizes; a smaller orchestra of about forty musicians or less is generally known as a chamber orchestra while a full size orchestra of about 100 players may be called a symphony orchestra or philharmonic orchestra; however there is no hard written rule to differentiate between the two and the venue often plays a part in the size of the orchestra.

The National Orchestra – Past, present and future

The Orchestra owes its humble beginnings in 1968, to Joseph Sammut who gathered musicians formerly belonging to the Admiral’s Band of the British Forces stationed in Malta and organised them to play together as the C-in-C’s orchestra.

The Orchestra was subsequently disbanded and the musicians were absorbed by the Manoel Theatre, hence the Manoel Theatre Orchestra. This was followed by the setting up of the National Orchestra of Malta as a separate entity in September 1997 giving rise to interesting developments.

In 1997 a system of rotating conductors saw the involvement of Joseph Vella, Joe Sammut and John Galea following which Joseph Vella was appointed resident conductor. On his appointment as Chairman, a post he held until August 2003, Michael Laus roped in John Galea as resident conductor in 1999 following which the system of guest conductors was re-introduced for seasons 2000-2003. Michael Laus was appointed Music Director in 2003, a post he still occupies to date.

The Orkestra Nazzjonali has no doubt been influenced by its position as the national orchestra of an island in the middle of the Mediterranean. The Orchestra has performed the demanding repertoires by Italian, English, German, French, Austrian and Russian composers among others, which are so much imbedded in local music tastes. For this reason the Orchestra has often performed as a large symphony orchestra thanks to the excellent co-operation it enjoys with important Orchestras in Europe.

In January 2005, the Orchestra started performing Grand Concerts on a number of important occasions with the participation of musicians from the Czech Republic, Italy, Germany, England, Austria, Russia, and Ukraine.

The Orchestra’s General Manager Christopher Muscat, himself a talented conductor and composer, adds that the Orchestra is also actively involved in educational programmes. Mr Muscat says that the Orchestra is always welcomed whenever it visits schools.

Indeed one time, the students asked the Orchestra to play on. Mr Muscat thought that the students wanted the Orchestra to continue playing so that they may miss some of the next lesson, however it wasn’t the case, as actually the Orchestra performance was going to run on onto break time!

In 2006 the Orchestra launched Orkestra Nazzjonali Live Label which is a step in this direction. The first record was dedicated to Paolino Vassallo’s varied works and has already proved to be a success in Europe and the US.

Mro Laus explains that this label further promotes Malta. Furthermore, when one listens to past recordings the development of the Orchestra can be heard more clearly. Mr Muscat and Mro Laus explain that this label further promotes Malta. Furthermore the development of the Orchestra can be heard more clearly.

Budget 2008 will be bringing more positive changes to the Orchestra. Due to the increase in funds, the National Orchestra will grow in number. This upgrade will facilitate the Orchestra to perform different repertoires and will turn it into a philharmonic Orchestra.

The Orchestra in action

The Orchestra is a very finely tuned machine and it can practically perform merely by sight-reading. However Mro Laus explains that they prefer to run through the repertoire of a performance more than once before the actual night. In this manner, he, the conductor together with the musicians, can give a particular interpretation to a musical piece. The music isn’t there just to be read but rather to be performed and developed! When the Orchestra needs to learn a new piece of music, Mro Laus likes to first run through it all with the Orchestra so that the musicians have a rough idea of what the final sound should be like.

Eventually section rehearsals take place before the Orchestra rejoins for final rehearsals.

The Orchestra has its own soundproof rehearsal space at its premises in Valletta.

The recently renovated rehearsal space enables a cleaner sound so that the conductor may pick up the merest nuance.

Mro Laus is the principal conductor of the Orchestra and conducts around two third of all performances. However, Mro Christopher Muscat and several foreign conductors have also conducted the Orchestra.

The National Orchestra Goes Pop

The National Orchestra Goes Pop is the brainchild of the trumpet player Sigmund Mifsud who for the occasion instead picks up the baton. Its beginnings were very humble with an audience of just 400 people, but now a crowd of 2500 is drawn! It is a great opportunity for the Orchestra to integrate with people who may not be classical music lovers and therefore reach new audiences.

Calendar of events for 2007 – 2008

The Orchestra’s Schedule for 2007/08 is by now full and the 2008/09 is already being formulated. Past events in the 2007/08 season have included:

•15 September 2007 Tenth Anniversary Celebration Concert

•21 September 2007 Independence Day Concert

•30 September 2007 Parish Church of Our Lady of Lourdes – San Gwann

•2 October 2007 Orchestral Concert – Teatru Manoel

•13 October 2007

La Forza Del Destino – Teatru Aurora, Gozo

•25 October 2007 Macbeth – Teatru Astra, Gozo

•2 November 2007 Malta International Choir Competition & Festival

•17 November 2007 Royal Choral Society (London) Concert

•22 November 2007 University of Malta - Orchestral Concert at The Mediterranean Conference Centre

Forthcoming events in the next couple of months include:

•23 November 2007 University of Malta - Orchestral Concert at The Mediterranean Conference Centre

•4 December 2007 Orchestral Concert – Teatru Manoel

•8 December 2007 Richard Clayderman in Concert

•15 December 2007 Euromed Festival for Composers 2007

•21 December 2007 Christmas Concert in Gozo

•27 December 2007

St Vincent De Paul Concert

•06 January 2008 Epiphany Concert at the Palace

•26 January 2008 Grand Concert at The Mediterranean Conference Centre

•15 February 2008 Joseph Fenech – Missa Sancte Joseph

•5 – 12 March 2008 Bank Of Valletta Opera Festival – Teatru Manoel

•8 April 2008

Orchestral Concert – Teatru Manoel

•22 April 2008 Celebrity Recital – Italian and French Opera

• 13 May 2008 Orchestral Concert – Teatru Manoel

• 26 – 27 July 2008 National Orchestra Goes Pop

•1 November 2008 Malta International Choir Competition and Festival.

In addition the Orchestra hopes to once more perform overseas.

In March the Orchestra will travel to Lugano, Switzerland in order to perform Rossini’s Cenerentola at the Palazzo Dei Congressi.