NEL MEZZO DEL CAMMIN
The Nel Mezzo Del Cammin journey begins with the emblematic opening lines of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, leading the way to a multi-disciplinary journey – a marriage of music, drama and dance. In a fusion of Italian and Maltese culture, three of the most well-known and impactful scenes from the Inferno tackling universal themes of love, integrity and the quest for knowledge take life thanks to music by three of Malta’s foremost composers, who act as Virgil. All this is set within the Wignacourt Museum in Rabat, boasting its baroque corridors and taking audiences deep into the bowels of its air-raid shelters, as well as another surprise location. A true feast of the senses, bringing together leading figures in the various disciplines presented.
Artistic Collaborators
Daniela Said
Philip Leone-Ganado
Matthew Muscat Drago
Pamela Kerr
Tricia Dawn Williams
Fiorella Camilleri
Joseph Zammit
Charlotte Grech
Gianni Selvaggi
Michela Farrugia
Amy DeGaetano
Jade Farrugia
Chris Muscat
Ruben Zahra
Veronique Vella
10 November 2021
Online
8:30pm
Free
In Collaboration with
DANIELA SAID
Daniela Said’s formation has its roots in music – specifically the violin – where after taking lessons under various teachers in Malta, as well as forming part of the Malta Youth Orchestra, she pursued her studies at the Conservatorio Statale di Musica ‘Luigi Cherubini’ in Florence. Here she obtained her Bachelors course in violin as well as her Masters with distinction, while also completing a course at the Accademia di Alto Perfezionamento I Musici di Parma. During her studies, she obtained extensive experience as a performer, playing in various orchestras and chamber formations, and participating in a variety of festivals. She also pursued an internship with the productions department within the conservatorio, and later served as music consultant for the Teatru Manoel education programme Toi Toi. Furthermore, she was orchestra coordinator for Trouser Girl, a collaboration between Toi Toi and Ziguzajg, as well as events officer with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, where she formed part of the team behind the orchestra’s digital transformation.
PHILIP LEONE GANADO
Philip Leone-Ganado holds an MA in directing at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). In recent years he has primarily engaged himself with the works of William Shakespeare, directing A Midsummer Night's Dream, Measure for Measure, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night and Two Gentlemen of Verona, all for WhatsTheirNames Theatre, a company he co-founded. He has also worked as a freelance director with various companies in Malta, credits including As You Like It and Image of an Unknown Young Woman. He has also worked extensively as an actor and been involved in several educational initiatives.
MATTHEW MUSCAT DRAGO
Matthew Muscat Drago has worked in film and TV for over almost 10 years, ranging from camera assistant to camera operator and editor, culminating as head of department as a Director of Photography.
Matthew has a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Media from the Malta College of Arts, Science & Technology in Malta. He also has an MA in Cinematography from the MET Film School (Ealing Studios) in London, where he also worked for a year.
Matthew Muscat Drago’s vast technical background is combined with the determination and drive to work with talented people to create productions of high quality audio-visual content ranging from music videos, short films, event coverage and corporate profiles and commercials for consumption on diverse platforms.
PAMELA KERR
Pamela Kerr started her ballet training at the Tanya Bayona Academy. After furthering her studies at the London Studio Centre, she returned to Malta to continue training under Theresa Lungaro Mifsud. She also started exploring contemporary dance under the guidance of Francesca Abela Tranter. Kerr has participated in various festivals and performances, both locally and abroad and has also collaborated with various dance artists and companies. Pamela is asked to choreograph regularly for The Dance Workshop. In 2004, she obtained her Enrico Cecchetti Diploma, becoming the first Maltese candidate to pass as a dancer. Pamela was awarded her Fellowship teaching qualification in August 2009. In 2012 she became the Artistic Director of DanceWorks where she produced and directed, Return to Innocence and Alternate Realities. In 2014 she was asked to join Moveo Dance Company as a dancer and recently has also worked with this company as rehearsal director. Today Pamela works as a freelance choreographer and dancer.
TRICIA DAWN WILLIAMS
Born in Malta, of Irish and Welsh descent, Tricia Dawn Williams is committed to contemporary music, multimedia and new technologies. Her concerts transform the piano recital into an interdisciplinary performance featuring video-art, electronic music and extended piano technique. Williams is one of the first concert pianists to collaborate with developers and composers internationally on the application of motion-capture technology. She uses the MYO band interface on her forearms to manipulate and trigger electronic music in real time during her concerts. As a dedicated promoter of new music, Williams has commissioned, premiered and recorded numerous works. In March 2020, Williams started exploring the toy piano repertoire and connected with several composers worldwide. During this year she recorded several toy piano pieces. This also led to various online performances in 2020 featuring this instrument. Williams is the proud owner of nine toy pianos and is endorsed by Schoenhut Toy Piano company.
FIORELLA CAMILLERI
Maltese-born flutist Fiorella Camilleri has been holding the sub principal flute/piccolo chair with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, since 2004. Fiorella is an avid chamber musician. Her latest chamber music achievements include the founding of ‘Duo Solis’, flute and guitar duo, a mix between Jazz and classical styles and ‘Catal flute and guitar duo’, specialising in Cuban music. The Catal duo will launch a monographic album later on this year featuring music by cuban composer Eduardo Martin (July2019). In October 2019, Fiorella founded ‘Arcana Quintet’, specialising in music by Astor Piazzolla, featuring the flute, bandoneon, electric guitar, doube bass and piano.
Fiorella plays on a 14K Muramatsu flute and on a Philip Hammig granadilla wooden piccolo. Fiorella has a Masters degree in flute performance (Istitituto Pareggiato Orazio-Vecchi Tonelli, Modena 2012) and a Bachelors degree in International Relations (University of Malta 2004).
JOSEPH ZAMMIT
Joseph Zammit is a B.A.(Hons) graduate in History and works as a professional tenor and actor who has been in the theatre scene performing over eighty different productions in the span of eleven years taking part in productions both in Malta and abroad. He has been a vocal student of Dr Andriana Yordanova for several years now and has played major roles in operas, playing the role of Pluto in Orpheus in the Underworld and Vogelsang in Die Schauspieldirektor and Hamid in Ahna Refugjati. Joseph has also performed leading roles in musicals, such as Che in Evita, Jamie in Last 5 Years (Masquerade) and ‘The Maestro’ in HUSH (TMYT). His most notable roles on stage include; Yvan in ART (WhatsTheirNames Theatre), various roles in When You Hear My Voice (with Dr. Bruce Wall, London Shakespeare Workout), and his latest one-man show Jamboy (The Shrinking Violets). Together with all this, Joseph has written and performed in several burlesque shows together with CreativeIsland and has also played leading roles in ten consecutive pantos, six for Masquerade and four for MADC. He also starred in both Pantos in the Dark; ‘’Gawgaw’ and ‘L-Imbuljuta’.
CHARLOTTE GRECH
Charlotte Grech is an actor with over 25 years experience. She studied drama at the Manoel Theatre Academy of Dramatic Arts (MTADA) and Riverside Studios, London. She has worked with all the major theatre companies, taking on character roles in comedy, drama and musical theatre. Amongst some of these are : Rosalind in As You Like It, Juliet in Romeo & Juliet, Piaf, Mia in Immaculate, Clytemnestra in Agamemnon , Helena in All’s well that ends well, and Lady Macbeth. Charlotte is also founder member of Theatre Anon, appearing in various classic, devised pieces, children’s theatre as well as site specific projects like Ospizio. She is also a theatre maker, a freelance drama tutor, and has made various TV and film appearances. Through Active Age Malta, Charlotte is currently using her set skills to provide freelance creative sessions for older adults in community settings, Care Homes and for those living with memory loss.
GIANNI SELVAGGI
Gianni Selvaggi is an Italo-Maltese actor musician who has been performing professionally both locally and abroad since 2012. He is currently based in London, having recently graduated with distinction from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, obtaining an MA in Performance (Acting). In 2015, Gianni joined the Teatru Manoel Youth Theatre company (TMYT). In 2016, he obtained his ATCL Diploma in Speech and Drama with a distinction (Trinity College London) and was also awarded Best Actor in the MADC One Acts Play Festival that year. In 2017, Gianni co-wrote and performed the comedy musical My Fanny Valentine, alongside Leggy Blonde Productions (UK), which was staged at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Other writing credits include Hell’s Gatekeeper (TMYT, 2017), …You Make Lemonade (2018) and his most recent solo performance, BLENDER (2020). Film credits include the role of Richard Sammut Petri in the independent feature film "Is-Sriep Reġgħu Saru Velenużi" (2021) and Luke Vasquez in Hallmark's "To Catch a Spy" (2021).
AMY DEGAETANO
Amy DeGaetano, a 24 year old dentist, has been training in classical ballet for 20 years under the training and guidance of Ms. Theresa Lungaro Mifsud and Ms. Pamela Kerr at The Dance Workshop. She has taken lead dance roles in school performances and attended many courses with international artists among which include Vincent Hantam and Michele di Molfetta. She has also practiced contemporary dance for a couple of years with Kostas Papamatthaiakis and performed in several shows as a guest dancer with local dance companies, Moveo and Dance works. Such performances include Junior Eurovision, Baroque festival, Inauguration of George cross and Notte Bianca, amongst many others. Amy has also taken part in local and international dance competitions such as Eurovision young dancers and Danza in Fiera in Italy.
JADE FARRUGIA
Jade attended ballet and contemporary dance at The Dance Workshop under the tuition of Theresa Lungaro-Mifsud, Pamela Kerr, and Francesca Tranter. She has attended a number of courses with international and local choreographers and has worked on projects with local and international dance companies such as MavinKhooDance, Moveo Dance Company, DanceWorks and ZfinMalta. She currently teaches contemporary and ballet at The Dance Workshop and is also a qualified Structural Engineer.
CHRISTOPHER MUSCAT
Recipient of first prizes in the Joyce Dixey Competition (UK) in 2000, the Jaume Dotras Serrabella Polyphonic Composition Competition (Spain) in 2006 and the APS Bank Composition Competition (Malta) in 2012, Christopher Muscat has been described by the local press as "a young composer of outstanding talent" (The Sunday Times) and the "stark originality" (The Malta Independent) of his works has earned him an ever increasing reputation. Since his professional conducting debut in 2000, Muscat has collaborated very closely with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and the Malta Youth Orchestra and has also guest conducted other local and international orchestras and ensembles. Muscat is widely regarded as the leading authority on the great Maltese romantic composer Paolino Vassallo having been largely responsible for the composer’s revival in 2006. Moreover he has premiered numerous works by contemporary composers and also recorded for television as well as for the international label GegaNEW. As founding conductor of VOCALISE (a voluntary organisation aiming at providing training and opportunities for talented singers), Muscat has coached and conducted a number of productions, amongst these Purcell's Dido and Aeneas and Saint-Saëns' Christmas Oratorio, entirely made up of young Maltese singers. In Janaury 2017 he has been appointed Music Director of Fondazzjoni Paulus, a foundation whose main interest is the promotion of sacred music. In December 2018 Muscat was appointed Director of Music of the Archdiocese of Malta and Maestro di Cappella of the Metropolitan Cathedral.
RUBEN ZAHRA
Ruben Zahra is a composer, video artist and producer committed to contemporary interdisciplinary expression. His portfolio currently includes five productions - touring internationally in major international festivals, opera houses and theatres.
In 1994 Ruben Zahra graduated from the University of Malta in Music & Theatre Studies and was awarded a scholarship by the Italian Cultural Institute to further his studies in Italy. He studied composition and orchestration with Azio Corghi at the National Music Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome, electronic music with Giorgio Nottoli at the Music Conservatory of Frosinone and film music with Ennio Morricone at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana of Siena. In 2000 he moved to the USA for a master’s degree in composition at Mills College in Oakland, California. In 2002 he moved to Los Angeles and spent two years working for the Hollywood film industry as a soundtrack composer. Since 2004 he is based in Malta and works internationally as a freelance composer and producer.
Ruben Zahra is a cultural entrepreneur and promoter of contemporary music. He is director of the culture organisation ‘Soundscapes’, president of the ‘Malta Association for Contemporary Music’, publisher of ‘ENCORE’ – Malta’s arts & culture magazine and artistic director of the Malta International Arts Festival.
VERONIQUE VELLA
In 2008, Véronique Vella became the first Maltese woman to be conferred a Ph.D. in Music Composition. After winning two Ian Tomlin Napier Music scholarships and receiving generous funding from The Janatha Stubbs Foundation, Véronique read Music at undergraduate and postgraduate level at Edinburgh Napier University. In 2003, she graduated with a First Class Honours in Music, with piano as her first study, before taking up Composition. Several works by Vella have been recorded by notable professional musicians. These include her orchestral work, Fine Line on the album Contemporary Colours, (PARMA recordings), Mara bil-lejl (Cosmos Wind Ensemble), Ċassa Quddiem Mera on the album Riflessi performed by soprano Miriam Cauchi, amongst others. Vella’s solo flute piece, Wens, has been performed extensively by virtuoso flautists, such as Rebecca Hall, Aisling Agnew and Laura Falzon to name but a few. The piece was recently broadcast on BBC Radio 3. Wens features on the album by the Agnew McAllister Duo entitled Bidla (Baros Records), named after another of Vella’s compositions, written for flute and guitar. Aside from working on commissions, Véronique is also in demand as a music educator and pianist. Her most memorable piano performances to date include the premieres of her Concerto for Maria (2015) and Ritratti (2011). Both piano concertos were performed with the MPO at Teatru Manoel, and were conducted by Mro Brian Schembri and Dr. Michelle Castelletti, respectively. Currently, Vella works as class pianist for ŻfinMalta and the Dance Studies Department, University of Malta, where she also lectures in Music.