Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1056422
14 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 28 NOVEMBER 2018 CULTURE HITT Malta Table Tennis Academy is keeping its annual appointment with char- ity with a 16-hour marathon of non-stop table tennis. The event will be held at the Academy's main venue in St Albert the Great Col- lege, Old Theatre Street, Valletta on 15 December 2018. The hall will be open from 8am till midnight. This is the fifth time that HiTT Academy is holding such an event to collect funds for the Commu- nity Chest Fund. Last year, HiTT Malta Table Tennis Academy managed to raise the important sum of €2,500. "Over the past five years, the HiTT family has donated a total of €11,000 to the Community Chest Fund," said Mario Genovese, head coach and di- rector of HiTT Academy. "This achieve- ment means a lot to us, because I believe that as an Academy, we have an obliga- tion to instil a sense of social responsi- bility in our students, so that they can be better human beings." During the marathon, HiTT Academy students, their families and the general public visit St Albert's College in Valletta to watch and participate in fun competi- tions and activities. Table tennis enthusiasts can also book one-hour slots against a small donation and play with their friends, the Academy players and coaches, or even against a ta- ble tennis robot. This year, the Academy is also holding a Ping Pong Clickball competition as part of the fund-raising initiative. Ping Pong Clickball is a game similar to table tennis but played with rackets covered only in blue sandpaper (unlike table tennis rack- ets, which are covered in rubber). Other planned events include an Intro- duction to Table Tennis session between 2pm and 4.30pm, a reunion of HiTT past players at 3.30pm, a Veterans gathering from 6pm to 11pm and a drinks party for volunteers starting at 11pm. Visitors can relax and watch the games while buying something from a well- stocked tuck shop with home-made food, drinks and goodies supplied by sponsors and parents. Sales from this tuck shop go directly towards the fund. In parallel with the non-stop games, young players from the Academy will be going around the streets with collection tins supplied by the Community Chest Fund to collect donations. These tins will be opened by Commu- nity Chest Fund members and their con- tents added to the sum raised. "The or- ganisation of such an event is not easy, but we find a lot of support among our members and also from people outside the Academy. We believe that our little contribution helps a lot of children and people every year, and this gives us the energy and motivation to keep organising the yearly marathon." The collected sum will be presented to the President of Malta on 26th December 2018. More information is available on the Academy's website www.hittmalta.mt 16-hour table tennis marathon in aid of Istrina 2018 TENOR Joseph Calleja heads a world-class line-up of perform- ers for this year's BOV Joseph Calleja Foundation fundraising concert, which will feature the concert master at the Metro- politan Opera in New York, Da- vid Chan, conducting the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra. Leading Australian soprano Jessica Pratt, who sings at op- era houses around the world and has been described by the New York Times as possessing a "gleaming sound", and Italian baritone Vittorio Vitelli will also be lending their talent to the event. All proceeds from the event will go to the BOV Joseph Calleja Foundation, set up in 2013 to provide financial assis- tance to promising local musi- cal talent and underprivileged children with distinctive musi- cal ability. Calleja, fresh from a critically acclaimed run of Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera in New York thanked the artists for generously giving up their time to support a cause very close to his heart in what promises to be a memorable night. "The money raised by the foundation over the past five years has enabled us to give our scholars – some of whom will also be performing – an opportunity they might not otherwise have had to make an impression in the highly-com- petitive world of arts. "The highlight of the year for me was 18-year-old Gozitan baritone Charles Buttigieg be- ing offered a full tuition schol- arship to study Voice at the Calleja heads world-class line-up for fundraising Manoel Theatre concert prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, which has an acceptance rate of just five per cent. "This shows that our efforts are worthwhile." The BOV Joseph Calleja Winter Concert will be held at the Manoel Theatre in Valletta on Saturday, 15 De- cember at 8pm, followed by a reception at the Casino Maltese. Tickets for the concert, available against a donation of €100 each, may be reserved through the Manoel Theatre booking website www.teatru- manoel.com.mt. Benefactors who attend the concert will also have the op- portunity to meet Calleja and the guest artists during the post-concert reception.