Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1448619
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 6 FEBRUARY 2022 7 MUSIC The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra's digital transformation, and beyond AS the MPO's Digital Transfor- mation headed into its second year, the process continued to evolve, bolstering Malta's fore- most musical institution. WITH live events held over the year according to the health pro- tocols in place, the orchestra's hybrid format presented a varied MPO Online Programme build- ing on the momentum of reach- ing out to a record number of audiences. Working closely with the GRAMMY-winning PAR- MA Recordings has sustained the objective of keeping mu- sic alive through high-quali- ty audio-visual productions. Amongst others, such an invest- ment has led to a 224% jump in subscribers to the MPO's You- Tube channel, with 32M unique people reached across 46 coun- tries. Driven by viewers' overwhelm- ing support, over 70 online re- leases, including ongoing initia- tives such as Chamber Fridays2 and Orchestra Resounds, have been released. These projects were part of the MPO's 195% in- crease in reach, along with other productions such as Grand Fi- nale starring top soprano Diana Damrau leading to over 1M unique people reached on its own. The varied Online Programme also included the orchestra's continuous efforts to bring mu- sic closer to younger audiences through the edutainment series L-Investigaturi tal-Mużika, as well as ongoing endeavours to tap into the film industry pre- sented productions such as Mu- sic from Gladiator and Theme from Jurassic Park. While the MPO strives to continue its hy- brid initiatives, with upcoming live-events such as Nuit Musi- cale at Teatru Manoel and in- ternational touring as part of the Symphonic Middle East Festival in Dubai, the 21/22 Concert Sea- son maintains its momentum in a varied, quality Online Pro- gramme, with the latest releases including the interpretation of Ralph Vaughn Williams' charm- ing Fantasia on Greensleaves.