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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 6 SEPTEMBER 2015 40 This Week How would you describe Rock- estra's history, and how would you say it has evolved into the show it is today? The beginning of Rockestra was a continuation of the pop concert that used to be organised by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra which way back, was called The National Orchestra. It was quite a novelty back then, for the Mal- tese public to have the National Orchestra playing with pop sing- ers. This concept proved to be a success and I wanted to evolve this concept even further and this is how Rockestra was born… The main differences from the pop concert to Rockestra are that the repertoire is rock genre rather than pop, having a standing audi- ence, and that it is organised by the Community Chest fund. We had a massive positive feed- back to have this concert annually. Rockestra has always grabbed the public's attention but that is not all, as artists look out for it and are very keen to perform on the Rock- estra stage. What lies behind the show's suc- cess, and why do people flock to it each year? I have to say that the team be- hind this concert reflects Rock- estra's success. As a team we pay attention to detail and we always thrive to make it better and special each year. The result of such hard work is the product of reaching the highest musical level with the guarantee to all those attending – including artists and musicians taking part – to have a blast. Having a unique interaction be- tween performers and audience and thus creating such a vibe, is what makes the event unmissable. What are some of the main acts that have defined Rockestra so far? One of the main acts for Rock- estra is the MPO, which consists of a 70-piece orchestra perform- ing rock music. Something that started off during the first ever Rockestra and continues to grow throughout these years, is my friendship and working chemistry that I have found with Pawlu Borg Bonaci. I believe that with Pawlu as Artistic Director and I as Musi- cal Director, we manage to project a good fun element which I believe comes across really well during the concert. Apart from the long-awaited participation of Marc Storace, which will be the other par- ticipating performers this time around, and on what criteria were they chosen? We have been in touch with Marc Storace over the past few years and we've been lucky to have him with us. I am more than thrilled and honoured to have him on board. I prefer not to mention the list of artists participating this year since I believe that every chosen artist has got something particular to offer to the show, and I am more than grateful for their commit- ment to make Rockestra special. Our formula for choosing artists depends on the choice of songs. We tend to choose the songs first in order to have a strong line-up, and then the artists are chosen on the belief that they are the most suitable singers to perform the chosen songs. How would you say Rockestra compares to the other, myriad, summer cultural events on the island? I am, of course, quite biased, since I believe that everyone should be- lieve in the product they offer. Personally, I believe that Rockestra definitely stands out, and for many reasons it is 'the place to be'. Keeping the good, fun vibe going As preparations for this year's edition of the hugely popular Rockestra get underway, TEODOR RELJIC speaks to Musical Director Sigmund Mifsud about the September 27 concert, which will this year feature renowned Maltese-born musician Marc Storace Sigmund Mifsud, centre, with the bulk of this year's Rockestra performers St George's Square to be transformed into comet surface for Science in the City A life-size recreation of Rosetta's mission to Comet 67P will be the highlight of this year's edition of Science in the City, the annual fes- tival of science and art taking place across various venues in Valletta. The fourth edition of the festival is set for September 25 from 6pm to midnight, and promises inno- vative activities ranging from fly- ing drones to space rockets, DNA extractions to dissections, health and dental checks to lots of child- friendly experiments and games. Launching this year's edition at a press conference on Wednesday, Project Coordinator Professor Alex Felice said that Science in the City is the right festival to experience anything from fun experiments and learning at the Science Fair or ex- plore Malta research activities. "As for space enthusiasts, there will be a life sized Rosetta's mis- sion of the Comet 67P, while health conscious persons can have a free dental check-up at the new mobile dental clinic or other free health check-ups. Interactions between scientific work and the performing arts offer another dimension to this festival aiming to communicate sci- ence." Chief Executive of the University of Malta Research Trust Wilfred Kenely said: "Science in the City plays a major role in promoting Malta University's scientific re- search projects. The festival, which is free of charge, is a collaborative effort between researchers, aca- demics, students and performers who together provide a memorable annual night of fun and learning in various fields, irrespective of age of attendees." Project Manager Edward Duca said that Science in the City reaches out to a wide range of audiences – children, youths, and adults. The main activities will take place at the new city gate entrance, along Re- public Street till St George's Square, with other centrally located venues in Valletta. Among other activities, the Sci- ence Fair at City Gate will be burst- ing with experiments, exhibitions, music, theatre and performing arts. These will include revving racing cars, Quakes and Shakes, street labs by Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) and the Institute of Applied Science Stu- dent Organisation (IASSO), an in- teractive exhibition by the National Student Travel Foundation (NSTF), underwater projections, Giant bubbles & Fonzu l-fenek by Malta Council for Science and Technol- ogy (MCST), an EU Corner, Coca- Cola's Eko printer, Science in water and a CSI forensic team. St James Cavalier (Spazju Kreattiv) will be holding science-fun activi- ties for children and young teens at the Theatre and the Atrium, while talks about Science and Culture of Ageing will be held in the Cen- tre's Cinema. Inspirations Café will host a series of talks on the hour by Malta Café Scientifique. The studio room will have the Science of Elec- tronic Music for all to play with. At Teatru Rjal, visitors can watch CineXjenza a series of short films on manipulating memory from 7pm and participate in great dis- cussions afterwards. While Palazzo Ferreria, opposite Teatru Rjal, will run a series of science debates. For the first time, the new Par- liament building will showcase an exhibition of exciting research projects by the University of Malta. Along Ordinance Street, the Uni- versity of Malta's Research Trust (RIDT) will be showing research projects in health and rare diseases including a mobile dental clinic, di- alysis machines for kidney failures and breast cancer research. Republic Street will be taken over by buskers with the participation of student organisations namely the Science Students' Society S- Cubed, University Engineering Stu- dents Association (UESA), Malta Association of Dental Students (MADS), the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), ICT Student Association (ICTSA), Malta Medical Student Association (MMSA), Malta Health Students' Association (MHSA), Malta Phar- maceutical Students' Association (MPSA), and BetaPsi Psychology Students' Association. While out- side the Law Courts, shows will in- clude experiments, talks and stand- up comedy. Meanwhile, St George's Square will transformed into the Rosetta Satellite Space Mission. Last year a satellite orbited a comet. To cele- brate the festival is filling the square with a life-sized satellite, drone, 20 m rocket blast-off, 3D printed rov- ers (by Thought 3D) and a comet surface you can walk through. Mu- sic and talks will discuss the science behind the spectacle. For more information, log on to www.scienceinthecity.org.mt The fourth edition of Science in the City will be held on September 25 from 6pm till midnight, at various venues in Valletta Edward Duca, Wilfred Kenely and Prof Alex Felice addressing the press conference at Valletta Campus