Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/670480
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 24 APRIL 2016 31 This Week Family Fun at the Fanfare DENISE AZZOPARDI speaks to Rosetta Debattista, artistic director for the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra Fanfare 2016 event, and Maria Blanco, MPO Marketing Manager, to learn about what goes into the process of coming up with a highly entertaining music education programme targeted at children and their families Rosetta Debattista This is your second year as artistic direc- tor? What's new in this year's edition? Simply put, it's bigger and better! I am very excited about this repertoire being heard by all. The concert opens with a beautiful Rameau piece that is light, bright and rhyth- mical, and it sets the tone for the event. The music travels to places far and wide, with flavours from all around the world. Maestro Brian Schembri and I wished to create a se- ries that causes the listener to focus purely on the magnitude of the music being heard and experienced. This year's repertoire is exciting, dynamic, fast-paced and at times, very dramatic! How did you come up with the programme for this concert, and what is the reason be- hind the choice of these particular pieces of music? Programming is an exciting exercise. Im- agining 'how' the listener experiences the repertoire and, therefore, carefully guiding them along the way, can make or break any concert. The order needs thoughtful plan- ning, as of course, the selection. Children have very good attention span if you cap- ture their interest quite immediately. The objective for this concert was to il- lustrate what creates a certain style – the compositional techniques – first presenting Spain and the Mediterranean with Gozitan Maestro John Galea's colourful Mediter- ranean Pictures, then moving on to three musical bombshells by Khachaturian and Respighi. I am really looking forward to the Bartok Dances and the relentless Capriol Suite by Warlock. I enjoyed going through the pro- cess of choice and order, and hope that it leaves a strong impact on all – young and old. How did the idea to produce Fanfare come about? The MPO's artistic director, Brian Schem- bri, and its CEO, Sigmund Mifsud, ap- proached me last year to work on an event aimed at children. Children can be very awe-inspired when witnessing a full orches- tra performing live, especially when the mu- sic selection truly shows off the orchestra's potential. I set about bringing together a highly-skilled team – a presenter, a conduc- tor and a script writer... Et viola! Children enjoy the narrator and love the interactive aspect of the Family Fanfare event. Why has Jason Lai been chosen as conduc- tor for this particular concert? Jason Lai is a highly-esteemed British conductor having a wonderful way with children and young people. He has often presented concerts specifically for younger audiences. I think that with Jason, together with British celebrity Kirsten O'Brien and script-writer Katherine Freeman, we are all in for a treat! Maria Blanco How will the pieces within the programme be presented and how are they being tailored to target a young audience? The wonderful CBBC [Children's BBC] presenter, Kirsten O'Brien, has a great tal- ent for addressing and interacting with young audiences. I am sure that she will de- light us with her presentation and will give us all a most memorable experience of this colourful concert repertoire. Could you tell me something about your contribution towards this concert? What are the educational aspects related to this con- cert? We have recently set up an MPO educa- tional team, which I myself am leading, to devise and deliver a unique music educa- tion programme aimed at developing young people's musical skills, and their apprecia- tion of the orchestral repertoire. The team has prepared a musical-resource 'school pack' related to this concert, which was sent out to all participating schools at- tending the April 29 performance. The idea is to prepare all children attending Fanfare by enabling them to work with their school teachers to better understood the basic constitution of an orchestra, and will have already been introduced to certain parts of the concert repertoire prior to the perfor- mance. What has the response been so far? How can children and their families expect to benefit from this concert? It is clear that there is a strong desire for music educational events such as this. The schools' concert was sold out in three days, and a record number of 1,400 children will be attending this concert. The fact that schools booked their places so quickly for this event is a strong testament to the suc- cess of last year's Fanfare Concert. There are still a few places available for the Family Concert on April 30, and all families are encouraged to grasp the op- portunity to experience this interactive and fun-filled concert that will undoubtedly leave many positive memories in the minds of both children and their families by be- ing immersed in the colourful and magical world of classical music. The MPO Family Fanfare Concert will be held at the Republic Hall of the Medi- terranean Conference Centre on April 30 at 17:00. Tickets at €4/€6 for children and €8/€12 for adults; family packages at €18/€26. For tickets email bookings@mcc. com.mt or phone 2559 5750. For more infor- mation, visit www.maltaorchestra.com. Children attending the April 30 perfor- mance are invited to participate in a free hands-on music workshop with members of the MPO Educational Team, where they can experience playing orchestral instruments and participating in activities relating to the orchestral performance. The workshops will take place at MCC on April 30 between 15:15 and 16:45. Places are limited, and in- terested participants should book their plac- es in advance on info@maltaorchestra.com misery same craft in the family for generations, but the new ones don't want to do it any- more and after them, nobody will continue the tradition. Why did you opt for crowdfunding as the pro- ject's financial lifeline of choice, and do you think the Maltese people will be responsive to the initiative? We opted for crowdfund- ing because it's the best way to gauge the people's interest in the project, to enable con- stant communication with them, and also to remain en- tirely independent in our vi- sion for the book. I hope the Maltese people will be sen- sitive to the subject. At the same time, however, I believe the project will also appeal to people abroad, hence why we went for a worldwide crowd- funding campaign. Lazarus Taxon will be crowdfunded through Indie- gogo, and its campaign starts on April 25. For more infor- mation and to stay updated, log on to: http://lazarustax- onbook.com/ PHOTOGRAPHY BY ARNAUD GRIGGIO CBBC presenter, Kirsten O'Brien Conductor Jason Lai • Photo by Yvonne-Chan