Cosmos Piano Trio will this evening give a concert of works by Sobek, Poulenc, Scriabin, Pierne, and Reinecke.

Comprised of Godfrey Mifsud (Clarinet) and Charlene Farrugia (Pianoforte) – musicians who rank among the best and finest in Malta, together with Spanish horn virtuoso José Garcia Gutierrez, both the musicians and the programme chosen promise a most entertaining and lovely evening.

Godfrey Mifsud is considered to be one of Malta’s most refined solo and chamber clarinettists, and has collaborated with various musicians including Zanta Hofmeyr, Robert Plane, David Campbell and Christoph Traxler. He is sought after as a versatile musician and performs regularly, locally and internationally, in orchestral and chamber setups. He has performed, premiered and recorded works by various Maltese composers including Carmelo Pace, Charles Camilleri, Joseph Vella and upcoming composers Ruben Zahra, Albert Garzia and Karl Fiorini. He is also featured as a recording artist on Meridian Records and Divine Art (UK). Godfrey currently holds the post of clarinet tutor at Malta’s main music institution, the Johann Strauss School of Music, and is a visiting lecturer in Performance Studies at the University of Malta.

José Garcia Gutierrez hails from Alicante, Spain. Graduating with full honours from both the Conservatorio de Elche and the Conservatorio Superior de Murcia, he was subsequently awarded a postgraduate diploma at the Sweelinck Conservatorium, Amsterdam, where he studied with Vicente Zarzo Pitarch. José is the recipient of several awards and as a professional horn player he has been Principal Horn of the Orquesta Filarmonica de Gran Canaria, Orquesta Sinfonica de Navarra, and the Orquesta Sinfonica de Extremadura.  Since November 2007, he has been Principal Horn with Spain’s prestigious Orquesta de RadioTelevision Espanola (ORTVE). He has several recordings to his credit and is a member of the RTVE Horn Sextet in Madrid and the Cosmos Wind Quintet in Malta.  He also teaches Horn at the Johann Strauss School of Music, Malta.

Charlene Farrugia has been praised by musicians, audiences and critics as the “enfant terrible of Maltese piano” and ranks among the most prominent pianists of the younger generation. She graduated with a first-class honours degree from the University of Malta, pursuing postgraduate study at the prestigious Royal Academy of Music, London, graduating with a Masters degree in Pianoforte Performance. She also holds a Doctorate in the same discipline under the tuition of Kenneth Hamilton. At just 13 years of age, Charlene was the youngest soloist to ever perform with the then National Orchestra of Malta. Since then, she has appeared both in chamber formations and as soloist with several orchestras all over Europe and the U.S.A.  Charlene has recently been appointed an EMMA for Peace artist.