CELEBRATING MGR GIUSEPPE FARRUGIA (1852 – 1925)

ON THE FIRST CENTENARY OF HIS DEMISE

Programme

                                                                Deus tuorum militum (1894)

                                                                (Arranged for Band by Joseph Vella)

                                                                Spento è il drago (1901)

                                                                Marcia S. Giorgio (1888)

                                                                (dedicated to Signor Pietro Attard, in segno di amicizia)

                                                                ‘Un Fiore per Te’ (1885)

                                                                (dedicated to Sacerdote D.G. Cremona)

                                                                Su Garzoni (1894)

                                                                                                Soloist: Ruth Portelli

                                                                ‘Alla mia Patria’ – Sinfonia (1893)

Composer, conductor and musicologist John Galea pursued musical studies at the University of Durham, and doctoral studies at the Università degli Studi di Pavia and the Università ta’ Malta. His musical style relishes a contemporary Mediterranean-inspired idiom that warmly shines forth in works ranging from solo to chamber, choral and orchestral works. His compositions have been performed in Malta, Greece, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and the United Kingdom, and are recorded on various CDs, mainly at the BNR in Sofia, Bulgaria. Along the years, John Galea has been invited to conduct the Manoel Theatre Orchestra, the National Orchestra, the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, the Kurgan State Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Sinfonietta and the Sofia Collegium Symphony Orchestra.

He has also conducted composition master classes at the Music Conservatoires in Trapani, Venice, Firenze and the Università degli Studi di Catania, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Haifa, Israel, the Xiamen University, China, and at Tor Vergata University, Rome.  

Since 1979, John Galea has been the long-standing conductor of Chorus Urbanus (Victoria, Gozo, Malta) as well as of the King’s Own Philharmonic Society (Valletta, Malta) since 2003. As from December 2018, he has been appointed Resident Conductor of Opera at Teatru Astra (Gozo, Malta) and conductor of the La Stella Philharmonic Society. 

Galea is featured in a Routledge publication (2024) The Different Faces of Politics in Literature and Music with a chapter on political commitment in Verdi. In September 2024, as the Maltese editor of The EU Songbook, Dr John Galea was co-awarded the European Citizen’s Prize bestowed by the European Parliament for the publication of the Songbook.

Dr Galea has served for eight years as Head of the Music Department, School of Performing Arts, UM, and has also been a member of the POLIFONIA III Cycle Working Group, an EU three-year project (2012-2015) run by the Association of European Conservatoires. He is also the artistic director of the third cycle of Feel the Magic (2025-27) and Festival Mediterranea that are funded by Arts Council Malta.

La Stella Philharmonic Society can trace its origins to the year 1863, when itwas officially established by means of a public contract dated 11 January 1881, thereby making it the first musical society in Gozo. Through this contract, twenty-one bandsmen, together with the bandmaster, were legally bound to form an association under the name ‘La Stella Vincitrice’.

The Society moved through several premises over the years, the most significant being its current location, where it founded Gozo’s first opera theatre, Teatru Astra, in 1968. This institution remains, to this day, one of Malta’s foremost cultural landmarks.

Since 1882, the La Stella Philharmonic Society has been the sole organiser of the external festivities of the feast of St George. It has also received numerous invitations to perform abroad, participating in festivals and concerts across Europe and beyond. Among its long list of distinguished musical directors is Joseph Vella, one of Europe’s most renowned contemporary composers, who served both the band and Teatru Astra from 1970 until his passing in 2018. A newly built, state-of-the-art rehearsal hall has recently been inaugurated in his honour.

Among its many annual commitments, the band organises a variety of concerts, ranging from classical music to popular genres. Of the latter, one notable event is RockAstra, which features performances by several prominent local artists.

Since 2018, Mro Dr John Galea has been the musical director of the La Stella Band.