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Something about the Choir.
Founded in 1964 by Sr Beniamina Portelli, the St Monica Choir has established itself as one of Malta's leading polyphonic choirs, having gained the respect of connoisseur's for its quality, standards and discipline with which it executes its presentations. The Choir's repertoire varies from sacred to popular, early to contemporary.
For over 20 years, the choir has been collaborating with other entities and exchanging visits with foreign choirs and travelling to European countries. The St Monica Choir has presented concerts at venues such as the Liverpool Philharmonic Theatre, the Vatican City, St Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, Esztergom Cathedral in Hungary and St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh as well as televised and radio recordings for renowned media stations such as the BBC and the German ARD 1. Amongst the choir's participation with foreign choirs, one cannot but mention the Knox Academy Choir from Scotland and the Beethoven Society of Australia. With the latter, the St Monica choir presented a memorable production of Beethoven's 9th Symphony with Orkestra Nazzjonali under the baton of Dr Steve Watson at the Teatru Manoel in May 1999. The St Monica Choir has been commissioned to premiere local compositions, such as Stabat Mater by prolific Maltese composer Carmelo Pace together with Orkestra Nazzjonali and Mro Michael Laus. Early 2007 saw yet another collaboration come to fruition, this time together with Vocalise, when, for the first time in Malta, Johan Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratorio Parts I, II & III were performed at St John's Co-Cathedral under the direction of international conductor Hans Jurgen Nagel.
In November 1999, the St Monica Choir became the first and only Maltese choir to win the prestigious Malta International Choir Festival. Delegated to represent Malta during the first edition of the choral Olympics held in Linz, Austria, the following year, the choir was awarded bronze from amongst over twenty participants in the mixed choirs' category. September 2001 marked yet another milestone in the choir's history when it launched its own compilation of varied musical compositions on cd entitled "Expressions". This collection of musical gems was very well received by local critics and referred to as "a must have in any music lover's collection."
In 2002, the choir was invited to make a guest appearance during a choral festival at the Dorog House of Culture in Hungary. Two years later, the choir was once again invited to participate in the "XIII Festival de Musica en Navidad" organized by the Cultural Department of Madrid. The St Monica Choir, the only foreign choir invited to participate, held its concert at the Sagrada Familia church in Madrid. The evening turned out to be a success and was instantly acclaimed by the massive audience in attendance as an impeccable execution of choral music. The choir's last foreign venture was in the summer of 2006 in Scotland where it gave a concert in aid of charity.
In 2004, to commemorate its 40th Anniversary since its foundation, the choir launched a documentary on DVD encompassing forty years of existence and achievements. That year's annual concert, entitled The Circle of Life, was an unprecedented success by means of which the choir collected Lm 4,000 which it donated to the abandoned children in the care of the Augustinian nuns in the Philippines. The choir's own productions of its Easter and Christmas concerts, like Rejoice: The Lord is Risen and Heavenly - Carols through the Ages, respectively, helped raise further funds for the missions. The latter concert brought to the fore the choir's dynamic character and innovative way of presenting its productions as well as a confirmation of its high standard of choral singing.
Under the able direction of its founder, the sixty or so choristers strive to constantly improve what is already commendable, delving into new grounds and experiences. This has in no way tarnished its characteristics of youth, discipline and excellence. The choir is an affiliated member of Forderverein Interkultur, organizers of the Choir Olympics and other Musica Mundi concerts worldwide.
Ray De Bono