08/07/2024
VIAF 2024 'THE GOZO MIRACLE'
In Honour of Mro Joseph Vella
www.viaf.org.mt
ATTENTION TO ALL PATRONS:
Due to circumstances beyond our control, the concert scheduled for Friday 12 June (An Evening with Puccini) will now take place at a later time this year. Watch this space for details about that.
Instead, we are very proud to present Maria Elena Farrugia who will give a pianoforte recital concentrating on Dances and Dance Forms. This concert will see Maria Elena performing works by Chopin, Bartók, Granados and Turina. Brought in at the last minute, VIAF is profoundly grateful for the cooperation the team found from Maria Elena. Thank you!
Beginning her music studies at a young age, Maria-Elena showed a love for the instrument and a deep understanding of music from an early stage. She now holds a Masters of Music in Piano Performance from the RNCM -where she studied with Prof. Sally Ann MacLeod - a PGCE, and First Class Honours in her Bachelor of Music from University of Malta, where she was tutored by Prof. Michael Laus. Over the past 15 years, she participated in and won many local and international competitions, obtaining High Distinction in multiple Diplomas. In 2003, she won the EPTA (Malta) Competition which enabled her to attend lessons at the Liszt Academy in Budapest with one of the jury, Profs. Balazs Szokolay. The following year, she won 1st prize at the 12th Gianluca Campochiaro Competition (Pedara, Sicily). She also took part in the 6th Young Musicians Contest of the Malta Society of Arts, Manufacturing and Commerce where she placed 1st in her category. In 2011 she was 1st prize winner of the Bice Mizzi Vassallo Music Competition (Malta), resulting in a week of Masterclasses held at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, tutored by acclaimed pianist, Norma Fisher. In Manchester she performed as a soloist and with several duo and chamber ensembles, including the well-established Philetas Piano Trio.
She is highly sought after for engagements in Gozo, Malta and the UK, where she has worked with multiple professional artists such as Mezzo Soprano Jennifer Larmore. She has performed in Malta at the Presidential Palace, the Manoel Theatre, and in the Malta International Arts Festival Masterclasses, where she was tutored by internationally acclaimed pianists and professors Yuri Didenko, Vassily Scherbakov, Arkady Zenziper, Christoph Traxler and Alexander Zolotarev. Maria-Elena continues her work as a professional pianist, accompanying local international artists including tenor Joseph Calleja, whilst furthering her ongoing repetiteur training with soprano Juliette Bisazza. She is currently a full-time music teacher and staff pianist in Malta’s national music school, the Malta school of Music. Maria-Elena also does freelance work as a session pianist with local bands and ensembles in various genres - such as musical theatre, contemporary music and jazz.
Music / Arts
