30 Years of Music Making

For the Gaulitanus Choir, 2020 is a special year during which it is celebrating the 30th anniversary from its official foundation.

For a number of years in the 1980s the choir’s founder-director, Colin Attard, had been assembling rather ad hoc choral groups, generally small ones, to participate in the various musical events, mostly secular concerts, he was being asked to organize. At the time such ‘innovative’ concerts provided a source of fresh air in the local musical scenario as secular choral, vocal or instrumental concerts were very rarely held in Gozo. Yet, these choral groups always remained anonymous. Then, in 1990 Mro Attard was entrusted with two important musical commitments from the Qala Parish Church: a musico-literary evening and a full-scale oratorio both in honour of St Joseph. Somehow, it was deemed fit that the choral group, which for these events also had to be quite larger than usual, should be given an official name. Following some consultations, it was decided to name the mixed choir Gaulitanus, meaning “of Gozo”, as members hailed (as they still do) from all over the island. That proved to be the official foundation (or, should one like, christening) of Gozo’s first choir not affiliated to a parish or theatre. The rest is history. 

May the Gaulitanus Choir keep filling the air with its versatile sounds, through which it transmits peace, serenity, positivity and hope for many more decades to come!