At the time, two very active members of the choir were Dutch, Harm Wildeboer and Maria Komin. It was natural that they raised the possibility of a concert tour in Holland with the choir’s founder-director Colin Attard. Discussions soon ensued, contacts were initiated, a programme was eventually fixed, and a 9-day concert tour was set for September 1999.
This was to be the choir’s first concert tour which was basically organised on its own steam, as the previous two forays abroad were both exchange programmes. With both Wildeboer and Komin very much responsible for its logistics and, of course, very knowledgeable of all that was Dutch, a widespread sightseeing programme – exploring the great urban centres as well as smaller and more remote rural and fishing areas – was on the cards. Thus, for example, while the Gaulitanus group had the opportunity to take a memorable and unique photo in traditional costume in Volendam, museum visits and attendance at concerts were also very much the order of the day, particularly in Amsterdam. All this was juxtaposed with a well-planned relaxation and socialising time, more so since the group was residing at the gorgeous De Eemhof park, with two self-drive minivans available 24/7.
However, the Dutch venture centred on the Gaulitanus Choir’s very interesting 3-legged artistic programme. This kicked off impressively with a lunchtime sacred concert at the historic English Reformed Church in the very centre of Amsterdam, and which was enthusiastically received. The second commitment was a particularly significant and rather unusual secular concert at the theatre of the Rosa Spier Huis, a home for retired artists, in Laren. The concert was attended by the Consul General of Malta in the Netherlands, Mr H.J. Stevens and his spouse, Mr Eric Psaila from the Air Malta Office in Amsterdam (Air Malta being a supporter of the project) and several Maltese residing in Holland, apart from the locals of course. The concert, with quite some operatic content but not only, was a resounding success and the after-concert atmosphere was rousing. The final commitment was the animation of the Sunday liturgy at St Vitus parish church in Blaricum, again very well-received.
Throughout this concert tour, the Gaulitanus Choir was conducted by its founder-director Colin Attard, and accompanied by its resident pianist Stephen Attard accompanying. The principal soloists were soprano Rita Dimech, mezzo-soprano Claire Massa and bass Harm Wildeboer, with tenor Joseph Calleja joining for a few lines. The repertoire presented was a highly varied international one, and included Maltese works by Pietro Paulo Bugeja and the Gaulitanus’s own Stephen Attard and Colin Attard.
Perhaps there could not have been any better conclusion to the choir’s third and highly-successful concert tour abroad than being seen off officially at the Rotterdam airport by the Consul General for Malta and Mrs Stevens, who remained very much enthused with the Gaulitanus Choir. Surely, this made us all proud!
Email:
Phone:
