Rehearsals for the inaugural concert have come to a close. Mro Joseph Vella finished rehearsing with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra this evening and what we imagined to be a truly befitting inaugural concert has all the ingredients to live up to expectation: a great programme, a great soloist, a great conductor and a great orchestra.

The worthy group of young people working together to make this 17th edition the success it merits are putting their efforts together to tie up the last loose ends. Logistically, such a project requires strategic co-ordination and military precision at all levels and, as they say, the devil is in the detail. Nothing is left to chance and everything is being meticulously taken care of – from transport, to welcoming our performers, to collecting published material and, last but not least, that important glass of wine at the end of the concert …

The weather is also complicit and behaving, but then, what do we expect in the middle of June? We look forward to giving our patrons a wonderful time with a wonderful concert tomorrow, the first in a series of 33 concerts that will lead us into the most important week of the year for us, namely, that which introduces the feast of St George in Victoria.

So, see you tomorrow. Concert starts at 8pm and, as they say, all good things in life are free – so is this concert and the rest of them too!!