Jubilate: Exploring Hope and Joy at Schola Cantorum Jubilate’s Christmas Concert
Schola Cantorum Jubilate (SCJ)’s Christmas concerts are a fixture in Gozo’s Christmas calendar, with the choir having organised trailblazing and widely attended choral evenings since the year 2000. On Saturday 28 December 2024 at 19.30, SCJ will be sharing with the audience another unforgettable choral experience with Jubilate.
Set within the magnificent Ta’ Pinu National Shrine in Gozo, Jubilate’s repertoire includes popular traditional pieces by Holst, the ‘Christmas Composer’ John Rutter, and musical
arrangements by David Willcocks. The audience will also be treated to pieces from contemporary composers, including Dan Forrest, Malcolm Archer, and Terre Roche. One of the highlights of the evening will be a captivating arrangement for male voices by SCJ composer-in-residence Paul Portelli. In this piece, Portelli weaves a dialogue between the
organ and piano, bringing St. Alphonse M. De Liguori’s text Tu Scendi delle Stelle, profoundly to life. The concert features the SCJ Adults Choir, joined at times by the SCJ Teenage Boys, with pianist Anna Magrin and organist Joseph Camilleri, all under the direction of Marouska Attard.
“Our selection of songs for this evening includes both the timeless and the new,” explains Marouska, the choir’s conductor and herself a soprano. “We added familiar carols alongside fresh arrangements and new contemporary choral pieces, all of which reflect the beauty and diversity of the Christmas season. We hope that each note brings warmth in our audience’s heart and helps them experience the true meaning of Christmas: peace, joy, and goodwill toward all.”
Jubilate - meaning rejoice - will explore the realms of joy and hope. The audience will get to experience the essence of the Christmas season as well as explore the Roman Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year call for the faithful to be Pilgrims of Hope. These themes will come together through an expertly curated musical repertoire, projections and literature, giving a contemporary feel to the traditional Christmas concert. “Hundreds of concerts are organised in December, but at SCJ, we try to give something unique to the attendees that reboots moods and perspectives towards life,” observes Artistic Director, Stefan Attard. “The notes on the scores are given a tonality to convey a message that gives a new breath to the actual story of humanity. The lights, projections and literature embellish the whole event and facilitate a real journey within the inner self, in this special time of the year,” he continues.
Through Jubilate, SCJ will pay homage to the late Mro Stephen Attard, SCJ’s first accompanist, composer and poet who supported the choir’s musical endeavours from the choir’s first days. The concert also marks the opening of SCJ’s 25th anniversary and will be succeeded by a year of events that celebrate the choir, its role in the development of Malta’s choral landscape, and the diverse interpretations and artistic expressions that bring choral music to life. The title, Jubilate, is in fact a nod to the choir’s name and its beginnings in the Great Jubilee 2000.
Jubilate is a must-attend event for those looking for an ethereal choral experience this Christmas.
Jubilate is supported by the Directorate Cultural Heritage within the Ministry for Gozo and Planning. Entrance to the concert is free of charge and no booking is required. For more information please visit www.scjchoir.com. Follow the choir on Facebook and Instagram for updates.
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