The celebrations for the 50th anniversary of Din l-Art Ħelwa  continue with a special edition of the  Bir Miftuħ International Festival of classic music in the historic medieval chapel of Santa Marija tal- Bir Miftuħ, Gudja.

This year the embassies of France, Italy and of Israel as well as the ADRC Trust have come forward in support of the festival and will present quality music in the congenial atmosphere of the Bir Miftuħ Chapel. These musical evenings are held in the late Springtime and are followed by a reception in the cool gardens surrounding the chapel.

The first concert, due on Friday May 15, is being made possible with the support of the ADRC Trust which was established in 2013 by the Chalmers family in memory of their son and brother Alistair David Robert Chalmers, who died in 2012, aged just 31. Alistair was a keen Din l-Art Ħelwa volunteer and had Hispanic and Maltese Culture very much at heart. The musical evening will feature ‘The Conrads in Concert ‘ with  Elizabeth Conrad on piano, Maria Conrad on violin and  Jose Garcia Gutierrez, horn.

The second concert  is due on Saturday May 23 and is sponsored by the Embassy of France and the Alliance Française de Malte – Méditerranée. It will feature the ecletic String Ensemble Cincievski  with Vincenzo Picone and  Matteo Colombo both on violin, Matthew Fenech, viola, Mario Psaila, violoncello, Gjorgji Cincievski  on double bass.  The Quintet will be performing music by George Onslow.

On Saturday 30th May, The Italian Cultural Institute under the patronage of the Embassy of Italy presents Musica Nova Duo (violin-guitar) with Mº Massimo de Bonfils of Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome and Luca Minervino . The event is being held within the frame of the activities for the promotion of EXPO Milano 2015 and in collaboration with the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia.

The last concert will be held on Saturday  June 13th and will feature Liat Cohen, BOULANGER prize,   guitar and Moshe Epstein, flute,  kindly sponsored by the Embassy of Israel who are participating for the first time.

All concerts start at 8pm.  Tickets for concert and reception hosted by Din l-Art Ħelwa in the chapel grounds are available from Din l-Art Ħelwa at €20 per concert per person.   Block tickets are available as follows:

4 concerts @€65

3 concerts @ €50

2 concerts @ 35     Kindly contact Din l-Art Ħelwa on 21225952 or info@dinlarthelwa.org