Sergey Smbatyan
Extending beyond his native Armenia, Sergey Smbatyan’s renowned and prolific musical career is anchored on his inexorable vision to perfect the world through music and human spiritual enrichment. He is the founder, Artistic Director, and Principal Conductor of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra and has been leading the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra as its Principal Conductor since September 2019.

Among Smbatyan’s most cherished legacies are his self-founded four music festivals (Armenian Composing Art Festival, Khachaturian International Festival, “Armenia” International Music Festival, and “Contemporary Classics” Composers’ Festival). Other enterprises include five exclusive orchestras formed for significant events, seven special music projects and concert series, and seven educational projects, the most impactful of the latter being “DasA” (literally “ClassA”) aiming at the positive transformation in the young generation’s attitude towards classical music.

Smbatyan’s relentless pursuit of new dimensions for innovative artistry underlies his many bold initiatives. At the largest IT Congress for Innovators and Entrepreneurs hosted by Armenia in 2019, “WCIT 2019,” an orchestra of 100 musicians from 15 countries played the first ever AI real-time-composed music at the opening ceremony of the event as a token of the dialogue between traditional classical music and cutting-edge technology.

Malta Philharmonic Orchestra
For half a century, the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra has been Malta’s leading musical ensemble. The orchestra was founded in April 1968, when musicians from the defunct “Commander-in-Chief” (C-in-C) orchestra of the Malta-based British Mediterranean Fleet regrouped as the Manoel Theatre Orchestra. It continued to serve as the theater’s resident orchestra until September 1997, when it became an independent orchestra, taking up the name National Orchestra of Malta. The orchestra became the MPO in 2008 when it expanded into a full-size symphony orchestra, bringing together the best of Maltese talent and musicians from Europe and beyond.

Joseph Sammut, the C-in-C’s last conductor, was the orchestra’s first conductor, remaining at the helm until 1992. Since then, the orchestra has also been under the direction of Joseph Vella, John Galea, Michael Laus, and Brian Schembri.

In 2019, the MPO has appointed Sergey Smbatyan as Principal Conductor and Michael Laus as Resident Conductor. The MPO also works with local and international guest conductors and soloists including Lawrence Renes, Michalis Economou, Guy Braunstein, Alexei Volodin, Camilla Tilling, Joseph Calleja, and Enrico Dindo. As Malta’s only professional orchestra, the MPO averages more than one performance a week including symphonic concerts, opera productions in Malta and Gozo, community outreach and educational initiatives, as well as various concerts of a lighter nature.

The orchestra has performed in leading venues across the globe, including in the United States, Russia, Germany, Austria, China, Italy, and Belgium, and presently embarks on at least one international tour each concert season. The MPO is a keen exponent of Maltese composers, regularly performing their works in Malta and overseas, as well as frequently premiering and commissioning new compositions.