Kristian Schembri

Believe me friends, when I see a young man (or young woman) doing well in music, full of energy and not giving up on anything, I overflow with enthusiasm and try to help him as best I can.

Among the young Maltese who today have successfully taken up the musical career in a professional way, I would like to introduce the young Kristian Schembri from Rabat. We know he is very young studying the violin with my daughter Gabriella (now married with children), he plays percussion with Maltese bands, we know he plays with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra in the percussion section and we also know he studies the -music in the Department of Music at the University of Malta.

He got his first musical lessons and influence from his father, Philip Schembri, and for a number of years he studied percussion with John Farrugia (former lead drummer of the Armed Forces of Malta).

We remember well when once Kristian came to me and said, "Peter, I intend to go to America to study music." I quickly told him that if you want to take up the music career professionally, that's where you have to look...

Today I tell you that Kristian Schembri is a composer, percussionist and orchestra director. His music has been played by orchestras including the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony and the symphonic orchestra of the University of Delaware. His name has also appeared at the Symphonic Middle East Festival, at the Victoria International Arts Festival and at the American Viola Society Festival... and this I tell you friends... it's just the beginning.

Kristian's debut overseas

Kristian Schembri started from the University of Delaware in August 2019. He later graduated in composition with highest honors. Kristian immediately distinguished himself and in a short time won the UD Symphonic Orchestra Composition competition and this was also in the year 2019 with his symphonic opus 'Íthos'. In fact this work was professionally recorded on the 'Ablaze records' label by the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra of the Czech Republic under the direction of Mikel Toms (English).

Schembri won second place in the American Prize for performing da camera music with his own music, together with his wife Aiveen Gallagher, an Irish violist and string professor at James Madison University, Virginia. He also pursued conducting studies, both orchestral and symphonic band. In fact, he was appointed assistant conductor of the UD (University of Delaware) Symphony Orchestra in the year 2020, and he recently pursued orchestral conducting studies with Daniel Reith - Cleveland Assistant Conductor Orchestra.

In the field that is so close to his heart, Kristian studied with Marc Damoulakis, Principal Percussionist of the Cleveland Orchestra, as well as with renowned percussionists Gene Koshinski and Tim Broscious. He was also a member of the graduate percussion group at the University of Delaware and served as principal percussionist of the UD and Ensemble, Philadelphia.

Kristian Schembri served as a teacher in the Theory Department at the University of Delaware and at Case Western Reserve University, where he was responsible for teaching the courses 'Fundamentals of Music' and 'Music Theory'

The opera 'Last Days'

I also want to tell you that just before his Masters graduation, he composed and wrote the libretto for his socio-political micro-opera 'Last Days'. This opera was staged in a concert version' in April, 2021, in Delaware, and a year later the complete dramatic production followed.

The young Maltese composer was also invited to become a member of the American national music honors society. The purpose of the society is to recognize and encourage those individuals with the highest level of musical achievement and academic scholarship.

In fact, Kristian Schembri was offered a scholarship (Donald Erb Scholarship and Carl G. Lamp Memorial Award) for doctoral studies in composition by the prestigious American conservatory Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM), founded in 1920 by the composer known Ernest Bloch. Currently, Schembri is a composition teacher at the conservatory, where he will also be completing his studies in the coming months.

Meanwhile, Kristian remained busy with many projects, including the collaboration with his wife Aiveen Gallagher (violist winner of several international competitions). In fact, his composition for viola and string orchestra, 'Echoes of Shenandoah' was performed by his wife Gallagher at the 2021 Virginia String Teachers Association Conference.

During his time in America, Schembri had the opportunity to study with several composition professors from Yale University, The Juilliard School and The Manhattan School of Music, among others. Recently, Schembri was also selected to participate in a specialized course with the legendary composer Sir James MacMillan.

The Maltese composer Kristian Schembri was also awarded the Joseph Vella Award 2021. Along with the current projects, he aims to make a contribution to the Maltese musical scene which is so close to his heart, particularly in the orchestral, band and theater fields and sacred.

He expresses gratitude to his family for their continuous support, to Malta Arts Scholarships for the doctoral scholarship, to the BOV Joseph Calleja Foundation and the Janatha Stubbs Foundation.

We wish him from the bottom of our hearts.

This article was published from talk.mt, click here to view.