Festival History

Inaugural edition · 2016

The Modern Composers International Music Festival, previously known as Festival of Modern Composers, took place for the first time in Malta between the 6^th and 9^th of October 2016 at the Robert Samut Hall in Floriana, Malta, with Maltese composer and conductor Joseph Vella as Composer-In-Residence. The festival featured various competitions between young performers, judged by an esteemed panel of international jurors, as well as a series of daytime concerts.

This inaugural edition included a total of four concerts, allowing audiences and participants to benefit from free entrance to all events, including the competitions. The jury panel was made up of some of the most distinguished musicians of our time, and was chaired by Mr Vella himself.

2019 Edition

In 2019, organisers were proud to announce the 3^rd edition of the Modern Composers International Music Festival, known in that year as the Contemporary Classics Composers’ Festival. The festival took place in the Armenian capital of Yerevan from the 1^st to the 9^th of November and involved eight concerts which were hosted at the Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall. Present in attendance were various legends of the contemporary music world, such as Tigran Mansurian, Giya Kancheli, Qigang Chen, Krzysztof Penderecki, Alexey Shor, Georgs Pelecis, Karl Jenkins and Alexander Tchaikovsky. Moreover, world-famous musicians such as Mario Brunello, Gidon Kremer, Boris Berezovsky, Daria Tchaikovskaya, Yuri Bashmet and many others also dignified the proceedings with their presence.

2022 Edition

Throughout 2022, the Modern Composers International Music Festival dedicated an edition to the life and works of the distinguished Latvian composer and musicologist Georgs Pelēcis, in honour of the 75^th anniversary of his birth. Five concerts were organised in all, spread out over a number of months and locations, with most being held in various venues within the Latvian capital city of Riga including the Great Hall of the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, Riga Cathedral and the Small Guild Hall. Featuring a number of internationally-acclaimed artists and musicians who interpreted some of Pelēcis’s most notable works from across his storied career, this festival celebrated the legacy and inimitable talent of the Latvian composer, while also spreading he name and his music to new audiences all around the world.