About

Recipient of first prizes in the Joyce Dixey Competition (UK) in 2000, the Jaume Dotras Serrabella Polyphonic Composition Competition (Spain) in 2006 and the APS Bank Composition Competition (Malta) in 2012, Christopher Muscat has been described by the local press as ‘a young composer of outstanding talent’ (The Sunday Times) and the ‘stark originality’ (The Malta Independent) of his works has earned him an ever increasing reputation. Cambridge University Press’s TEMPO described his Stabat Mater as a ‘monumental work’ and lauded Muscat’s ‘explosive lyricism’ in Valeriana (which he was commissioned to complete following the untimely death of Joseph Vella). The GRAMOPHONE magazine labelled Muscat’s Mesogeios as a ‘most impressive work’ and the music’s range of expression as ‘extraordinary’. His works have been performed in many important music centres all over Europe, as well as Russia, Africa, China and the United States of America in such prestigious venues as the Philharmonie in Berlin, the Great Hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow and the Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre in China, and had represented Malta in the Festival L’Europe en Musique in Brussels between 2012 and 2017.

As conductor, his ‘clear conducting style’ (It-Torċa), ‘high quality conducting’ and ‘accomplished conducting technique’ (The Sunday Times) have received constant public and critical praise. Since his professional conducting debut in 2000, Muscat has collaborated very closely with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and the Malta Youth Orchestra and has also guest conducted other local and international orchestras and ensembles. Muscat is widely regarded as the leading authority on the great Maltese romantic composer Paolino Vassallo, having been largely responsible for Vassallo’s revival in 2006. Moreover, he has premiered and recorded numerous works by contemporary composers for local television as well as for the international label GegaNEW.

Over the years Muscat has worked and collaborated closely with various internationally-acclaimed ensembles (such as the Medici String Quartet, Quatuor CoryFeye, Leipzig Sinfonietta, Virtuosi di Praga, Orchestra Sinfonica Città di Roma, Orchestra Sinfonica di Sanremo, the Choir of Clare College Cambridge, the National Youth Chamber Choir of Great Britain, and the Coro Sinfonico di Milano Giuseppe Verdi), artistes (such as Matus Jakabcic, David Campbell, Giuseppe Nova, Miriam Gauci, Joseph Calleja, and Gianluca Libertucci), conductors (Leos Svarovsky, Robert Sund, and Ben Parry), and composers (Karl Jenkins, Marco Frisina, and Vytautas Miskinis).

Christopher Muscat is very much active in the field of sacred music. He has been Music Director of the Jubilate Deo Choir since 2004, Director of Music of the Archdiocese of Malta and Maestro di Cappella of the Metropolitan Cathedral since 2018, and is also Head of the Academy of Sacred Music Francesco Azopardi. Muscat has worked with various other choirs and has also conducted special liturgical celebrations in Westminster Cathedral (London) and St. Peter’s Basilica (Vatican). In 2022, he was responsible for the music during the Papal mass that was broadcast worldwide that included the first public performance of his Missa Misercordia Dei.

Through his pioneering work with the Cappella Gregoriana Jubilate Deo, Muscat is at the forefront of a movement that aims to revive the art of plainchant singing in the Maltese islands. His interest in taking Gregorian chant beyond the liturgical confines has led to the creation of Chant, Silence, Sound & Spaces together with percussionist Renzo Spiteri. The blending of chant, percussion and electronic sampling had created much public interest and the project was a finalist for the 2019 Malta Art Awards for innovation. More recently, NAVAL, based on Muscat’s original concept, was a finalist for the 2023 Malta Arts Awards for Best Musical Production.

As founding conductor of VOCALISE (a voluntary organisation aiming at providing training and opportunities for talented singers), Muscat has coached and conducted a number of productions, amongst these Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio, entirely made up of young Maltese singers. For many years he was the chorus master for operas held at the Teatru Manoel (Malta’s national theatre) and in 2017 he was appointed Music Director of Fondazzjoni Paulus, a foundation whose main interest is the promotion of sacred music and the Pauline cult.

Christopher Muscat holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in music studies from the University of Malta as well as a Master of Music degree (with distinction) from the University of Surrey where he studied with Sebastian Forbes (composition and choral conducting), Steve Goss (composition) and Nicholas Conran (orchestral conducting). Muscat is a visiting lecturer in music at the University of Malta and teaches sacred music at the Academy of Sacred Music. Between 2011 and 2017 he occupied the post of Artistic Director and, later, Chairman of the Malta International Choir Festival. Muscat is a member of the World Choir Council and is regularly invited to judge national and international competitions or to give conducting and composition masterclasses.