Alex Vella Gregory

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Alexander Vella Gregory was born in 18 th October in Malta. He studied piano with Paul Borg and Joanne Camilleri, and obtained a Fellowship of the London College of Music (FLCM) diploma in 2013. In 2002, he won the Ian Tomlin Napier/Malta Music Scholarship which enabled him to pursue a B. Mus (Hons) degree in composition at the Ian Tomlin School of Music, Edinburgh Napier University, where he graduated in July 2006 with honours.

Alexander is active as a composer, performer, and teacher. His works have been performed around the world, and his works are published by United Music Publishers. His output includes orchestral, choral, vocal, chamber and instrumental music. Among his many works are Sinfonija Beltija, two piano concertos, the piano cycle Knejjes, seven piano sonatas, and many choral works.

He is also very active in the theatre scene, and has written music for various theatre companies including Teatru Malta, ODC Ensemble, Teatru Anon, MADC, and many more. His theatre oeuvre includes a Maltese operetta Il-Madonna Tiegħi Aħjar Minn Tiegħek (2018) with a libretto by Trevor Zahra, and a Maltese musical Dnegel u l-Mewt set to premiere in 2024.

In 2015 two songs from his song cycle Mill-Qamar sal-Qabar were recorded by leading Maltese soprano Miriam Cauchi for her album Riflessi. Another set of songs, this time from the song cycle Verità, were also recorded that same year by soprano Gillian Zammit, mezzo Clare Ghigo and harpist Britt Arend as part of an MPO project. In 2019 his horn quartet Sonata sopra l’Agnus Dei, recorded by the Argotti Ensemble, was released on the album Fantasia. In 2020 his song cycle Tluq was recorded by Gillian Zammit (Cantilena, Navona Records) and his orchestral suite Riħ was recorded by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra (Contemporary Colours, Navona Records).

Alexander has participated in several music education projects for children, including The Carnival of Animals (2009), a dance performance for kids, and The Classical Experience (2009), a project which targeted schools. He has also worked on KantaKantun (2014 -2019), an education project commissioned by Valletta 2018 Foundation on music and architecture.

Alexander has worked with many communities, especially those related to festas. These include musical commissions as well as direct involvement. He has written several band marches for Għaqda Mużikali Santa Marija A.D. 1873, of Ħal Għaxaq as well as works for the St Dominic’s festa in Valletta. He has also worked with 12th May Band and Social Club Ħaż-Żebbuġ (Ħuġġieġa, 2019), Home Away From Home Salesians Senglea (L-Għana tas-Sirena, 2016), and many more.

Alexander is also an active researcher and has worked with the Notarial Archives Resource Centre in Valletta (Parallel Existences, Kite Publications, 2018) and The Lost Voices Songbook (Filfla Records, 2021). Recent research projects include Ritwali (2021), a research project on ritual in Malta, and Minn Fuq l-Ispalla (2021), a project on rhyming verses within the festa ritual in Malta, in conjunction with the Department of Maltese within the University of Malta. He is currently working on a research project with the Notarial Archives Foundation on recycled 16th century liturgical manuscripts at the Notarial Archives in Valletta. In 2022 he also published his first volume of poetry, titled Codex Melitensis, with Klabb Kotba Maltin through a grant from the National Book Council.

Alexander holds a PhD in Music Composition with Edinburgh Napier University focusing on city narratives using Valletta as an example, and is an Assistant Professor at Triagon Acadmey. He is also a guest lecturer with various institutions including the University of Malta.

He is an organist with the Cappella Sanctae Catharinae, Malta's only male choir, as well as Artistic Director of the Music & More at the Jesuits cultural programme at the former Jesuit Church in Valletta. He is a Trustee of the Ian Tomlin Malta Edinburgh Music Scholarship Fund.

He also performs a cabaret act as Ċikku l-Poplu.