Michael Piscopo
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Michael Piscopo was born on the 26 of March 1961 in Paola, Malta. He is an author and composer. Michael is married to Dr.Suzanne Piscopo and lives in Ħ' Attard.
He attended the Archbishop’s Seminary in Floriana, and the Upper Secondary School in Valletta before graduating with a BA (Hons) degree in Public Administration from the University of Malta in 1986.
Michael started writing poetry at a young age, and published his first collection of poems called Vrus fil-Vini (Verses in the Veins) in 1987. The step from poetry to song lyrics is a relatively short one, and since his university days, he collaborated on various song-writing projects, locally and abroad. Michael is an enthusiast of musical theatre. Among his credits one finds script and lyrics for an original musical in English called Daggers (2004), together with UK composer Sean Green, with whom he also wrote the ballad Guardian Angel (2006). Michael’s love of the musical theatre genre and his love of the Maltese language saw him venture into the area of adaptation of original works into Maltese. Amongst others, he has completed the Maltese language version of the Broadway musical Man of La Mancha and of the Italian commedia musicale Aggiungi Un Posto A Tavola, which he hopes to bring to the local stage in the near future. In addition, Michael has a catalogue of around 100 songs from famous West End musicals which he translated into Maltese. Dinja Aħjar, [1] Michael’s cover of the Michael Jackson hit Heal The World was performed during L-Istrina 2015 in the presence of HE the President of the Republic Marie Louise Coleiro Preca
In recent years, Michael started writing songs for children. As co-creator of the popular character Fonzu l-Fenek, Michael wrote a series of educational songs which have gained immense popularity among younger children. Fonzu l-Fenek [2], Lola n-Nannakola [3], Miċu l-Qattus [4], Benna l-Baqra [5] and Ħaxix u Frott [6] are just some of the songs written and composed by Michael which are regularly performed at schools around Malta and Gozo, on radio, as well as on YouTube.These songs, as well as Fonzu Rabbit [7] (the English version of Fonzu l-Fenek) have music composed by Michael and arranged by Phyllisienne Brincat. The same applies for the Christmas song Ġej il-Milied [8], launched in 2014 which was an instant seasonal hit. His song Għażiż Papa’ [9], with which Estella Mercieca won the Best Interpretation prize in her section in the Konkors Melodija Maġika 2015 festival is featured in the festival compilation CD. In 2016, Estella performed another one of Michael's songs Ma Nafx [10], in the same festival, placing first in her category.
In addition to writing songs, Michael is also a graphic designer, photographer and illustrator, and has published various children’s storybooks and colour-in books, and a book about the Maltese Islands called Malta - A Journey Across Time together with Canadian Photographer George Fischer. Michael is also involved in the artistic NGO Zararti, with which he has produced a number of stage productions, in Malta and abroad
In the 2018 edition of Konkors Melodija Maġika 2018, singer Briana Micallef placed second in her category with the song written by Michael called Ballerina [11]. In the Konkors Melodija Maġika 2019 edition of the same festival, Briana came first in her category with another song written by Michael, Mistoqsija [12], which also placed second overall.
In 2018, Michael's song Fonzu l-Fenek [13], was one of 9 songs shortlisted to represent Malta in the Children's Songs category of the European Songbook.
Michael's song Ottimista [14], performed by Phyllisienne Brincat was one of the semifinalists in the L-Għanja tal-Poplu 2019. The same song made it to the final of Konkors Kanzunetta Indipendenza 2020.
Michael's song Nagħtu d-Demm, Nagħtu l-Ħajja' (Let's Give Blood, Let's Give Life) [15], performed by the children choir of Phyllisienne Brincat Choir was launched during a special ceremony held at Verdala Palace on June 14th 2019 (World Blood Donor Day) under the auspices of HE the President of the Republic of Malta, Dr.George Vella.
In the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, Michael launched a song aimed at raising awareness among children on the importance of frequent hand washing to fight virus transmission. The song Inħobb Naħsel Idejja (I Love to Wash My Hands) [16], received wide media coverage.
Discography
Konkors Melodija Maġika
| Year | Festival | Song | Singers | Music | Prize | Videos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Konkors Melodija Maġika 2015 | Għażiż Papa' | Estella Mercieca | Best Interoretation | [ (Click for video)] | |
| 2016 | Konkors Melodija Maġika 2016 | Ma Nafx | Estella Mercieca | 1st.Place | [ (Click for video)] | |
| 2018 | Konkors Melodija Maġika 2018 | Ballerina | Briana Micallef | 2nd. Place - Section B | [ (Click for video)] | |
| 2019 | Konkors Melodija Maġika 2019 | Mistoqsija | Briana Micallef | 2nd. Over-All | [ (Click for video)] |
Singles
| Year | Song | Singers | Music | Prize | Videos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dinja Aħjar | [[ ]] | [[ ]] | [(Click for video)] | ||
| Fonżu l-Fenek | [[ ]] | [[ ]] | [(Click for video)] | ||
| Lola n-Nannakola | [[ ]] | [[ ]] | [(Click for video)] | ||
| Miċu l-Qattus | [[ ]] | [[ ]] | [(Click for video)] | ||
| Benna l-Baqea | [[ ]] | [[ ]] | [(Click for video)] | ||
| Ħaxix u Frott | [[ ]] | [[ ]] | [(Click for video)] |
Michael can be contacted by email on:-