On September 19 (2014) in connection with the 50th Anniversary of Malta’s Independence,  a commemorative evening was held at the Embassy of the Delegation of the European Union in Washington. During the evening excerpts from my The ‘Hyland ‘ Mass featured prominently. Soprano  Pamela Agius, Tenor Michael Bocknyk and Bass Salvatore Basile sung 4 of the ‘secular’ arias found in the Mass ( and sung in 4 different languages). A recorded version of the whole of the Gloria was also played.  The ceremony, hosted by Malta’s Ambassador to the US, Ms Marisa Micallef , was attended by several Ambassadors to the US among whom was the Italian Ambassador, the Portughese Ambassador and the Papal Muncio. Important people from the US cultural world included David Heyes, director of the New York Choral Society as well as representatives from the famous Mormon Choir and the American Youth Symphony Orchestra. As a start, a performance of the whole Mass is projected for New York in the Autumn  of next year.  The evening came to a conclusion with a lavish reception.  Maltese dishes and food were the order of the day.

The Mass is the brainchild of New York culture vulture and philanthropist Christopher Hyland, who commissioned the work in the first place. Christopher has also thrown in a lot of effort to see the Mass disseminated in several quarters in the US after its premier performance in Malta. I am very thankful and enthusiastic about the ‘super human’ efforts he has thrown in this direction, something which, apparently, will also be bearing fruit in the near future