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Véronique Vella (née Zammit) has written orchestral, solo, chamber and electroacoustic pieces that have been performed in the UK, France, Malta, Italy, Germany, Austria, Malaysia and the US. Since taking up composition in 2005, her works have featured in many festivals locally and abroad, particularly in UK. These include Sound, Sonicfusion, Musica Nova, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Classical Guitar Retreat Festival and Glasgow West End Festival. Interpreters of her work include The Orchestra of Scottish Opera, the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, the Edinburgh Quartet, the Research Ensemble, Equinox Trio, McAllister Agnew duo, flautist Richard Craig, pianist Peter Evans, horn-player Neil Fellows and former member of the Arditti quartet, cellist Rohan de Saram.

Véronique obtained a PhD from Edinburgh Napier University in 2008 and is the first Maltese woman to be awarded a Doctorate in Music Composition. Her thesis is entitled Towards a Notion of Cultural Soundscape as an Informant to Original Music Composition with particular reference to that of the Maltese Islands. Some of her pieces such as Ritratti, Epilogue and L-Ewwel Xita employ original text in Maltese, a language that is rarely featured in the concert-hall. Many of her other works bear Maltese titles, including chamber music work Fjuri, which was described by internationally acclaimed composer Nigel Osborne, as "a stroke of genius".

Having won two music scholarships made available by Dr. Ian Tomlin, Véronique read music in Edinburgh at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. She also received generous support from the Janatha Stubbs Foundation. In 2003, Véronique was awarded a First Class Honours degree in Music, with piano as her first study. Her teachers in UK included Peter Evans, Colin Kingsley and Nicholas Ashton whilst in Malta Véronique studied with Yvette Maria Galea and Michael Laus. In 2002, she was invited to spend a semester at the Tampere Conservatoire in Finland where she received piano-performance coaching from Martti Rautio and The Helsinki Quartet. As a pianist, she has performed as soloist, chamber musician, accompanist and has appeared at several festivals and prestigious venues including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Mediterranean Festival in Tunisia, ‘Navigation du Savoir', the Queen's Hall, St. Giles Cathedral, St. Mary's Cathedral, Chopin Circle of Musicians, Edinburgh Society of Musicians, Edinburgh Festival Theatre (Edinburgh) and the Tron Theatre (Glasgow). In February 2011, Véronique's work for piano and orchestra, Ritratti was one of the winners of the Young Composers Competition. She was invited to premiere the work with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra at the Manoel Theatre, Malta's national theatre.

Véronique’s interest in showcasing contemporary music has been rewarded on several occasions. In 2005, she performed the British premiere of the following works for solo piano: Mediterranean Images, Due Canti and Times of Day by Charles Camilleri. She also recorded these pieces on the composer's request. Other performances include the Malta premiere of ‘...the Dying of the Light’ by Brenton Broadstock in 2004 and the World Premiere of The Corridor by Kenneth Dempster at Edinburgh’s Queens Hall in 2002.

Véronique also holds a Bachelors degree in English and Psychology from the University of Malta but chose to pursue a career in music. While in Edinburgh,Véronique held posts as Lecturer in Music, Principal Piano Tutor and Research Assistant at Edinburgh Napier University, Stevenson College Edinburgh and University of Glasgow. She currently works as a freelance composer, pianist and music tutor.



" ... a work for solo flute by the young Maltese composer Veronique Vella that both entranced and excited. And for it to stand out in a programme of music that included works by Bach, Debussy and Telemann speaks volumes for its immediate attraction."
Garry Fraser of The Courier talks about Wens (September 2009)

"I was taken with her musical language and was keen to write something for solo flute which led to Wens. It proved hugely popular during the premiere and the subsequent performances I have given around the world have been very well received. I am forward to working with her again on this venture."
Aisling Agnew on Gelsomina and Wens on Classical Guitar magazine (May 2011)

"(the) composition that was worth writing home about was Veronique Vella’s Ritratti for Piano and Orchestra, which was the only work wherein artistic conciseness was whittled down to an etching. All four movements were deftly orchestrated and elegantly fashioned."
Kenneth Zammit Tabona on The Times of Malta (February 2011)

"Nothing could be better than having the piano part of the song cycle Passages of Love performed by Vella, its own composer. Seven numbers constitute this cycle. Except perhaps for the last song, the piano part is very sparse but very much to the point, and perfectly matches the lyrics, which are by young Maltese poet Marco Montalto."
Albert Storace on The Sunday Times of Malta (January 2009)


For information on upcoming concerts and events click here.