Organ Recital: Marco d'Avola (organ) and Joseph Lia (baritone)

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847)
from Elijah, Op. 70
     Aria: “It is enough, O Lord, now take away my life.” (1 Kings 19:4+10, Job 7:16)

Eugène Gigout (1844-1925)
Grand chœur dialogué

Francesco Durante (1684-1755)
“Vergin tutt‘ amor”

Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
from Pomp and Circumstance Military Marches, Op. 39
     March No. 1 in D (1901)

Marco D'Avola (b. 1959)
“Sancta Maria”, Op. 68 (premiere)


Joseph Lia (baritone) graduated in Music from the University of Malta. Supported by the Janatha Stubbs Foundation, he furthered his vocal training at the famous St Petersburg State Conservatoire named after N.Rimsky-Korsakov under the tuition of Prof. Sergei Riazantsev, where he obtained a Masters Degree in Voice Performance. With the support of the MGSS Scholarship, Joseph read for a Doctorate Degree in Voice Performance and Pedagogy under the supervision of Prof. Anatoly Kisilev and Prof. Sergei Riazantsev.

Joseph has performed the main roles of Germont in Verdi's Traviata, Uberto in Pergolesi's La Serva Padrona, Ebn-Haki in Tchaikovsky's Iolantha, Count Almaviva in Mozart’s Nozze di Figaro and Dottor Malatesta in Donizetti's Don Pasquale, while also other minor roles like Loreck in Giordano’s Fedora, Paris in Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet, Baron in Verdi’s Traviata, Fiorello and Ufficiale in Rossini's Barbiere di Siviglia, Commissiario Imperiale in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, Marullo and Monterone in Verdi’s Rigoletto, and Sciarrone in Puccini's Tosca.

Joseph is also an accomplished recitalist, mastering the lieder and oratorio repertoire. He has given various solo recitals, and has taken part in various international festivals including the Tallinn BachFest, Universe of Music in Moscow, Italian Opera Taormina, Ragusa Ibla Organ Festival, Alion Baltic International Music Festival, Tallinn Organ Festival, Peter de Grote Chamber Music Festival in Holland, Gaulitana Festival, Victoria International Arts Festival and Spring Orchestra Festival in Malta. Lia also had the privilege to perform with the world famous tenor Joseph Calleja during the annual patron's event of the BOV Joseph Calleja Foundation.

Lia has performed in venues of note, namely the Rachmaninov Hall, the St Petersburg Capella, the Glazunov Hall, Yekaterinburg Philharmonic Hall, Barnaul Philharmonic Hall, Manoel Theatre, Niguliste Cathedral, St. John's Co-Cathedral, Wienersaal and others. He also served as a judge in various competitions in St. Petersburg, coached several singers and choirs, and invited to give presentations at the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatoire and Johann Strauss School of Music. Joseph Lia has been invited to give masterclasses in voice at the Vytautas Magnus University Music Academy in Kaunas, Lithuania, at the TISIA Istituto Universitario di Studi Musicale, Cefalù in Sicily, at the Piceno Classica Festival in San Benedetto del Tronto in Italy, and Elena Obratsova Cultural Centre in St.Petersburg, Russia.

Joseph is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Malta International Organ Festival, an adviser for Europa Cantat, works for Arts Council Malta, is a visiting lecturer at the University of Malta within the Centre for Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the School for Performing Arts - Music Department, teaches at MVPA, and has just recently been appointed as member of the founding committee of the newly established KorMalta - Malta's National Choir.


Marco D'Avola (b. 1959) is a Sicilian composer, organist and pianist. He earned his diplomas from the “V. Bellini” High Music Conservatory in Palermo, with full marks and  summa cum laude. Then he followed many proficiency courses with international musicians. As organist, he has given a lot of recitals in Europe, Russia and the United States for the most important International Organ Festivals.

As a composer, he has composed a considerable number of symphonic, choral and instrumental works including: the  Messa di Requiem, dedicated to Pope John Paul II, at the Vatican; five concertos for organ and orchestra (the no. 1 performed by the Philharmonic Orchestra State Belorussia, Minsk; the no. 3 performed by the Franziskanerkirche Orchestra, Salzburg); two concertos for piano and orchestra (the no. 1 performed at the Int. Festival of Contemporary Music, Bacau; the no. 2 performed by the National Aegyptian Philharmonic Orchestra, Cairo); the  Te Deum; the  Stabat Mater;  Sinfonia degli Hyblaei; three organ sonatas; toccatas and fugues; two sacred oratorios (the no. 2 op. 49 performed at San Miniato al Monte Abbey, Florence); the  Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, op. 36 (performed for the Teatro Massimo, Palermo).

Marco D’Avola is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, London, and Honorary Inspector of the Region of Sicily for the safeguard of historical organs.

His musical compositions have been recorded and published by Pauline Editions (Vatican), IMS (New York), TGE (Switzerland), Berben, Eurarte (Italy), and broadcast by RAI, the Vatican Radio, the German, French, Spanish, Polish and Romanian televisions, and KCME Denver (USA).