Macedonian teens stun Valletta with Mozart flash-mob in four-day cultural swap

From North Macedonia to Malta: Young musicians bring Mozart to Valletta
By Hot Malta Staff

Valletta’s Republic Street echoed with more than the usual café chatter on Saturday evening as a flash-mob of violinists, violists and cellists suddenly struck up Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik outside the National Library. Passers-by froze, phones flew into the air, and within minutes a circle of applauding Maltese families, tourists and bakers on their shift break had formed around the orchestra – none of whom were old enough to vote.

The 23 teenagers are members of the Youth Chamber Orchestra of North Macedonia, travelling to Malta for a four-day cultural exchange masterminded by the Valletta-based Teatru Manoel and Skopje’s Macedonian Philharmonic. Their itinerary is packed: a side-by-side rehearsal with the Malta Youth Orchestra inside the 285-year-old theatre, a dawn concert at Upper Barrakka Gardens overlooking the Grand Harbour, and workshops in state schools from Żejtun to Gozo. But the pop-up serenade was the moment that stopped the capital in its tracks.

“Malta feels like an open-air stage,” laughed 17-year-old violinist Sara Jovanovska, still buzzing after the performance. “In Skopje we mainly play in rehearsal rooms. Here, even the limestone walls sing back to you.”

Local context counts. The visit coincides with Malta’s post-pandemic drive to reposition the islands as a year-round cultural destination, not just a summer beach break. The Malta Tourism Authority has chipped in €30,000 to cover accommodation at the refurbished Santa Lucia student residence, while Transport Malta waived bus fares so the young musicians could hop from venue to venue using the same Tallinja card as every teenager in Sliema or Rabat. “We want artists to experience Malta the way Maltese teenagers do,” explained MTA CEO Carlo Micallef. “Affordable, connected, and buzzing.”

Cultural significance runs deeper than photo-ops. North Macedonia is pushing for EU membership; Malta holds the EU Council presidency track-record for fastest accession talks. Music, officials argue, can humanise the geopolitics. “When a Macedonian kid borrows a bow from a Maltese counterpart, that’s the European project in 4/4 time,” said Teatru Manoel artistic director Kenneth Zammit Tabona, who greeted the players in the theatre’s courtyard still smelling of freshly ground coffee from the café next door.

Community impact is already visible. St Monica School in Birkirkara has added Macedonian folk song “Jovano Jovanke” to its year-six choir repertoire; the Macedonians will counter with a Maltese-language rendition of “L-Ewwel Tfajla li ħabbejt” during Monday’s joint concert. “We’re basically swapping lullabies,” explained Malta Youth Orchestra conductor Michael Laus. “If that doesn’t build soft power, I don’t know what does.”

The timing also gives Valletta’s retailers a pre-summer boost. The orchestra’s Instagram reel of them tasting pastizzi at Is-Serkin racked up 1.2 million views in 24 hours, prompting a spike in North Macedonian comments asking for “that ricotta cloud recipe”. Café owner Raymond Caruana has already printed “Macedonian-approved” stickers for his windows. “Never thought Mozart would sell peacocks,” he grinned, referring to the flaky pastries. “But I’ll take it.”

Not everyone is serenading, though. Some Valletta residents grumbled about closed streets and extra litter. One Facebook group demanded to know why taxpayer money funds “foreign kids playing centuries-old Austrian music”. In response, the education ministry released a quick-fire clip showing Macedonian violinist Blagojče Trajkovski teaching a Maltese eight-year-old how to hold a bow. The caption: “Centuries-old, future-ready”.

Back inside Teatru Manoel, the joint tuning session feels like a metaphor in real time. Macedonian and Maltese teenagers compare rosins the way other teens trade Pokémon cards, discovering that humidity makes Malta’s sound warmer, Skopje’s sharper. “Different climate, same adrenaline,” noted Malta Youth Orchestra percussionist Kaya Vella. By the time they launch into the final movement of Mozart’s Divertimento in D, the conductor is practically redundant; the players are watching each other’s breath instead.

The tour ends Tuesday night with a free concert at Pjazza Teatru Rjal, gates open at 8 pm, no tickets required. Bring a cushion – the limestone steps get unforgiving – but come early. Something tells us Republic Street might just pause again.