Mediterranean Letters invites you to an evocative evening where classical music and poetry intertwine, capturing the spirit of the Mediterranean—its culture, traditions, and heritage.

Violinist Justyna Zanko and pianist Julia Miller will present a vibrant program featuring works by composers inspired by the region:

• Rosario Scalero (Italy) – Drei Stücke op. 17
• Mikis Theodorakis (Greece) – Three Pieces for December
• Pablo de Sarasate (Spain) – Romanza andaluza
• Camille Saint-Saëns/Georges Bizet (France) – Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso op. 28
• Charles Camilleri (Malta) – Three Folk Songs from Malta
• Karol Szymanowski (Poland) – ‘Fountain of Arethusa’ from Myths op. 30

The music, ranging from the Romantic to the contemporary, will be interwoven with poetry by Mediterranean voices such as Eugenio Montale, Antonio Machado, Paul Verlaine, John Portelli and Federico García Lorca, performed by Maltese actor Natalie Naudi.

This unique concert highlights the dialogue between word and sound, exploring how both draw inspiration from the Mediterranean’s landscapes, rhythms, and atmosphere.

Performers:

Justyna Ewa Zańko is a Polish concert violinist, soloist, and chamber musician, as well as the Artistic Director of VirtuClassic and President of the Virtuoso Music Foundation.

She is a graduate of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, Poland (Master of Arts in Music – Faculty of Instrumental Studies) and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in the UK (Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Performance). Throughout her academic and masterclass training, she studied under renowned violin masters such as Rimma Sushanskaya (the last student of David Oistrakh), Igor Oistrakh, Zakhar Bron, Roman Lasocki, Antoni Cofalik, among others.

Her international career has taken her to some of the world’s most prestigious stages, such as Carnegie Hall in New York, the Royal Albert Hall in London, Beethoven House in Bonn, Palais de Monaco in Paris, and Mozarteum in Salzburg. She is regularly invited to perform at international festivals and concert series, including the Wieniawski Brothers International Festival, Virtuoso Music Festival in Stratford-Upon-Avon (UK), TEDx Lublin and the Victoria International Arts Festival in Malta.

As a soloist, she has performed with the Lublin Philharmonic, Stratford Virtuosi Orchestra, and the Birmingham Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Cheung Chau, Michael Seal, Rimma Sushanskaya and Piotr Wijatkowski.

Justyna Zanko is a winner of first prizes and recipient of special awards in numerous international competitions, including the Golden Classical Music Awards, Grand Prize Virtuoso, and the Bach International Music Competition.

Her musical interpretations are distinguished not only by technical precision and artistic maturity but above all by a unique sensitivity and delicacy — hallmarks of her distinctive artistic identity.

Polish-born pianist Julia Miller graduated from the Music Academy of Lodz in piano performance and chamber music under the tutelage of Prof. Anna Wesolowska- Firlej, Prof. Boguslaw Pikala and Prof. Cezary Sanecki, just to name the few. She was a finalist in several competitions and had her own trio that performed in the most prestigious locations in Poland. Since then, she has carved for herself an international career both as a soloist and as a musical collaborator. She has performed at notable venues in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Poland, and Malta.

After a stint in Dublin, Ireland, Julia moved to Malta in 2012 and built herself a reputation as both an accompanist to vocalists as well as an accomplished pianist in her own right. She collaborated with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, Kor Malta, the Manoel Theatre Youth Opera, Opera Nova. She has been present and is regularly invited to several festivals, including Malta Baroque Festival, Malta International Spring Festival, Gaulitana Festival, Victoria International Arts Festival, TEDx Lublin and Festival Musicale delle Nazioni in Rome.

Since 2019, Julia Miller has also started a series of solo recitals titled ‘Julia Miller Plays’, playing a wide-ranging repertoire of classical piano pieces, especially from the Romantic Period. She is also a teacher at the Malta Visual and Performing Arts (MVPA) School and Malta School of Music where she works in piano and chamber music departments.

Currently, she is completing her DMus at the University of Malta under the supervision of Prof. Michael Laus and Dr Max Erwin where she is focusing on female composers from the end of 19th century from USA and Sweden.

Natalie Naudi studied Mathematics and Physics at University level, and teaches Science in a Secondary School. She also studied Music Performance and Music Theory and has a diploma in both. The piano was her main instrument of study, but she also plays the guitar and ukulele, and is learning the tin whistle and bagpipes in her free time.

Natalie is a producer and presenter of various television programmes on TVM, namely ‘Ħxejjex u Ħwawar’, ‘Annona: Ikel u Identità’, ‘Tessuti u Bizzilla’ and ‘Calendi’. She is currently producing and presenting the programme ‘Etiquette: L-Istorja mill-Bidu Nett’.

Natalie had a role in a couple of theatre productions including two at the Manoel Theatre, ‘Pagliacci’ and ‘La Boheme’. Furthermore, she had a small role in the local television productions ‘The Women of the George Cross Island’, ‘Chalet’ and ‘Iż-Żmien Bejnietna’. More recently, she had a main part in the play ‘L-Istatwa’ at Spazju Kreattiv.