B I O
Passion Driven | Keen Learner
Born in 1995, Maltese. René received his first musical training from his father Anthony. At the age of five he started attending the “Johann Strauss” Maltese national school of music, where he studied clarinet and piano, whilst completing the 9 year music theory course in 2009.
René obtained the "Associate Diploma" from the "London College of Music" in clarinet performance under the guidance of Maestro Michael Pirotta. He continued his studies in harmony, counterpoint, instrumentation and conducting by consulting with Maestro Luke Vella.
He obtained the "Associate Diploma" of the London College of Music in music composition and is currently completing the orchestral portfolio for the LLCM.
Under the tutorship of Italian composer and arranger Donald Furlano, René successfully completed a 10 week masterclass course in Italy, specialising in composing and arranging for wind bands.
He holds the position of Assistant Band Director, Youth Band Director and Music Tutor at "Soċjeta Santa Marija, Banda Re Ġorġ V, Mqabba."
Away from music, René is a warranted Mechanical Engineer with a Bachelors Degree in Engineering from the University of Malta and a Masters of Science (M.Sc) with distinction in Building Services Engineering from Brunel University (London). He is married to Amanda and father of Jacqui.
Sheet Music Available
International Awards & Publications
René started composing parade marches for local wind bands, and in 2021 was the youngest finalist in the 6th edition of the "Concorso Internazionale di Composizione per Marce, Citta' di Allumiere", selected in the final ten amongst ninety other composers from around the world.
In 2023, he made it to the finals again and won first prize in the Parade Marches category of the "Concorso Internazionale di Composizione per Marce, Citta' di Allumiere", with the march "QUEEN J". Later on, he was a finalist in the First International Composition Competition "Vito Salvatore Monitto", and won the third place award in Category A with the concert march "JACQUI". In December, René won the Platinum Prize and 1st place award at the European Classical Music Awards, with the string quartet "VIDA".
In 2024, René was awarded a special mention award by the jury for his original work for youth band "TWO PERSIAN CATS", in the 10th Sinnai International Composition Competition for Youth Wind Bands. His work for concert band "RISE" made it to the final three in the prestigious 5th International Composition Competition organised by the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE), following a selection of 56 works from 19 different countries around the world.
In these competitions, Rene's works were judged by renowned composers and conductors Marco Somadossi, Jacob de Haan, Kevin Houben, Lorenzo Pusceddu, Franco Arrigoni, Andreas Schafer, Yukiko Nishimura, Jodie Blackshaw and Dr. Nicholas Williams, amongst others. His works were performed by the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) Band, the Portuguese Army Symphonic Band (Portugal) and other different bands in Italy.
His music is internationally published by Scomegna (Italy) and Molenaar (Netherlands).
