Charles Camilleri, John Gardner, Fabrizio della Seta, Lior Shambadal and Franco Donatoni mentored composer, musicologist and conductor John Galea while pursuing studies at the University of Durham and the Università degli Studi di Pavia. His musical style possesses a Mediterranean-inspired idiom that warmly shines forth in his works that range from solo to chamber, choral and orchestral works. His compositions have been performed in Malta, Greece, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and the United Kingdom. He has also been invited on various occasions to sit and chair the adjudicating panel of the prestigious Valentino Bucchi Composition Competition in Rome and the Mikulas Schneider-Trnavsky Vocal Competition in Slovakia, the E. Sollima International Piano Competition in Palermo, the Valletta International Piano Festival and the Malta International Choir Festival.
John Galea has also been invited to participate and has read papers in the international meeting of choir conductors and composers from the Mediterranean organized by the ‘Moviment Coral Catalunya’ in Barcelona. He has also conducted masterclasses at the Music Conservatoires in Trapani, Venice, and the Università degli Studi di Catania. Last year he has invited to lecture on Improvisation and Composition at the Conservatorio ‘Luigi Cherubini’ in Firenze.
Since 1978, John Galea has been a regular guest conductor of the Manoel Theatre Orchestra. During 1998-2000 he was appointed Principal Conductor of the National Orchestra of Malta. Since then he has appeared regularly as guest conductor with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra. As musical director of ‘Opera Studio’ in Malta (1990-93) he collaborated with Prof. Dobreva in realising various operatic productions at the Manoel Theatre. Galea has been instrumental in introducing children’s opera at the Manoel Theatre, conducting the Royal Academy Ensemble (London) in John Gardner’s Bel and the Dragon. John Galea has been the musical director of the Chorus Urbanussince 1979. He has conducted the choir during its choral tours of Italy, Switzerland, UK, Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria, Greece and France. As from 2003, he was appointed conductor of the King’s Own Philharmonic Society of Valletta.
Dr John Galea who is currently the Head of the Music Department, School of Performing Arts at the University of Malta has also been appointed as a member of the POLIFONIA III Cycle Working Group, a EU three-year project (2012-2015) run by the Association of European Conservatoires.