Valletta Guitar Festival Brings Three Nights of Guitar to the Heart of Valletta
From 10 to 12 September 2026, the first edition of the Valletta Guitar Festival will bring together internationally acclaimed musicians for three nights of live music at Teatru Manoel and Pjazza Teatru Rjal.
Organised by Festivals Malta under the artistic direction of Simon Schembri, the festival celebrates the guitar across a wide range of musical traditions, from classical and jazz to tango, gypsy swing, Brazilian music and symphonic repertoire.
The festival opens on Thursday, 10 September at 19:30 at Teatru Manoel with The Extraordinary Guitar Night, featuring Rudi Flores, Sébastien Giniaux, Franco Luciani, Quatuor Éclisses, Yamandu Costa, Sandro Zerafa and Vincent Bourgeyx. The concert brings together several musical worlds in one evening, offering audiences a varied programme that moves between tango, jazz, Brazilian guitar and classical repertoire.
On Friday, 11 September at 20:00, Pjazza Teatru Rjal hosts Yamandu Brasileiro: Encounters in Latin Guitar, led by internationally acclaimed Brazilian guitarist Yamandu Costa. Joined by João Pita, Fernando Dalcin, Luciano Maia and Carlos Cesar Motta, the concert celebrates choro, samba and Brazilian instrumental music through seven-string guitar, cavaquinho, mandolin, accordion and percussion.
Pjazza Teatru Rjal
The festival concludes on Saturday, 12 September at 20:30 at Teatru Manoel with The Final Symphonic Concert, featuring Quatuor Éclisses and the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra. The programme includes Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto Andaluz for four guitars and orchestra, alongside works by Albéniz, Bizet and Chabrier.
Alongside the concert programme, the festival also features workshops in jazz guitar, classical guitar, tango and gypsy swing at the Malta Society of Arts. All workshop places have now sold out, reflecting strong interest from local musicians and students.
The Valletta Guitar Festival has been designed for both dedicated music audiences and those simply looking to discover something new. By bringing together local and international artists across some of Valletta’s most distinctive cultural spaces, the festival aims to create a new platform for performance, artistic exchange and musical discovery.
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