The Goldberg Ensemble, named after Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, the German harpsichordist who lent his name to Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations, consists of a polyphonic chamber choir and a flexible group of professional musicians, formerly the Anon Ensemble. This collaboration of singers and instrumentalists in a single ensemble is the first of its kind in Malta.The vocal section of the Goldberg Ensemble, consisting of about 24 singers coming from various established choirs in Malta, brings together choral enthusiasts to perform primarily baroque choral music in a more exhaustive manner.

Michael Laus - Director

The inspiration and motivator behind the Goldberg Ensemble, Michael Laus directs the ensemble and plays the harpsichord. He graduated in piano, harpsichord, composition and conducting at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Milan. Apart from being Associate Professor at the University of Malta and Principal Conductor of Malta’s national orchestra for 23 years, he has been invited to guest conduct several other prestigious orchestras, such as the Bournemouth Symphony, the Berne Symphony, the Orquestra Sinfonica de Asturias, the Slovak Radio and the Slovak Philharmonic. Laus has conducted a large number of opera performances in Malta, Oviedo (Spain) and Berne (Switzerland). He has a number of recordings on international labels to his credit. These include Ignaz Brull’s Violin Concerto, the score of which he reconstructed from a damaged autograph manuscript, and Cyril Scott’s Harpsichord Concerto, in which his harpsichord playing and conducting were highly acclaimed by the international press.