ANTHONY CHIRCOP

Born: September 4th, 1929, Ħamrun (Malta)

Died: March 28th, 2006, Santa Venera (Malta)

Nationality: Maltese

In due course, the short impression below will be replaced with a more extensive career overview

BIOGRAPHY

Anthony ‘Twanny’ Chircop, brother to tenor and film star Oreste Kirkop (who performed in England extensively), was a violinist who later became one of Malta’s most active band and orchestra arrangers. Moreover, he served as the Director of Music for the Band of the Armed Forces of Malta for many years, contributing significantly to the standing of the band with his arrangements and leadership style. His orchestrations were played by the Stella Maris Band in Sliema and many others. In latter years, Chircop taught arranging at the School of Music in Valletta.

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

Anthony Chircop conducted the first-ever Maltese entry in the Eurovision Song Contest, ‘Marija l-Maltija’ by Joe Grech, in 1971 in Dublin; the song came last. He got his revenge twenty-three years later, in 1994, when he returned to Dublin as the conductor of ‘More Than Love’ (written and sung by Chris & Moira), which reached a fifth place in that year’s festival.

EUROVISION INVOLVEMENT YEAR BY YEAR

1971 Dublin

Country – Malta

Song title – "Marija l-Maltija"

Rendition – Joe Grech

Lyrics – Charles Mifsud

Composition – Joe Grech

Studio arrangement – Anthony Chircop

Live orchestration – Anthony Chircop

Conductor – Anthony Chircop

Score – 18th place (52 votes)

1994 Dublin

Country – Malta

Song title – "More Than Love"

Rendition – Moira Stafrace & Chris Scicluna

Lyrics – Moira Stafrace

Composition – Christopher Scicluna

Studio arrangement – Vince Tempera

Live orchestration – Vince Tempera

Conductor – Anthony Chircop

Score – 5th place (97 votes)