Marika Azzopardi

The minute I heard Gianluca Bezzina is a doctor, I knew I had to interview him for TheSynapse. Doctor… singer… winner of the National Eurovision 2013 Malta Song Contest with a kind of melody that lifts your spirit. Meeting the 23-year-old turns out to be a heartwarming experience.

A newly-graduated doctor, Gianluca is presently a houseman at the St Vincent de Paul Residence for the Elderly. He had been there only a few weeks when he won the song contest – what was that like? “The old ladies on my ward rounds had known about my participation since a few days before the contest. I am a rather shy person and did not talk to anybody about it much, but you know how it is – things get talked about anyhow.”

His win as a soloist threw him in unexpected limelight. Gianluca is indeed not new to singing. A Youth Fellowship member and a Voices choir singer, he is also part of a band – ‘Funk Initiative’ -formed mostly of housemen playing funk and indie, performing regular gigs in several venues. However, his participation in the National Eurovision 2013 Malta Song Contest had nothing to do with his regular band. “My sister, Dorothy Bezzina, who participated in this and in previous editions of the contest, urged me to take part. The song ‘Tomorrow’ was written and composed by Dean Muscat and Boris Cezek who had seen me as a soloist with Voices and urged me to sing for them. ‘Tomorrow’ is our first public song together. On stage I am accompanied by two backing vocals – Louisanne Bugeja Tate and my sister Samaria, the drummer – Christopher Tate, the ukulele player – Kenney D’Ugo and the bassist – Gabriel Cassar. The song, originally meant for radio, is a three-minute-long version prepared specifically for the contest. During the past few weeks wehave also released another song called ‘I’ll be There’, together with a new version of ‘Tomorrow’ where all my family is singing …”

I realise the doctor has already mentioned two sisters which prompts me to ask about his family. Gianuca’s eyes acquire an added dose of sparkle – “There are seven of us … two girls, three boys and another two girls – 7 kids in 11 years, which makes us a pretty close-knit bunch. I place third, the eldest of the boys. We are a noisy lot, all of us very musical … so there is lots of music constantly playing at home … it can become chaotic at times especially around exam time … but it’s a lively, lovely family of supportive people and I wouldn’t want it any other way. Mum is a primary school teacher (you can understand that she loves children). Dad is an engineer, so we’re all pretty good at sciences.”

Which brings us to talk of his studies.“I love medicine, don’t particularly like surgery, am quite interested in geriatrics, but am mad about paediatrics. I feel very inclined to study that further in the future.” He feels he has learnt a great deal through his experience in geriatrics “It’s not just about the amount of medicines and dosages the elderly generally need to ingest… I am impressed by the old people’s personalities… old people are like a closed box of tales and memories which start spilling out as they get to know you. You develop a relationship with the residents and fortunately we have a low turnover rate here which means most of the residents stay here for a long time.” He continues to tell me of his voluntary experiences first with disabled elderly patients at Cotolengo in Italy, and then two experiences with the poor children of Egypt, followed by a stint with the abandoned kids in Palermo. Does he speak Egyptian? “Not at all, but strangely enough, the Egyptians understand Maltese relatively well. Then again you don’t need much to communicate with children – sometimes a smile and a pat on the head is enough.”

“I was initially concerned about how this singing experience would influence my houseman’s reputation at work and my studies … and I had a dilemma concerning how I would cope with the added responsibilities linked to the contest. But I have found a healthy balance and here at work they have all become my fans … so my ‘medical’ image seems to have been salvaged!” He left for Malmo in Sweden on the 6th of May in preparation for the semifinals on the 16th and if he proceeds further, the finals on the 18th. How does he feel about this? “Well, I always wanted to go to Sweden, so this is a good opportunity. I like what the contest brings about – the experience. It is also another way to evangelise in my own humble manner. I know people look at the way I speak and the way I behave. I am a super calm, super laid-back persona and whilst I was super excited to be taking part, I had no real expectations and just took on the experience for a buzz. In fact I didn’t even know what I would be wearing on stage before my sister took over and made me decide. Ultimately I want the stage to showcase what I am. I never wanted to compete, never imagined I’d win. Kevin Borg? He’s such a nice fellow. I truly expected him to win. He is such a gentleman, offering me his support in Sweden. We keep in touch on facebook”.

And so the fun continues … all of Malta is now pinning its hopes of a super win in Sweden on this quiet, laid-back but truly charming young singer… will he win, will he not? We can only find out… tomorrow…