Charlene Farrugia is one of the international ambassador artists of the Euro Mediterranean Music Academy (EMMA for Peace), a global non-profit organization for music culture and cultural diplomacy, under the patronage of UNESCO, and with the honorary presidency of Maestro Riccardo Muti. As a soloist, she made her debut with the Maltese National Orchestra at the age of 13, conducted by Jonathan Butcher, and has since performed with prestigious orchestras such as the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra, the European Union Chamber Orchestra, the Kaliningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, the Arad State Philharmonic Orchestra, and many others. Her repertoire includes 22 piano concertos, including those by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Rachmaninoff, Schumann, Grieg, Poulenc, and many more.
In 2020, she was awarded the title of Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) by the Committee of Special Merit of the Royal Academy of Music in London. In 2018, she received a national award for her significant achievements in the field of international artistic career, awarded by the Ministry of Culture of Malta through the Arts Council of Malta. Since 2001, she has been included in the Hübners' "Who is Who" (USA, 9th edition), which lists prominent figures in economics, politics, science, culture, art, and sports. She was also named Woman of the Year by the American Biographical Institute on two occasions (2003 and 2006).
She has performed in France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, China, Great Britain, Italy, the USA, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Russia, Romania, Lithuania, Monaco, Slovenia, Turkey, Croatia, and in important venues such as Smetana Hall in Prague, the United Nations Hall in New York, the Oriental Arts Centre in Shanghai, and the Princess Grace Theatre in Monaco. To date, she has recorded seven CDs for prestigious labels such as Naxos Records, Sony Classical (Korea), Grand Piano Records, Navona Records, and Parma Recordings. Her first solo album of works by Aram Khachaturian, sponsored by the BOV Joseph Calleja Foundation, was released in March 2021 to critical acclaim and has reached 20 million streams on Spotify. These CDs were recorded in important halls and studios such as Henry Wood Hall in London and the Wiener Konzerthaus in Vienna, with the collaboration of Grammy Award-winning producers and sound engineers.
Her recordings have been featured on BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio Scotland, RAI 3, ABC Classic (Australia), ORF RADIO OEI, Radio Bremen, and many other stations. She has performed in front of an audience of eminent figures such as Prince Richard - Duke of Gloucester, Sir Roger Moore, Ringo Starr, David Cameron, Boris Johnson, and the presidents and prime ministers of Commonwealth countries. She has collaborated with notable musicians such as Dmitry Yablonsky (conductor), Joseph Calleja (tenor), Ning Feng (violinist), Dimitri Ashkenazy (clarinettist), Anton Sorokow (violinist), and others.
Charlene studied locally with Dolores Amodio and graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in London under the tutelage of Diana Ketler and completed her doctorate in the class of Prof. Kenneth Hamilton. She furthered her studies with Prof. Boris Petrushansky. She currently teaches Piano at the Department of Piano Studies at the Academy of Music in Pula, Jurja Dobrila University of Pula.