Language Options
en

The Holy Land Organ Festival
Music from the Churches of the Middle East and the Levant

The unique feature of the Terra Sancta Organ Festival is that it is being held at the churches and shrines of the Holy Land and in the locations where the Franciscan Friars of the Custody of the Holy Land have been active for centuries: Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria.

The Terra Sancta Organ Festival is one way to bear witness to the presence of the Christian communities in the Middle East and the Levant in the field of music and culture. Here, organ music is a superior artistic contribution perceived as specifically Christian, the pipe organ being present almost exclusively inside churches. The festival is also an opportunity to promote the maintenance of organs and the study of this instrument, necessary for the liturgy.

The concerts take place in churches, but all are welcome, regardless of their religious affiliation: the Terra Sancta Organ Festival represents, in fact, one of the rare occasions in the Middle East and the Levant in which one can listen to the sound of a pipe organ outside of its normal liturgical context.

 


TERRA SANCTA ORGAN FESTIVAL 2022/23

Program updated to 7 March 2023

ORGAN & MUSIC FESTIVAL RHODES
RHODES – Church of St. Francis

All concerts at 8:00 pm – Admission free

Tuesday 4 October 2022

Organ Recital

Matteo Francesco Golizio, organ (Italy)

In collaboration with the Italian Institute of Culture in Athen

 

Thursday 6 October 2022

Voice, Choir and Organ Recital

Rania Panagiotou, soprano (Athens, Greece)

Chris Paraskevopoulos, organ (Athens, Greece)

Vocal Ensemble and Mandolin orchestra of the City of Petaludes

Flora Pelekanou, conductor(Rhodes, Greece)

 

Saturday 8 October 2022

Organ Recital

Stelios Daniilidis, organ (Athens, Greece)

 

Sunday 9 October 2022

Organ Recital

Eleni Keventsidou, organ (London United Kingdom – Athens Greece)

 

*****

HOLY LAND PIPE ORGAN WEEKS

All concerts are at 6:00 pm – Admission free

Mészáros Zsolt Máté (Hungary), organ

Nazareth, 31 October 2022, Basilica of the Annunciation
Tel Aviv-Yafo, 1 November 2022, Church of St. Peter (Old Jaffa)
Jerusalem, 3 November 2022, Church of St. Saviour (New Gate)
Bethlehem, 4 November 2022, Church of St. Catherine at Nativity

In collaboration with the Embassy of Hungary in Tel Aviv and the Representative Office of Hungary in Ramallah

Cosimo Prontera (Italy), organ – Giuliana Mettini (Italy), soprano
Tel Aviv-Yafo, 8 November 2022, Church of St. Peter (Old Jaffa)

In collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute in Tel Aviv

Cristina Struta (Romania), organ

Nazareth, 9 November 2022, Basilica of the Annunciation
Jerusalem, 10 November 2022, Church of St. Saviour (New Gate)
Bethlehem, 11 November 2022, Church of St. Catherine at Nativity

In collaboration with the Romanian Cultural Institute

Giulio Mercati (Italy), organ

Tel Aviv-Yafo, 15 November 2022, Church of St. Peter (Old Jaffa)
Nazareth, 16 November 2022, Basilica of the Annunciation
Jerusalem, 17 November 2022, Church of St. Saviour (New Gate)
Bethlehem, 18 November 2022, Church of St. Catherine at Nativity

In collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute in Tel Aviv and the Italian Cultural Institute in Haifa

*****

HAIFA PIPE ORGAN SEASON

Hecht Museum Auditorium
in cooperation with “Organ lovers in Israel at the Treasures of the Jewish Music Association”

All concerts at 11:00 am

28.10.22 Yuval Rabin (Israel)

11.11.22 Karel Martinek (Czech Republic) – In collaboration with Czech Center – Tel Aviv

09.12.22 Yuval Rabin (Israel) – 200 Hundred years for C. Franck

13.01.23 Alessandro Bianchi (Italy) – In collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute – Haifa

10.02.23 James Welch (USA)

10.03.23 Zsolt Garai (Romania) – In collaboration with the Romanian Cultural Institute

14.04.23 Rodolfo Bellatti (Italy) In collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute – Haifa

12.05.23  Monty Benet (USA)

09.06.23 Yuval Rabin (Israel)

Tickets: 60 shekels

Annual subscriptions: 250 shekels

*****

ORGAN & MUSIC FESTIVAL SYRIA 2022

Friday 4 November at 6:00 pm:
DAMASCUS: Church of St. Paul in Bab Touma (Deir El Kabir)Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679 – 1745): Missa Omnium Sanctorum. Ensemble Classica conducted by Missak Baghboudarian

Monday 7 November at 8:00 pm:
DAMASCUS: Damascus Opera House
Classical organ recital by Juan De La Rubia (Spain)

Thursday 10 November at 8:00 pm:
DAMASCUS: Damascus Opera House

Great concert for organ and orchestra with Silvio Celeghin (Italy) and the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Missak Baghboudarian

Saturday 12 November at 5:00 pm:
DAMASCUS: Church of Sant’Anthony in Salhieh
Concert with Silvio Celeghin (Italy), organ, Rasha Abu Shuker, soprano, Marla Sehnawi, flute, Dulamah Shehab, trumpet.

Monday 14 November at 8:00 pm:
DAMASCUS: Damascus Opera House
Organ improvisation on classical and Syrian melodies by Michael Koller(Austria), with Kenan Adnawi, oud.

Thursday 17 November at 7:00 pm:
LATAKIA: Church of the Sacred Heart:
Organ improvisation by Michael Koller (Austria) on “Passion and Resurrection of Christ” from the silent film The King of Kings (1927): world first Arabic translation of captions.

Saturday 19 November at 7:30 pm:
ALEPPO: Church of St. Francis
Classical organ recital by Michael Koller (Austria); with the participation of the “Ensemble Classica”.

*****

JORDAN: Amman

Amman – Terra Santa Cultural Center

Thursday, 16 March 2023 at 7:00 pm – Admission Free

“THE KING OF KINGS” (1927)

a silent film on the Passion of Christ

with a musical performance by FAUSTO CAPORALI (Italy),

organ improvisation and musical commentary

In collaboration with the Embassy of Italy in Amman

 

****

SOL FESTIVAL

(Semaine de l’Orgue au Liban | Lebanese Pipe Organ Week)

19 – 26 March 2023

 

All concerts start at 8 p.m. Admission free

Sunday, 19 March
BEIRUT | National Evangelical Church
AXEL FLIERL (Germany), organ and GEORG HIEMER (Germany) trumpet
In collaboration with the German Embassy in Lebanon

Tuesday, 21 March
MAYSSRAH | Church of St. Elie – Carmelite monastery
film-concert “THE KING OF KINGS” (1927): a silent film on the Passion of Christ
ANTONIO DI DEDDA (Italy), organ improvisation and musical commentary
In collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Beirut

Wednesday, 22 March
BEIRUT Gemmaizeh | Collège des Frères, Sacré-Coeur
ANTONIO DI DEDDA (Italy), organ
In collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Beirut

Thursday, 23 March
AJALTOUN | Church of Mar Zakhia
Concert of the OUTSTANDING ORGAN STUDENTS of the Notre Dame University School of Music
In collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Beirut

Friday, 24 March
BEIRUT Kantary | Church of St. Elie
Hymnos Vocal Ensemble (Philokalia Institute), conducted by SISTER MARANA SAAD (Lebanon)
VICTOR CONTRERAS (Mexico), organ

Saturday, 25 March – event for the National Feast of the Annunciation
BEIRUT | American University of Beirut (AUB) Assembly Hall
Les Solistes de Beyrouth conducted by FERNANDO AFARA (Lebanon)
YVES LAFARGUE (France), organ
In collaboration with the French Embassy in Lebanon

Sunday, 26 March
ZOUK MOSBEH | Church of the Notre Dame de Louaize monastery –
REV. PEDRO ALBERTO SÁNCHEZ (Spain), organ and CHRISTELLE NJEIM (Lebanon), percussions
In collaboration with the Embassy of Spain in Lebanon

 

 

 

The TERRA SANCTA ORGAN FESTIVAL CD

A NEW OPERA PRODUCED BY
THE CUSTODY OF THE HOLY LAND

San Francesco e il Sultano
St. Francis and the Sultan
القديس فرنسيس والسلطان

 

Opera in four parts

Libretto: Bartolomeo Pirone

Music: Fr. Khalil Rahme

Orchestration: Fadi Taouk

Produced by the Custody of the Holy Land with the support of the Italian Cultural Institute in Beirut and Pro Terra Sancta.
Technical sponsor: Noursat / Telelumiere.

Watch it on YouTube

 



Live streaming of concerts and celebrations from Nazareth

Join us to watch the concerts live streaming below:

6 p.m. – Jerusalem, Athens, Rhodes, Cyprus, Damascus, Amman, Beirut
5 p.m. – Roma, Berlin, Wien, Bern and Central European Time
4 p.m. – London, Dublin, Lisbon
12 p.m. – Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires
11 a.m. – EST
10 a.m. – CT
9 a.m. – MT
8 a.m. – PT

WATCH MORE CONCERTS ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL http://www.youtube.com/c/TerraSanctaOrganFestival

OR FACEBOOK PAGE https://www.facebook.com/TerraSanctaOrgan/

 

Contact Us

Terra Sancta Organ Festival
Custodia Terrae Sanctae
Memorial of Moses
Mount Nebo Siyagha
Faysaliyah – P.O.B. 217196
Madaba JORDAN
e-mail: organfestival@custodia.org