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The Autumn Season includes two main seasons: the Levant Concert Season (1-8 October 2016) – which comprises the concerts of the Organ & Music Festival of Rhodes (Greece) and the concert in Larnaca (on the only pipe organ existing on the island of Cyprus) – and the Holy Land Concert Season (18 October – 11 November 2016), with seventeen concerts throughout Israel and Palestine (Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Nazareth, Jerusalem, Bethlehem) with a “Prelude” in Jordan on the occasion of the reopening of the Memorial of Moses on Mount Nebo (October 16). The Festival opens on September 25 in Emmaus El-Qubeibeh (Palestine) for the Feast of Sts. Cleopa and Simeon, the “disciples of Emmaus”, according to the Gospel and the Christian tradition.
The Winter season takes place in February 2017 in Lebanon and Syria; we are also planning some concert in Egypt in January. In Syria, the concerts take place in our parish church of St. Anthony, in Damascus in collaboration with the national Higher Institute of Music, and in the Damascus Opera House (www.pipeorgansyria.org forthcoming). In Lebanon, in collaboration with the Notre Dame University – School of Music we have created an independent festival: SOL: Semain de l’Orgue au Liban (Lebanese Pipe Organ Week: 29 January – 5 February 2017) with five concerts in Beirut and neighboring regions (see www.solfestival.org ).
For musicians playing in the Lebanese Pipe Organ Week, please see www.solfestival.org .
8 October 2016
LARNACA – Our Lady of Graces – 7:30 p.m.
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Daniele Dori is the First Organist of Florence Cathedral. He specialized with international teachers (Olivier Latry, Ludger Lohmann, Gerhard Gnann, Luca Scandals, Guy Bovet and others).
Dori has performed in the most important festivals in Italy and in France, Bulgaria, Denmark and Germany.
Dori is the Artistic Director of the International Organ Festival “Harmonia saeculi”, which takes place in Tuscany. In November 2015 Dori played with the Orchestra and Coro of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in occasion of Pope Francis’ visit to the city of Florence. Dori teaches Musical Theory, Piano, Harmony, Organ and choral singing at the “Accademia Musicale Valdarnese” at the Diocesan Institute of Sacred Music in Fiesole. Since October 2015, Dori is Professor of Musical Theory at the Scuola di Musica in Fiesole.
18 October 2016
TEL AVIV – JAFFA – St. Peter’s Church – 6 p.m.
19 October 2016
NAZARETH – Basilica of the Annunciation – 6 p.m.
20 October 2016
JERUSALEM – Church of St. Saviour – 6 p.m.
21 October 2016
BETHLEHEM –Church of St. Catherine at Nativity – 6 p.m.
Witold Zalewski wa graduate from the Academy of Music in Krakow, since 1995 he has been Titular organist at Krakow’s Wawel Royal Cathedral. As a soloist he regularly gives concerts at some of the most important festivals in Poland and abroad.
In addition he is a lecturer at the Intercollegiate Institute for Church Music in Krakow where he runs classes in liturgical practice and the organ. Since 1998 he has been a member of the Church Music Committee at the Metropolitan Curia in Krakow and he has been playing during the pilgrimage of Pope Johann Paul II in Poland. He is the director of the International Organ Festival in Zakopane (Pol). In 2011 he was honored by Pope Benedict XVI with the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal.
25 October 2016
TEL AVIV – JAFFA – St. Peter’s Church – 6 p.m.
26 October 2016
NAZARETH – Basilica of the Annunciation – 6 p.m.
27 October 2016
JERUSALEM – Church of St. Saviour – 6 p.m.
28 October 2016
BETHLEHEM –Church of St. Catherine at Nativity – 6 p.m.
Extended Biography
Dr. Jennifer Pascual was appointed Director of Music at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City in 2003. She is the first woman to hold this position, one of the most prestigious sacred music appointments in the United States. Jennifer has performed in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Italy, the Philippines, Russia and the United States. As the Director of Music, Dr. Pascual had the privilege to conducting music for the Masses during Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to New York in 2008 and Pope Francis’ in 2015.
1 November 2016
TEL AVIV – JAFFA – St. Peter’s Church – 6 p.m.
2 November 2016
NAZARETH – Basilica of the Annunciation – 6 p.m.
3 November 2016
JERUSALEM – Church of St. Saviour – 6 p.m.
4 November 2016
BETHLEHEM –Church of St. Catherine at Nativity – 6 p.m.
Antonio Di Dedda studied at the “U. Giordano” Conservatory in Foggia (Italy) where he currently teaches piano. At the age of 14 he was nominated Titular Organist of the Cathedral of Troia, Foggia. In 2015 he was awarded a “Master of Music” with Summa cum Laude in organ by the Hochschule fuer Musik und Theater in Hamburg.
Di Dedda is the winner of many international Competitions in Piano in France and in Italy and in Organ at the XIII International Organ Competition “Città di Viterbo” and in the National Organ Competition of Naples. In 2015 he obtained the Third Prize in the demanding “Tariverdiev” Organ Competition in Kaliningrad, Russia. He has already performed in Italy and in France, Germany, Lithuania, Spain, UK, and Russia.
8 November 2016
TEL AVIV – JAFFA – St. Peter’s Church – 6 p.m.
9 November 2016
NAZARETH – Basilica of the Annunciation – 6 p.m.
10 November 2016
JERUSALEM – Church of St. Saviour – 6 p.m.
11 November 2016
BETHLEHEM –Church of St. Catherine at Nativity – 6 p.m.
Stefan Donner is the present organist at St. Peter’s Church in Vienna. His previously held positions include: church music assistant at the Nicolaaskerk Amsterdam and organist and choirmaster at Stephanuskerk Amsterdam. Donner is the recipient of various awards including: first prize in the 2008 Daniel Herz Organ Competition (Italy), first prize in the 2010 Franz Schmidt Organ Competition (Austria), and third prize in the prestigious 2011 Dublin International Organ Competition (Ireland).
As a concert organist, Stefan has performed in Europe and the United States. In addition to his organ performances, Stefan is also a regular piano performer with the “Mozart Piano Sonata” series in Vienna. He received his bachelor’s degree from the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien in 2012. Donner was awarded a Master’s degree in organ performance by the Conservatorium van Amsterdam.
30 September – 8 October 2016
Organ & Music Festival Rhodes
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Mario Duellahas played in several countries all around the world: Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, South and Central America, the U.S.A., Canada, Mexico. So far he has performed in more than one thousand concerts. For Paideia-Bärenreiter he published a series of previously unreleased pieces.
His concert programs often feature not only music by famous authors but also less known compositions rediscovered after scrupulous researches in archives and libraries. He is artistic director of the Associazione Culturale Storici Organi del Piemonte and chief organiser of its international organ festivals.
Chris Paraskevopoulos is a very talented Greek organist. As one of the few organists to be found in Greece, since 1991 he has organized a series of organ concerts in various churches in Athens and other cities of Greece. He is vice president and co-founder of the “Friends of the Organ Association,” which aims to install new organs in churches and and ensure its maintenance. He is also the artistic director of the music festival that has taken place since 2009 in the church of St. Francis in Rhodes. In Greece he is a well known and much appreciated teacher of the organ, at the Philippos Nakas conservatory in Athens.
Chris Paraskevopoulos was born in Athens. His musical education began early under the tutelage of the renowned piano teacher Mrs. Evangelia Hasapladakis.
He is a graduate of the Athens National Conservatory in pianoforte from Kate Truli’s class of 1994 and also in composition from Spyros Klapsis’ class of 1997. He is also an LRSM recipient in organ music and a former student of Athens’ Concert Hall organist Mr. Nicholas Kynaston.
He has organized a series of organ concerts in various churches in Athens and other cities of Greece and has given many concerts in the Athens German Lutheran Church as one of its organists where, since 2012, he has been its main Organist and Director of Music. He has performed in various other churches and concert halls in Greece, such as, the First Greek Evangelical Church of Athens, St Paul’s Anglican Church of Athens, St Paul’s Catholic Church in Piraeus, the Sacred Heart of the Saviour Greek Orthodox Church, the Chanea Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, at the Athens National Opera Centre, the Athens Concert Hall, and the Parnassus Concert Hall. He has also played in organ concerts with other artists from the National Opera, the National Radio Broadcasting Company, the Athens Chamber Opera, the wind section of the National Orchestra of Athens, the Athens State Symphony Orchestra and Choir, H2O Opera and other musical groups and organizations.
He has taken part in two Organ Festivals at the Athens Concert Hall organized by the well-known organist Mr. Nicholas Kynaston. He is the Artistic Music Director of the Annual Music Festival of Rhodes that takes place in the Catholic Church of St. Francis, Rhodes, where he gives organ recitals and organizes other musical events throughout the year. He visits Rhodes frequently to play for the liturgies, organize the choirs and assess the condition of both organs.
He has given recitals in the church All Souls, Langham Place in London at the International Organ Series Festival, in the church of St. Saviour in Jerusalem at the International Festival “October Organ Series” and in St. Francis Church in Rhodes since 2009.
In 2008 the choir “Musica Sacra,” which performs sacred choir music from the Renaissance and Baroque periods, was founded and is conducted by him. This choir is unique in all of Greece in performing only this kind of music.
He recorded two CDs in 2007. One for organ music entitled “A Mighty Fortress is our God” and the other “Christmas Melody.” He has been invited to record a new disc with organ and choir music.
In Greece he is a well known and much appreciated teacher of the organ, at the Philippos Nakas conservatory and also gives singing and voice coaching lessons at the St Andrew’s Byzantine Music School.
25 September
EMMAUS EL QUBEIBEH – Terra Santa Monastery at 11:45 a.m.
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Born in Germany, now living in Israel, Gunther Martin Goettsche has worked as organist and choir conductor in Aalen/Wuerttemberg and Braunschweig. From 1992 to 2013 he was Director of the “Schluechtern Church Music Academy”. From 2008 to 2013 he was additional teacher of Organ improvisation at the “Hochschule fuer Kirchenmusik Heidelberg”. Since 2013 he is First Organist of the Lutheran Redeemer Church in Jerusalem.
Goettsche works as composer and arranger of organ and choir works for several German Publishers. With his wife Heidrun (soprano) Gunther Goettsche has performed duo recitals in numerous German towns as well as in Israel, Italy and the USA.
25 September
EMMAUS EL QUBEIBEH – Terra Santa Monastery at 11.45 am
The Dutch mezzo soprano Anne Marieke Evers studied at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. She concentrated afterwards on music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. In Basel she founded the ensemble Grand Desir with recorder player Anita Orme Della- Marta. Anne-Marieke is a sought after solist for oratorio repertoire: Bach’s Passions and Magnificat, C.P.E. Bach, Saint Saens, Vivaldi, Mozart, Mendelssohn and Strawinsky. She sang in opera productions such as Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell in the title role and in L’Enfant et les Sortileges by Maurice Ravel (Tasse Chinoise). She also has a comprehensive Liederrepertoire, inclusive composers as Poulenc (Le Travail du Peintre), Berio (Sequenza III) and Schoenberg (Pierrot Lunaire).
In the USA she was invited as a solist to sing with the Washington Bach Consort (J. Reilly Lewis) and with Bach Sinfonia (Daniel Abraham). She made her debut this year with the Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra (David Shemer, conductor) and sang St. Matthew Passion with them in Jerusalem under the baton of Joshua Rifkin. Next season she will be performing with the Phoenix Ensemble (Myrna Herzog, director).
16 October 2016
JORDAN – Mount Nebo Memorial of Moses – at 9 p.m.
9 February 2017
DAMASCUS – Damascus Opera House – 6 p.m.
10 February 2017
DAMASCUS – Church of St. Antony – 6:30 p.m.
Website: http://www.eugeniomariafagiani.com
EUGENIO MARIA FAGIANI is the organist of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano “Giuseppe Verdi.” He regularly performs in Europe, Russia, the United States and Canada on some of the most important instruments including the: Brucknerorgel della Skt. Florian Stiftsbasilika in Skt. Florian, Linz (A); Domkirche, Eisenstadt (A); St. Clement’s Church, Rathgeb Memorial Organ at Deer Park United Church e St. James Anglican Cathedral in Toronto (CDN); Église Unie St. James, Montreal (CDN); Église Chalmers-Wesley, Quebec City (CDN); Kollegiorgel, Schwyz (CH); Frauenkirche, Dom zu Unserer Lieben Frau, München (D); Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis Kirche, Berlin (D)
He studied with M° Enzo Corti in Milan and got and Organ and Composition Diploma at the “Luca Marenzio” Conservatorium in Brescia. He also graduated in Musicology at the SPFM in Cremona-Pavia University with a graduation thesis on “Marcel Duprè and the art of improvisation.” He took part to several specialization courses in interpretation with Nigel Allcoat, Ewald Kooiman, Piet Kee, Daniel Roth, Gillian Weir and Naji Hakim. Later on he specialized in the art of improvisation with: Nigel Allcoat, Jurgen Essl, Peter Planyavsky e Naji Hakim. He also went thoroughly into the study of Music Analysis with Marcel Bitsch.
He regularly performs in Europe, Russia, the United States and Canada on some of the most important instruments including the: Brucknerorgel della Skt. Florian Stiftsbasilika in Skt. Florian, Linz (A); Domkirche, Eisenstadt (A); St. Clement’s Church, Rathgeb Memorial Organ at Deer Park United Church e St. James Anglican Cathedral in Toronto (CDN); Église Unie St. James, Montreal (CDN); Église Chalmers-Wesley, Quebec City (CDN); Kollegiorgel, Schwyz (CH); Frauenkirche, Dom zu Unserer Lieben Frau, München (D); Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis Kirche, Berlin (D); Ottobeuren Stiftsbasilika (D); St-Marien Domkirche, Hamburg (D); Ulmer Muenster (D); St. Jakobs-Kirche, Rothenburg o.d. Tauber (D); La Madeleine, Paris (F); Saint Saviour’s Church, Jerusalem (IL); Bialystok’s Cathedral (PL); Olsztyn’s Cathedral (PL); Uppsala Domkyrka (SVE); Temple Church, Southwark Cathedral and St. Paul’s Cathedral in London (UK); King’s College Chapel, Cambridge (UK); Basilica of the National Shrine of Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. (USA); St. Thomas (Episcopal) Church, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and St. Bartholomew’s Church in New York City (USA); Saint Paul’s United Methodist Church, Rochester MI (USA); Hill Auditorium, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (USA); Santuario della Verna (I); Basilica di S. Vitale, Ravenna (I); Duomo di Messina (I).
He is invited to hold masterclasses and lectures for several important musical institutions around Europe and North America as Cambridge University Organ Scolars’ Forum (UK) and the Royal Canadian College of Organists, Toronto (CDN), and he is now the professor of the Improvisation Class created by the Ente Ecclesiastico of the Messina’s Dome (Sicily). He is also invited as juror in international competitions.
During October 2012 he had done his first Russian Concert Tour that has received enthusiastic praise, with nine concerts in three weeks in some of the most important Concert Halls of Russia (Philharmonic Halls of Perm, Nizhniy Tagil, Omsk, Chelyabinsk, Ufa, Tyumen, Ekaterinburg and Khabarovsk – as soloist with the Far East Symphony Orchestra) and Moscow’s Cathedral. The success of this tour is worth the immediate invitation to a new major tour in the 2014-2015 season.
In 2008 he was appointed as Guest Organist of the Franciscan Shrine of La Verna, Arezzo. In 2010, he began the collaboration as organist with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano “Giuseppe Verd,” with which he has recorded also for the Italian’s state broadcasting company Radio Tre Rai. On the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy he performed Britten’s War Requiem at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan with the Orchestra under the baton of Xian Zhang. With LaVerdi he also took part in their Russian Tour, with concerts in the Great Tchaikovsky Hall of Moscow’s Conservatory, and the Glinka’s Chapel of the Imperial Palace in St. Petersburg, that the Orchestra held in November 2012. As well as worked with the orchestra in the recording project of the symphonic music of Nino Rota (6 CD), published by Decca in 2013. In September 2013, he was with LaVerdi at the BBC-Proms in London, on the well known instrument of the Royal Albert Hall, again under the baton of Xian Zhang. In November 2013, he was the organist in the highly praised performance of the Mahler’s 8th Symphony that the LaVerdi gave with maestro Riccardo Chailly in Milano.
As a composer, his works include pieces for camera ensemble, organ and orchestra and are published by Carrara, Turris and Delatour France. His production for organ, whose relevance is internationally well-established (performed by several artists in top venues: from the Tokio’s University to the Leizpig’s Gewandhaus, from Notre Dame de Paris to the Sydney’s Cathedral via the Hill Auditorium of the University of Michigan), is testified by the continuous commissions from European and North-American Festivals as well as from world top-class virtuosos. These works are now part of the repertoire of some of the most prestigious artists of our time as John Scott, Stephen Tharp, Johannes Geffert, Carol Williams, Robert Kovacs and David Briggs.
He is also the author of a very successful series of organ transcriptions.
With the CD “Crucis Christi Mons Alvernae”, recorded with the choir of La Verna’s friars, obtained the “Recording of the year 2009” acknowledgement from Alias, cultural review of the National newspaper Il Manifesto, by the director of the contemporary music review Konsequenz.
He records with the German label Spektral Records.
9 February 2017
DAMASCUS – Damascus Opera House – 6 p.m.
Extended Biography
Founded, as a necessity to the development of the Syrian musical life was a normal result of the High Institute of Music. Its work is the main source of its musicians, which was established in 1993 under the patronage of H.E. Hafez Al Assad, President of Syria Arab Republic. Mr. Solhi Al Wadi established the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra and he became the first Conductor of the Orchestra whereby the Orchestra performed locally and on international stages. Since 2012 the SNSO is taking part of Damascus Opera House. The Principal Conductor of the Orchestra is Missak Baghboudarian.
During its concert in the U.S. it was awarded a special certificate from the U.S. Congress and the Art Centre where the performance took place. Mr. Solhi Al Wadi received a special certificate from the American Congress and from the Art Centre, where he held the concerts. Some of the Orchestra’s members took part in other orchestras such as; La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra, European Mediterranean United Orchestra, Euro Youth Orchestra, the ECUME Orchestra, the Algerian National Orchestra, the Orchestra of the National Institute in Jordan and Alexandria’s Bibliotheque Orchestra. In 1995 and with the cooperation of the British Council the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra presented Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” as the first opera to be preformed in Syria in Damascus, Palmyra and Bosra.
A number of international conductors and soloists worked with the Orchestra, i.e., Nouri El Rouheibany, Raad Khalaf, Andre Malouli, Armenouhi Simonian (Syria), Walid Ghoulmieh and Harout Fazelian (Lebanon), M. Othman Saddik (Jordan), A. Saidi (Egypt), E. Melkus – W. Groehs (Austria), A. Yeshlisham (Turkey), F. Reiting (Chile), D. Rudg (U.S.A.), Pierre Alain Biget – Sylvain Gasancon – Grigori Pantelitchouk (France), G. Tchitchinadze (Georgia), R. Muti and A. Guaragna (Italy), M. Thomas (First clarinet at the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra), Armen Babakhanian (Armenia) and Gloria Scalchi ( Italy), Simon Camartin (Switzerland).
On February 2007 the Orchestra played with the world famous tenor Placido Domingo and the soprano Kallen Esperian conducted by Eugene Kohn in the “Education without borders 2007” conference in U.A.E. The SNSO had the honour to inaugurate the Dar Al Assad for Arts and Culture (The Damascus Opera House) conducted by Missak Baghboudarian and in the presence of H. E. the President of the Syrian Arab Republic (May 2004) and the opening and closing concert of Damascus 2008, Arab Capital of Culture (January 2008) with Marcel Khalife and Umaima Al Khalil. On May 2009 the Orchestra played also with the famous tenor Roberto Alagna and the soprano Nathalie Manfrino conducted by Giorgio Croci.
9 February 2017
DAMASCUS – Damascus Opera House – 6 p.m.
Missak Baghboudarian, conductor of the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra since 2003. Born in Damascus, Missak made his first debut in December of 1994 with the SNSO then he studied conducting in Italy from 1997 till 2002 with Julius Kalmar and he took part in some master-classes with H. Handt, D. Pascu, M. Beck, Carl St. Clair, Jorma Panula and Riccardo Muti.
He has conducted several concerts with Florence Amadeus Orchesra in various Tuscany cities (Florence, Chianciano, Vicchio, Poggibonsi, etc.). He has also conducted the Bruno Maderna Symphony Orchestra of Forlì, the Hans Swarowsky Orchestra of Milan, the Orchestra of the National Academy of Bucharest, the New Phiharmonic Orchestra of Sofia, the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of Dominican Republic, the Grunbunden Kammerphilharmonie, Bilkent Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra of Algeria.
He conducted the SNSO in several concerts in Syria (Damascus, Aleppo, Lattakia, Homs) and abroad (Lebanon – Bahrain – Jordan – Oman – U. A. E. – Turkey – Italy and Algeria).
He worked with international soloists like Armen Babakhanian, Galina Vartcheva, Ghazwan Zerkly, Kinan Azmeh, Raji Sarkis, Daniele Giorgi, Bassam Nashawati, Gloria Scalchi, Riccardo Savdiford….
On 2004 he had the honor to conduct the SNSO in the opening concert of the Damascus Opera House and at the opening and closing ceremony of “Damascus Arab Capital of Culture 2008” in the presence of H.E. the President of the Syrian Arab Republic.
In 2006 he participated with The Orchestra of the High Institute of Music in Young-Euro-Classic festival at the Konzerthaus Berlin.
In 2010 he conducted “Le Nozze di Figaro” the first Opera produced by the Damascus Opera House.
In 1998 founder member of the “Cantiere Musicale di Toscana” Association – Italy.
From 1998 – 2006 Coordinator of the “Estate Regina” festival – Montecatini Terme – Italy.
In 2010 he received a Medal of Honor “Stella della Solidarietà Italiana” order of “Commendatore” from the President of Italy for his efforts and achievements in developing the musical cooperation projects between Syria and Italy.
12 February 2017
DAMASCUS – Church of St. Paul – 7 p.m.
The aim to introduce the baroque music and its richness is the goal of the Damascus Baroque Soloists from their creation in 2008. The main idea was to create an instrumental group, with a very variable instrumental team, that includes professional musicians as well students in order to perform music in a correct historical way, in the better “authentic” way possible. The Damascus Baroque Soloists has been part, past year, of the creation of a baroque music festival that is held in the Damascus Opera House.
This was a dreamy ambition: first of all the complete absence of a tradition on performing “ancient” music; the very difficult conditions they had to collaborate with foreigners musicians (difficulties even harder in the latest years due to very evident reasons); dreamers because their goal is really focused on an educational purpose letting young musicians repertoire that is far beyond the Vivaldi’s Four Seasons or its Gloria; to make possible the performance of works by Monteverdi, Marini, Corelli, Telemann among others. They were ambitious also because they decided to pursue an idea of a main theme program for their programs as: the orchestral suite; the Sacred and the secular love; the concerto; the “Second Practice”.
In 2006 they tried, as part of the High Institute of Music of Damascus, a collaboration with the “Schola Cantorum Basiliensis” (from Basel, Switzerland) while a delegation of their institute was here in Damascus. A concert that has involved the German harpsichordist Angelica Möts was given in the Zeitune church in Damascus, where a performance of Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater, as well Pergolesi’s Salve Regina were included.
From the very beginning the DBS has chosen to perform the scores following the “OVPP” (one player for part). This idea has been possible by a collaboration between the dutch “SICA” institution and the Syrian association “Sadaa”. In this way they hosted musicians that were guest professors in some stages as well performers in concerts subsequently organized. In this ten years the DBS has done around fifteen concerts with: harpsichordist Marco Vitale (already conductor of the “Il Contrasto Armonico”) and Aaron Carpene; violin players Enrique Gomez, Laura Bruggen and Chiara Banchini; oboist Diego Nadra; the singer Marcel Beeckman; cellist Martha Semthow.
This project has been interrupted, hopefully just temporarily, after six years of activity. However they are trying to maintain the contact with some of their guests via Skype in order to continue their collaboration, even if they perfectly know how hard it is to work in such a way. They still collaborate with Marco Vitale as well with Enrique Gomez, focusing on some violin playing aspects.
12 February 2017
Damascus, Church of St. Paul – 7 p.m.
Manar Khweis, a soprano singer born in Damascus in1989.
Manar began studying Opera with Professor Arax Chekidjian.
Manar then joined a BA program at the Higher Institute of Music in Damascus in which she graduated in 2015.
Manar has participated in many concerts as a soloist with:
•Syrian National Symphony Orchestra “Le Donne di Mozart Concert”,
“In memory of the composer Komitas” led by Missak Baghboudarian.
•“Damascus Baroque Soloists” supervised by Dr.Nabeel Alaswad and Mr. Omar Abou Afach.
•Organist Aghiad Mansour, Pipe organ concert at The Damascus Opera House.
•Solo Concert with Maestro Missak Baghboudarian as Pianist at The Damascus Opera House.
Manar also attended workshops by:
• Stefano Meo, Silvana Froli chiocciola the Damascus Opera House.
He studied with M° Enzo Corti in Milan and got and Organ and Composition Diploma at the “Luca Marenzio” Conservatorium in Brescia. He also graduated in Musicology at the SPFM in Cremona-Pavia University with a graduation thesis on “Marcel Duprè and the art of improvisation.” He took part to several specialization courses in interpretation with Nigel Allcoat, Ewald Kooiman, Piet Kee, Daniel Roth, Gillian Weir and Naji Hakim. Later on he specialized in the art of improvisation with: Nigel Allcoat, Jurgen Essl, Peter Planyavsky e Naji Hakim. He also went thoroughly into the study of Music Analysis with Marcel Bitsch.
15 February 2017
DAMASCUS – Church of St. Antony at 6:30 p.m.
The Higher Institute of Music in Damascus is one of the most important cultural educational landmarks in the Syrian Arab Republic. It was established in 1990 by presidential decree. Its aim was to promote the music in Syria by preparing a generation of graduates who can carry the message of Arabic and international music and enrich and develop it by preparing specialists in various Arab and international musical instruments, music composers and conductors. André Malouli is the director of the Institute.
Welcome to the video and news section of our site.
Here you will find a selection of photos, videos and news from the Festival and from the Holy Land.
Watch more videos on our YouTube channel, listen to the sound of the organs on our SoundCloud channel, stay updated thanks to the media of the Custody of the Holy Land.
Festival Pictures Winter Season 2016/17
Festival Pictures Autumn Season 2016
Festival Pictures Autumn Season 2015
Winter Season 2017: Press release
Festival Larnaca: Press Release 2016
Festival Rhodes: Press Release 2016
Press Release: The Terra Sancta Organ Festival 2016-2017
Videonews: Emmaus 2016: pilgrimage and concert
Press Release: Winter Season 2016
Press release: Autumn Season 2015
Press release: The Terra Sancta Organ Festival 2014
Videonews Terra Sancta Organ Festival 2014
CTS website (in English, Italiano, Français, Português, Español, Russian, Hebrew, Arabic)
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Terrasanta.Net (in English, Italiano, Français, Português, Español)
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Christian Media Center (in English, Italiano, Français, Português, Español, Arabic)
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ATS Pro Terra Sancta (English)
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