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For musicians playing in the Lebanese Pipe Organ Week, please see www.solfestival.org .
14 November 2019 | DAMASCUS | Church of St. Anthony
19 November 2019 | DAMASCUS | Higher Institute of Music
21 November 2019 | DAMASCUS | St. Paul’s Memorial
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.
Organ & Music Festival Rhodes
4 October 2019 | Rhodes | Church of St. Francis
Holy Land Pipe Organ Weeks
25 October 2019 | BETHLEHEM | Church of St. Catherine at Nativity
28 October 2019 | HAIFA | Saint Joseph Latin Parish
29 October 2019 | TEL AVIV-JAFFA | St. Peter’s Church
As an affirmed international concert organist Eugenio Maria Fagiani performs across Europe, the Middle East, Russia, United Kingdom, Canada and the U.S..
He conducts masterclasses (both in Interpretation and Improvisation) and lectures for top-rated music institutions around Europe and North America and often serves as a juror in international competitions. Fagiani is the Organist of the Franciscan Shrine of La Verna, Arezzo, and serves as the organist of the “LaVerdi” Symphony Orchestra in Milan.
His works as a composer and a series of organ transcriptions are now part of the repertoire of some of the most prestigious artists of our time such as Stephen Tharp and David Briggs.
Fagiani is the Artistic Director of La Verna Organ Festival and Artistic Advisor of the Terra Sancta Organ Festival, organized by the Custody of the Holy Land. He records with VDE-Gallo, Spektral Records, Fugatto and Decca.
12 November 2019 | Damascus | Church of St. Anthony (recital)
14 November 2019 | Damascus | Church of St. Anthony (organ and orchestra)
16 November 2019 | Aleppo | Church of St. Francis (recital)
18 November 2019 | Latakia | Church of the Sacred Heart (recital)
Robert Kovács is the principal organist of the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. From 2009 to 2015 he was Cathedral Organist in Eisenstadt, Austria.
He studied at the Conservatory of Budapest under Endre Virágh and continued his studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. As organist, choir coach and choir singer at the University, he has maintained a long association with the Stephansdom, Augustinerkirche and other such prominent Viennese musical institutions such as the Arnold Schoenberg Choir and the Vienna Chamber Choir. In 2004 he was a finalist, and in 2006 he won First Prize at the International Competition for Organ Improvisation in Haarlem, the Netherlands.
Holy Land Pipe Organ Weeks
5 November 2019 | TEL AVIV-YAFO | St. Peter’s Church
6 November 2019 | NAZARETH | Basilica of the Annunciation
7 November 2019 – JERUSALEM | St. Saviour’s Church
8 November 2019 – BETHLEHEM | Church of St. Catherine at Nativity
Levente Kuzma has appeared as a featured artist at notable venues all around Europe, UK, Russia and the U.S. He has won prizes from several international organ competitions such as Organi Storici del Basso Friuli in Muzzana del Turgnano in 2009; International Organ Competition Vicenza in 2010; and The Alexander Goedicke International Organ Competition in Moscow in 2011. He earned First Place in the “Timorgelfest” International Organ Competition Timisoara (Romania) in 2009.
He currently serves as music director at the Piarist Church in Szeged and also serves as principal of the Lieto “School of Music and Arts. Since September 2018, he has been professor of organ at the University of Szeged and is the Artistic Director at the Cathedral of Our Lady in Szeged.
His debut solo album, “Masterworks,” was released in 2017 on the Waltman’s Artists label (UK).
26 September 2019 | AMMAN | Terra Santa College
Mario Mariani is an Italian avant-garde composer, pianist, organist and performer, strongly recognizable for his unconventional sounds. His style ranges from contemporary music to theatrical performances, film scoring (Cannes, Venice, New York and Berlin Film Festivals) and television. Mariani’s artistic core is rooted within improvised music often performing with other musicians, artists, actors and performers. After creating the experimental group Broz Ensemble, Mariani turned his talents to film scoring, twice receiving public and critical acclaim for the opening themes of Venice Film Festival (1999-2001 and 2005-2007) and for all the movie soundtracks of Vittorio Moroni’s movies. He also crafts advertising music for brands such as Microsoft, Toyota, and Fiat. Mariani’s compositions go from orchestral music and opera to real-time performances. He won the Novaracinefestival award for Best Soundtrack with the short and internationally acclaimed movie “Under My Garden” by A. Lodovichetti (awarded by Spike Lee).
31 October 2019 | JERUSALEM | Saint Saviour’s Church
1 November | BETHLEHEM | Church of St. Catherine at Nativity Basilica
Juan Paradell Solé, is the titular Organist of the “Sistine” Musical Pontifical Chapel Choir and performs regularly at the Liturgical Celebrations conducted by the Pope at Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. He is Distinguished Lifetime First Organist of Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore of Rome and Professor at the “L. Refice” Music Conservatory in Frosinone. Solé is Honorary President of the Association “Settembre Organistico Fabrianese” and of the Association “Les Amis de l’Orgue Merklin d’Obernai” (Alsace). He performs regularly in Europe, Russia, Middle East, USA, and South America. He has recorded for Italian national radio and TV, Vatican radio, German radio of Berlin, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Radio S. Paulo of Brazil and Catalunya Music. Along with the “Polifonisti Romani” choir, he has produced two CD’s of the music of L. Perosi and V. Miserachs. He has also recorded for Pamina (France), ElleDiCi (Italy) and the “Sistine” Musical Pontifical Chapel Choir.
30 September 2019 | RHODES | Church of Our Lady of Victory “Santa Maria”
5 October 2019| RHODES | Church of St. Francis
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.
22 October 2019 | TEL AVIV-YAFO | St. Peter’s Church
23 October 2019 | NAZARETH | Basilica of the Annunciation
24 October 2019 | JERUSALEM | St. Saviour’s Church
Erzsébet Windhager-Geréd has been the organist of the Lutherische Stadtkirche in Vienna since 2006. She studied organ with Ursula Philippi at the Gheorghe Dima Music Academy in Cluj. Continuing her studies at the Music University in Vienna with Michael Radulescu and Peter Planyavsky, she earned degrees in organ and church music with highest distinction, followed by further solo performance studies in the classes of Olivier Latry and Michel Bouvard at the Paris Conservatory. She has received several prizes and scholarships from the Organ Competition in Bruges, Stiftung St. Severin in Austria, Fondation Meyer in London, and Mecenat Musical in Paris.
She held the position of professor for organ improvisation, choir, and choir conducting at the Babeş from 2005 – 2017 at the Bolyai University in Cluj.