<strong>Organ & Music Festival Rhodes</strong>

Information

Organ & Music Festival Rhodes

October 1 – 8, 2016

Sept. 28 & 30 , Oct. 4, 6 & 7 _ Church of St. Francis

Oct. 2_ Church of Our Lady of Victory “Santa Maria”

8.30 p.m. || Admission Free

Press release

From September 28 to October 7, 2017 the seventh season of ''Organ & Music Festival Rhodes" will take place in Rhodes in St. Francis’ church and in the church of Our Lady of Victory “Santa Maria” with six concerts organized by the Custody of the Holy Land - Catholic Church in Rhodes. Chris Paraskevoupolos, organ teacher at the Conservatory "Filipppos Nakas" of Athens, is the artistic director. The Organ & Music Festival Rhodes for four years has become part of the broader Terra Sancta Organ Festival, the largest international festival for pipe-organ in the Middle East and Levant also organized by the Custody of the Holy Land.

Concerts will be held at 8:30 pm on September 28 and 30, October 4, 6, 7 in St. Francis’ (28 Dimokratias st.- St. Athanasios Gate) and October 2 in “Santa Maria” (45 Kathopouli st.): admission free. The program features international, national and local artists. In Greece opportunities to listen to the sound of the organ are few and rare. The pipe organ installed in the Church of St. Francis in Rhodes, where most of the concerts will be performed, is the largest church organ in all of Greece. All information and detailed programs can be found on this website.

The Organ & Music Festival Rhodes has come to constitute a celebrated tradition for the island of Rhodes. This year the Festival will be running for its seventh consecutive time and will be featuring more concerts than ever. Choirs, musicians, soloists and conductors from Rhodes as well as from
other places in Greece and abroad will be happy to present beautiful music, from religious and classical repertoire, providing residents of the island and visitors with a unique listening experience.

THE PROGRAM

All concerts take place in St. Francis’ church, except October 2 in “Santa Maria”.
The inaugural evening of Thursday, September 28 presents Sacred Music by German composers, featuring Zoe Kokkala, soprano, Elpidoforos Raisakis, baryton, Michalis Kantaridis, organ. The choir “Musica Sacra” comes from Athens Saturday, September 30 with Sacred Music of the French Romantic Era (Chris Paraskevopoulos, conductor).
Monday, October 2, in the only concert performed in “Santa Maria”, Nathalie Eleutheriou, sopran and Chris Paraskevopoulos, organ, will propose music by English Baroque composers.

Every year the Organ & Music Festival Rhodes hosts an international career organist:

Wednesday, October 4, feast of St. Francis, patron of Italy, the organ of the church of St. Francis will be played by the Italian Walter Gatti, who since 1988 performs regular concerts both as soloist and as accompanist for choirs, soloists and orchestras in Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and Italy, playing for important festivals and on prestigious stages. The invitation of Walter Gatti to Rhodes is made possible thanks to the support of the Italian Institute of Culture in Athens. The program, entirely focused on music by John Sebastian Bach, will be enriched by the voice of the mezzo-soprano Ioanna-Vassiliki Koraki.

Friday, October 6 is various and interesting the program of Sacred music offered by Children, Mixed Choir and Mandolin Orchestra of the City of Petaludes, with Evanthia Kritikou, soprano, Margaret Vainnio, organ, Flora Pelekanou, conductor. The last concert of Saturday, October 7 is dedicated to Celtic music with the St. Cecilia Singers, Yiannis Kaikis, trombone and Chris Paraskevopoulos, conductor and organ.

Contacts:

Custody of the Holy Land – Catholic Church in Rhodes
Church of “Santa Maria”
45 Kathopouli st.
Rhodes Town
Tel. +30 2241022305
www.catholicchurchrhodes.com
Organ & Music Festival Rhodes
Chris Paraskevoupolos, artistic director
chrisparaskevopoulos@yahoo.gr

Terra Sancta Organ Festival: organfestival@custodia.org – www.tsorganfestival.org