(Israel Ministry of Tourism)

The Terra Sancta Organ Festival (Holy Land Organ Festival) is an international music event and a cultural activity taking place in Israel and produced by the Custody of the Holy Land, which allows  pilgrims and tourists to enjoy the beauty of its pipe organs, an asset that would otherwise be restricted to Latin Catholics in their liturgies. The entrance to all concerts is free of charge.

In Israel, concerts will be performed in Tel Aviv-Yafo (every Tuesday in October at 7:00 pm, St. Peter’s Church, Old Yafo), Nazareth (every Wednesday in October at 6:00 pm, Basilica of the Annunciation), and Jerusalem (every Thursday in October at 6:00 pm, Church of St. Saviour, New Gate).

The organists are all internationally known musicians. Peter Latona (USA) is Music Director for the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the largest sanctuary in the United States. Already a winner of the Bach Organ Competition in Lausanne, Pavao Mašić (Croatia) is a young talent with an intense concert activity in Europe; he is also the titular organist of the prestigious church of St. Mark in Zagreb, where the first organ concert took place in 1359. The Italian Pier Damiano Peretti (Italy/Austria) is professor of organ at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Winner of the prestigious organ competition of St. Alban, in 2015 he was awarded the Outstanding Artist Award by the Austrian government. Marcel Octav Costea (Romania), conductor and composer, teaches at the National University of Music of Bucharest and is the Director of Music at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Bucharest.

Besides the musicians, the protagonists of the Festival are the organs, from the oldest one in Israel - built for the Custody of the Holy Land in 1847 by the Italian company Agati of Pistoia and now installed in the Church of St. Peter in Jaffa - to the imposing Rieger organs housed in the Basilica of the Annunciation (Nazareth) and the Church of St. Saviour (Jerusalem).

In Israel, the Terra Sancta Organ Festival is supported by the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia, the Romanian Cultural Institute in Tel Aviv and the Italian Cultural Institute in Tel Aviv.

Established in 1342, The Custody of the Holy Land is a special and international mission of the Catholic Church, a part of the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans) in the Middle East. The Custody of the Holy Land is also a diplomatic entity recognized by many countries and institutions.