The anniversary programme will extend Sant Josep’s concert season into May 2027, featuring choral performances and a free masterclass led by French organist Thomas Ospital.
The Escolania de Montserrat, one of Catalonia’s best-known boys’ choirs, will return to the church of Sant Josep in Ibiza on 6 May 2027, two decades after performing at the inauguration of its organ. The concert will bring a special programme celebrating the instrument’s 20th anniversary to a close, following a series of events beginning on 31 October.
Sant Josep Town Council, working with the Diocese of Ibiza and the local parish, has unveiled ‘20 anys de l’orgue de Sant Josep’ — 20 Years of the Sant Josep Organ. The programme expands the municipality’s traditional Autumn Concert Series, bringing together performers from different backgrounds and several local choirs.
Mayor Vicente Roig highlighted the organ’s importance to the musical heritage of Sant Josep and Ibiza, as well as the significance of welcoming back the choir that accompanied the instrument’s first notes 20 years ago.
From the autumn concert season to the voices of Montserrat
The anniversary programme opens on 31 October at 8.30pm, with Barcelona-based musician Joan Esteban Sandoval Díaz performing Els teclats virtuosos: La passió dels 15 anys.
On 19 December at 8.30pm, the concert Junts per Nadal will bring together organist Rafel Riera, from Lluc in Mallorca, and four choirs: Cor de Sant Josep, Petit Cor, Cor del Club de Sant Jordi and Cor des Cubells. The performance will be conducted by Jordi Martí.
The programme continues into 2027 with a performance by La Cantúria Cor de Cambra, a chamber choir from Mallorca. On 23 January at 8.30pm, the ensemble will perform works for organ alongside Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem, with Ricard Terradas conducting and Rafel Riera at the organ.
On 13 February at 8.30pm, Petit Cor, directed by Jordi Martí, will join organist María José Perete for De la creu a la llum. Recital poètic-coral, a poetic and choral recital whose title translates as From the Cross to the Light.
Free international organ masterclass with Thomas Ospital
The anniversary celebrations will also include an educational programme. French organist Thomas Ospital will lead an international masterclass from 30 April to 2 May 2027.
The course will be free of charge, with registration available through orgue.santjosep.org. Participants and their tutor will then perform together in a closing concert on 2 May at 7pm.
Four days later, on 6 May at 8.30pm, the Escolania de Montserrat will return to Sant Josep for the anniversary finale, entitled Les veus del cel — The Voices of Heaven.
Almost 1,000 pipes and a sound inspired by Ibiza’s traditional flaüta
The Sant Josep church organ was blessed on 3 September 2006, beginning its musical life with a concert by the Escolania de Montserrat. Built by Mallorcan master organ builder Pere Reynés i Florit, the instrument features mechanical action, 20 stops and almost 1,000 pipes.
Construction took around two and a half years at Reynés i Florit’s workshop in Campanet, Mallorca, followed by four months of installation work inside the church. The building itself shaped the process, according to Jordi Martí, Sant Josep’s organist.
“An organ is not like any other instrument: no two are alike, because each one is adapted to the characteristics of the space where it is installed,” he explained.
Over the past two decades, the instrument has maintained a continuous programme of concerts, particularly through the municipality’s Autumn Concert Series. The anniversary celebrations will extend that tradition beyond autumn and winter, bringing performances and musical activities to Sant Josep through spring 2027.
