Benidorm will once again bring together renowned organists at the 14th edition of the International Organ Festival

Benidorm will once again host prominent organists and other prestigious musicians, highly acclaimed both nationally and internationally, at the 14th Benidorm International Organ Festival, FIOB 2026. The program was presented this Wednesday by the Benidorm City Council's Councillor for Culture, Jaime Jesús Pérez; the directors and artistic advisors, Juan Antonio Espinosa and Benantzi Bilbao; and the parish priest of  Sant Jaume i Santa Anna church, Juan Antonio González. This 14th edition will feature a total of six concerts and will begin this Friday, February 27, at 8:00 p.m., with a recital by organist Arturo Barba and the Lucentum XVI ensemble.

As usual, all concerts will take place on the last Friday of each month during February, March, April, October, November, and December, in the Church of Sant Jaume i Santa Anna, with free admission until capacity is reached. This, according to the Councillor for Culture, “is a distinguishing feature of our Organ Festival, since practically all churches or cathedrals in Europe charge admission to enjoy concerts of this level and nature.”

Jaime Jesús Pérez also expressed his gratitude for the “great commitment of the FIOB conductors” and the “constant help and collaboration” of the parish in making this musical series possible year after year. The festival also includes the participation of “musicians from our city who have trained in one of our three bands and at the Conservatory, and who are currently making a name for themselves in many venues across Europe and the world.” Specifically, Juan Antonio López Cabezuelos, a solo flautist with the Málaga Orchestra; And Nacho Gascón, a saxophonist, were members of the Unión Musical and are currently professors at the Catalonia College of Music (SMUC).

Juan Antonio Espinosa explained that this year's program takes into account two special anniversaries for Benidorm: the city's 700th anniversary in 2025 and the centenary of the Unión Musical de Benidorm, which will be commemorated in 2026. He also highlighted, along with Benantzi Bilbao, that the participating musicians offer a "very varied" program and repertoire, featuring solo organists as well as more chamber music concerts, to reach a wider and more eclectic audience.

Bilbao noted that “one of the most interesting things about this festival is that we have a unique instrument,” explaining that “we have many organs in the province of Alicante on which we can play many types of music, but the one in Benidorm is special to me because it is an eclectic instrument, on which we can use all the musical literature from every period, from the 15th century to the present day, and it also has a sequencer” that allows performers “to memorize the stops so they can quickly change them with the sequencer, which gives us extraordinary ease and allows for such varied programming.”

Finally, the parish priest of Sant Jaume i Santa Anna reiterated the parish's collaboration with this International Organ Festival and, together with Jaime Jesús Pérez, invited “the citizens of Benidorm, the surrounding region, and all visitors to enjoy this unique festival.”

Program

As previously mentioned, the 2026 Benidorm International Organ Festival will begin this Friday, February 27, with a concert by Arturo Barba (organ) and Lucentum XVI Ministriles. The next concert will be on March 28, the only day the concerts change from Friday to Saturday, and will feature Javier Artigas (organ) and Juan López Cabezuelos (flute).

The first solo concert will be on April 24, performed by the Portuguese organist João Vaz.

After the traditional summer break, the FIOB will return on October 30 with Francisco Amaya (organ) and Ignacio Gascón (saxophone). The second solo organ concert of the series will take place on November 27, performed by the German musician Franz Hauk.

Finally, on December 18th, the Festival's traditional Christmas Concert will take place, featuring Benantzi Bilbao on the organ and countertenor Mikel Uskola.
All concerts are free of charge until capacity is reached and will begin at 8:00 PM.