The Magnificat Institute of Jerusalem celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, a significant milestone for a unique institution in the heart of Jerusalem's Old City. Founded in 1995 on the initiative of Fr. Armando Pierucci, organist of the Holy Sepulcher, the Institute was established with the aim of filling a cultural void: the absence of musical teaching and practice in the city.
Today, the Magnificat welcomes more than 200 students each year, starting at age 5, with a faculty of about 25 teachers from different faiths and cultures, in a context where Christians, Muslims and Jews study together, united by a passion for music. This peaceful coexistence and interfaith dialogue, manifest spontaneously in the classrooms, representing a small sign of hope in an everyday life marked by divisions and conflicts.
The Institute, located in the historic premises of the convent of San Salvatore, is also an internationally recognized center of musical excellence thanks to its agreement with the "Arrigo Pedrollo" Conservatory of Vicenza, which allows the awarding of academic degrees recognized worldwide.
The Ayyar Festival and Gala Concert
On the occasion of its 30th anniversary, the Magnificat Institute also renews its traditional appointment with the Ayyar Festival, a musical event held annually in May (Ayyar in Hebrew and Arabic means, indeed, May). The festival consists of four weekly concerts featuring students and teachers from the Institute, offering an opportunity to celebrate music as a language of brotherhood and hope. Recent editions of the festival include concerts at St. Savior's Convent and other symbolic sites in Jerusalem, reinforcing Magnificat's role as a cultural and social landmark in the city.
This year, in particular, to best celebrate the Institute's 30th anniversary, a gala concert will be held at the Jerusalem YMCA on May 23 at 6 p.m.
In summary, the Magnificat Institute's 30 years represent not only an educational and artistic achievement, but also a message of hope for Jerusalem and the whole world: through music, it is possible to cultivate peace, fraternity and a future of respectful coexistence among different peoples. The Ayyar Festival is the vibrant annual expression of this, an invitation to celebrate beauty and unity in a context of great complexity.
Francesco Guaraldi
