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The Vatican organist, Gianluca Libertucci, returns to play at the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación

The concert will be held in commemoration of the 24th anniversary of the death of José Luque Manzano.

The Friends of the Sol Mayor Organ Association and the Fuerte Foundation are organising a concert to be given by the Italian organist Gianluca Libertucci on the 13th of June at 9 p.m. at the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación in Marbella. This concert is being held to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the death of José Luque Manzano, founder of the El Fuerte Hotel and Costa del Sole promoter.

Libertucci is organist at the Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican, of the Pontifical Musical Chorus of the Sistine Chapel and of the Swiss Guard's Chapels of St. Martin and St. Sebastian. He is also head organist at the Church of Santa María dell´Orto in Trastevere (Rome). In 2001, he was made Professor of "Organs and Organ Composition" at the “Agostino Steffani" State Music Conservatory in Castelfranco, Veneto in Treviso. He is an extremely active concert performer at the most important organ venues in the world. He gave the inaugural concert on the new organ in the Governorate Chapel in the Vatican City before Pope Benedict XVI.

The Vatican organist played here on the 21st of December last year in a concert that was organised by the Friends of the Sol Mayor Organ Association, a fitting end to the El Fuerte Group's 50th anniversary celebrations.

The aim of the Association in charge of organising these concerts is to study the historical, technical and artistic aspects of the Sol Mayor Organ, as well as to collaborate with its restoration, conservation and improvement. In addition, the Friends of the Organ Association promotes and raises awareness of musical culture through an occasional program that includes concerts, talks and other activities in schools on the subject of the Sol Mayor Organ. The association now has 33 members who each donate a minimum amount of €80 Euros per year to support these cultural activities.

In the year 2006, the Fuerte Foundation, which supports these concerts, took over the restoration work on the organ at the Church of La Encarnación and put organ expert Albert Blancafort in charge of recuperating all of its sound characteristics, which had been lost over the course of time. Now that it has been refurbished, repaired and improved and has received attention from the Foundation, the 50th anniversary of the El Fuerte Hotel in Marbella has provided an ideal opportunity to continuously promote the Sol Mayor Organ's music and culture in a way that is attractive to young people who have not been introduced to the instrument and are unaware of its existence.

The Fuerte Foundation is an initiative taken by Isabel María García Bardón, who is supported by her children and by everyone who works at Fuerte Hoteles. It was conceived with the aim of focussing and managing the company’s urge to help find solutions to problems in its social environment.

The foundation attempts to assist people who are in situations of risk or who lack material possessions or culture, both in Spain and in any other countries that are approved by the trust, with preference given to places where Fuerte Hoteles operates. This mission is carried out through providing assistance or creating projects that improve overall living conditions, education, housing and/or human development.