In its fourth edition, the international festival “St. Anastasia’s Organ” welcomes Italian organist and pedagogue Simone Vebber to Zadar for the first time. His career is distinguished by numerous awards at international organ competitions, concert performances at renowned musical venues across Europe and beyond, and dedicated research into organ music and historical musical heritage.

Simone Vebber will give a solo organ recital on 2 July 2027 at 8 p.m. at St. Anastasia’s Cathedral in Zadar. The concert programme will be announced at a later date.

Musical Education and Further Training

Born in Trento in 1983, Simone Vebber received his musical education in Italy and France. He studied historical organs with Lorenzo Ghielmi at the International Music Academy in Milan and graduated in organ and piano with the highest honours from the F. A. Bonporti Conservatory in Trento. He earned his concert diploma at the Schola Cantorum in Paris and won first prize in organ improvisation at the National Conservatory in Saint-Maur, near Paris. He further developed his skills through masterclasses in interpretation with distinguished teachers, including Ludger Lohmann, Jean-Claude Zehnder, Bine Bryndorf, Brett Leighton and Pieter van Dijk Peretti.

International Awards and Concert Career

Among his numerous competition achievements are first prizes at competitions in Alessandria and Pistoia, victory at the J. S. Bach International Organ Competition in Saint-Pierre-lès-Nemours in 2005, first prize at the J. J. Fux International Organ Competition in Graz in 2010, and the Peter Hurford Bach Prize at the St Albans International Organ Festival in 2011. As a concert organist, he has performed in numerous musical centres across Europe and beyond, including Vienna, Riga, Paris, Milan, Rome, Warsaw and Rio de Janeiro. As a soloist, he has collaborated with distinguished orchestras, including the Mozart Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Claudio Abbado. His performances have been released by the record labels Suonare Records, Diapason Edition, Mascioni and Discantica. He has also made recordings for Vatican Radio and Austrian broadcaster ORF.

Research and Teaching

A particular focus of his artistic work is the exploration of the music of French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. In collaboration with Da Vinci Publishing, he launched a project dedicated to an in-depth study of the composer’s complete output, seeking to shed light on lesser-known aspects of his musical legacy. The first CD in this project was released in 2026.

Simone Vebber is also active as a teacher. He is Professor of Organ at the G. Donizetti Conservatory in Bergamo and Professor of Improvisation at the C. Abbado Academy of Early Music in Milan.

His debut at the “St. Anastasia’s Organ” festival will offer audiences in Zadar the opportunity to experience an artist whose work brings together a deep knowledge of historical organ repertoire, interpretative skill and the creative art of improvisation.