[THE INITIATIVES]

Eine orgel für Sant’Anna di Stazzema"

One organ for Sant’Anna di Stazzema

In 2001, after a visit of Sant’Anna’s village, the Westermanns coniuges realized that the church of Sant’Anna was deprives of its organ which was destroyed on August 12th of 1944.
Since then, the musicians Maren and Horst Westermann have been engaging to promote a series of concerts among Italy and Germany, which have been finalizing to collect the necessary funds to reconstruct the organ. Thanks to the Choir of Essen (the city where the Westermanns live), the Association Martyrs Sant’Anna di Stazzema and the Municipality of Stazzema’s great commitment, this initiative has also received the support of many corporate body and institutions and, in 2002, the Patronage of the German Federal Republic and the Italian Republic’s Presidents.
The new organ, of valuable workmanship, was commissioned to Glauco Ghilardi’s firm of Lucca. It will enter to make integral part of the Sant’Anna’s National Park of Peace.

Among the more important events, we underline two great live concerts entitled "The Concerts of the Memory", which were in July 2004 in Pietrasanta - in the Cathedral’s square - and in Carrara - in the suggestive scenery of Fantiscritti’s marble mine -: more than 90 musician of Essen’s Orchestral Choir playied the Puccini’s melodies with the musical accompaniment by the Festival Pucciniano’s orchestra.
The initiative "One organ for Sant’Anna", for its hig symbolic value and for the wide acquired visibility, will continue during the following years both in Italy and in Germany; it will be in accordance with a program of concerts established by the Westermann and the Tuscany Region, with the share of important German musicians and chorals.

All the dates of the live concerts and the musical performances are also available on the web site www.orgel-fuer-sant-anna.de