SPRECKELS ORGAN SOCIETY ANNOUNCES THE
2010 SUMMER INTERNATIONAL ORGAN FESTIVAL IN BALBOA PARK
Eleven free Monday evening concerts performed by world-class musicians
at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS CONTACT:
April 1, 2010
Lizbeth Persons Price
619-254-9965
Spreckels Organ Society
619/702-8138
Web Site: http://sosorgan.org
SAN DIEGO, CA – The Spreckels Organ Society announces the
2010 Summer International Organ
Festival featuring celebrated organists from around the world
playing each Monday evening from June 21 through August 30, 2010 at the
Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park.
The Spreckels Organ is the largest outdoor pipe organ in America.
All 2010 Summer International Organ Festival concerts begin at 7:30 p.m.
and are free of charge.
Admission and parking are free, music-loving children and pets are
welcome and many concertgoers enjoy picnics in Balboa Park before the
concerts. Light snacks,
beverages and gifts are available at the pavilion grounds with proceeds
benefiting the not-for-profit Spreckels Organ Society.
Kicking off the 2010 Summer International Organ Festival on June 21,
2010 will be former San Diego Civic Organist
Robert Plimpton.
Plimpton is a San Diego favorite and nationally lauded pipe
organist who currently serves as resident organist at the First United
Methodist Church. Known for
his gregarious wisdom, Plimpton’s concerts are a highlight of any
Spreckels Organ season.
On Monday, June 28, Canadian pipe organist
Isabelle Demers, a native of
Quebec, Canada takes the console.
Demers is affectionately known as a diminutive dynamo to whom
La Presse in Montreal
attributed "vehement virtuosity."
Demers holds degrees from both the Montreal Conservatory of Music and
Juilliard and was asked to perform at the 2009 American Guild of
Organists convention. She
will be the featured organist at the 2010 American Guild of Organists
convention in Washington, D.C., and San Diego is fortunate to have her
here first.
Award-winning American theatre organist
Walt Strony will perform on
Monday, July 5.
Strony has given hundreds of concerts both nationally and
internationally. He has
been featured organist at conventions of the American Theater Organ
Society and the American Guild of Organists, and in 1991 and in 1993,
was honored with the title, "Organist of the Year" by the American
Theater Organ Society, the only organist ever to receive this award more
than once.
David Sanger
from England comes to the Spreckels Organ on Monday, July 12.
Sanger has toured as a solo recitalist since 1972 performing all
over Europe, America and South Korea and has recorded over 20 CDs.
He was professor of organ at the Royal Academy of Music in London
and chair of the organ department there from 1987 – 1989.
Currently he teaches at the Royal Northern College of Music as
well as Oxford and Cambridge Universities. He is currently the President
of the Royal College of Organists in the UK.
San Diego native and Juilliard graduate
Chelsea Chen takes the stage
on Monday, July 19. Chen
has electrified audiences throughout the United States and Asia in
venues such as the Singapore’s Esplanade, Hong Kong’s Cultural Centre,
Disney Hall and Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center.
She has been featured on CNN.com, American Public Radio’s
“Pipedreams,” and Taiwan’s Good News Radio.
Chen is known as one of the finest young organists of the day,
and an excellent ambassador of San Diego’s musical tradition.
On July 26 the Spreckels Organ Society is honored to present organist
Kalevi Kiviniemi from
Finland. A prolific
recording artist, Kiviniemi has over 100 CD’s to his credit, the most of
any musical artist in Finland.
He has toured worldwide and played many important historic
instruments in the USA, Europe, Japan and the Philippines.
From 1991 to 2001 he was the artistic director at the Lahti Organ
Festival in Finland and through his career has received numerous awards
for his concert performances as well as his work promoting Finnish organ
art.
2001 Theatre Organist of the Year,
R. Jelani Eddington, will
grace the Spreckels Organ on Monday, August 2.
Eddington was born in Muncie, Indiana, and at age 13 won the
American Theatre Organ Society’s Young Theatre Organist competition.
He has recorded over 30 theatre organ albums and in addition to
his work as an organist, has distinguished himself as a concert pianist.
On Monday, August 9, James David
Christie, organist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, will come to
San Diego. Christie has
performed and recorded with major symphony orchestras in Vienna, London,
Stuttgart, Koblentz, Philadelphia and New York to name a few.
He has toured Europe over 50 times.
A faculty member of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Christie
is also Music Director of Ensemble Abendmusik, a Boston-based period
instrument orchestra and chorus.
In 1979 he became the first American to win the International
Organ Competition in Bruges, Belgium.
On Monday, August 16, the Spreckels Organ Society highlights two rising
American stars of the pipe organ,
Keenan Boswell and Nicole
Cochran. Boswell is
from San Francisco, CA, and has studied organ since age 9.
He is a graduate student at Juilliard and has toured the US and
Europe. Nicole Cochran is
an undergraduate student at Juilliard and also assisting organist at 5th
Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City.
Both have performed on the Juilliard organs and will give San
Diego a taste of what the next generation of organists has in store.
Back again by popular demand, theatre organist
Dennis James brings his
musical storytelling magic to Silent Movie Night on Monday, August 23.
Hailing from Seattle, Washington, James’ concerts begin with a
twilight warm up, and as the sun goes down over Balboa Park, evolve into
an accompanied silent movie event under the stars.
Come early as this concert is always well attended.
Capping off the 2010 Summer International Organ Festival on Monday,
August 30 is Jazz Night with our own
Civic Organist and Spreckels Organ Society Artistic Director
Carol Williams. Joining
Williams will be special guest trombonist
Dave Scott and other
top-notch San Diego jazz musicians.
Hear the great Spreckels organ alongside a vintage Hammond – a first
for the festival!
The public is invited to celebrate the opening night of the Summer
International Organ Festival on Mon. June 21 with the Spreckels Organ
Society's traditional Bach's Supper. This year’s event will
be a Taco Fiesta beginning at 5:00 p.m. Enjoy a buffet of freshly
made tacos by La Taquiza as well as beer, wine and soft drinks
under the historic colonnades of the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. The
event is open to the public and tickets must be purchased in advance at
$30 for adults and $25 for children 12 and under. Send your name,
address, email, number of tickets and full payment to the Spreckels
Organ Society, c/o Jack Lasher, 2756 Ariane Dr. #131, San Diego, CA
92117 before June 16. For more information email Jack at
JLasher@san.rr.com or call
858-483-1326.
The Spreckels Organ and Pavilion were a gift from John D. and Adolf
Spreckels, of the Spreckels sugar family, and were dedicated and first
played on New Year’s Eve, 1914.
The Spreckels Organ is the largest outdoor pipe organ in America and is
sponsored by the City of San Diego, The Department of Parks and
Recreation and the non-profit Spreckels Organ Society who assure that
this civic treasure entertains music lovers throughout the year.
Afternoon organ concerts by Dr. Carol Williams, San Diego Civic
Organist, and guest artists are performed every Sunday at 2:00 p.m. free
of charge.
The not-for-profit Spreckels Organ Society was founded in 1988 with a
mission to preserve, program and promote the Spreckels Organ as a world
treasure for all people.
With over 1,900 members world-wide, and governed by an all-volunteer
Board of Trustees, the Society presents more than 100 free concerts a
year and attracts over 100,000 people annually.
For more information about the Spreckels Organ Society including
a listing of upcoming concerts, visit
sosorgan.com or the Spreckels Organ Society Facebook fan
page.
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SUMMER INTERNATIONAL ORGAN FESTIVAL 2010
FACT SHEET
WHEN:
Every Monday evening from June 21, 2009 through August 30, 2010
TIME:
All concerts begin at 7:30 pm.
Refreshment and gift sales start at 5:30 pm
WHERE:
Spreckels Organ Pavilion, Balboa Park, San Diego, 92101
COST:
Free
PARKING:
Free
SPONSOR:
Spreckels Organ Society, City of San Diego, San Diego Parks and
Recreation
INFORMATION:
www.sosorgan.com or (619)
702-8138, or the Spreckels Organ Society’s Facebook fan page.
SCHEDULE:
·
June 21, 2010, 7:30 pm – Former San Diego Civic Organist Robert Plimpton
·
June 28, 7:30 pm - Canadian pipe organist Isabelle Demers
·
July 5, 7:30 pm - Award-winning American theatre organist Walt Strony
·
July 12, 7:30 pm - David Sanger from England
·
July 19, 7:30 pm - San Diego native and Juilliard graduate Chelsea Chen
·
July 26, 7:30 pm - Kalevi
Kiviniemi from Finland.
·
August 2, 7:30 pm - 2001
Theatre Organist of the Year, R. Jelani Eddington.
·
August 9, 7:30 pm - James David Christie, organist of the Boston
Symphony Orchestra
·
August 16, 7:30 pm – Rising Stars Night:
Keenan Boswell and Nicole Cochran.
·
August 23, 7:30 pm – Silent Movie Night with Dennis James.
·
August 30, 7:30 pm – Jazz Night with San Diego Civic Organist Carol
Williams, trombonist Dave Scott and other great San Diego jazz
musicians.
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