Spreckels Organ Pavilion | Classical DateBook

Date: Tue, Aug 4, 2:30 AM

Venue: Spreckels Organ Pavilion • Neighborhood: Southern California • • Details

Sunkyung Noh & Grant Smith Sunkyung Noh & Grant Smith at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion About Sunkyung and Grant Sunkyung Noh is a South Korean concert organist. She studied with Dong-ill Shin at Yonsei University and earned two master's degrees in Organ and Claviorganum under Wolfgang Zerer and Menno van Delft in Hamburg, Germany. She pursued advanced studies in Leipzig with Martin Schmeding. Noh has garnered recognition both in Korea and internationally. In 2022, she won second prize at the International Schnitger Organ Competition in the Netherlands, and later that year, she won first prize at the 6th International Buxtehude Organ Competition in Lübeck, Germany. In January 2023, she became the first Asian winner of the prestigious International Mendelssohn Competition, earning both the First Prize and the Contemporary Work Interpretation Award. In July 2023, she also received First Prize and the Gold Medal in Interpretation at the 32nd St Albans International Organ Competition. She performs actively across Europe, Asia, and the United States, appearing in renowned venues such as the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, King’s College in Cambridge, Church of the Advent in Boston, and St. Bavokerk in Haarlem. She has also performed with orchestras at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig. In 2026, she will release her debut solo album and tour internationally. Grant Smith is an award-winning concert organist from Fresno, California. His performing career has taken him to major venues around the world, including in the US, Ireland, England, Germany, South Korea, and Japan. Smith was awarded Second Prize in Interpretation at the St Albans International Organ Competition in London in July 2025. Previous competition successes include Third Prize in the 2024 Leipzig Bach Competition, First Prize in the 2023 Hall Organ Competition in Texas, and First Prize in the 2022 Feith Competition in Germany. He is a recent graduate of Rice University in Houston, where he studied with Ken Cowan for a master’s degree in organ performance. While in Houston, Smith held organist positions at Christ Presbyterian Church, West University Baptist Church, First Lutheran Church, and the Houston Masterworks Chorus. He accompanied the West University Baptist Church Choir on an eight-concert tour of Ireland in July 2024. Smith graduated with two bachelor’s degrees in music and civil engineering from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, where he won the school’s Concerto Competition twice

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Date: Tue, Aug 11, 2:30 AM

Format: OrchestraTicketed

Venue: Spreckels Organ Pavilion • Neighborhood: Southern California • • Details

David Higgs at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion About David One of America’s leading concert organists, David Higgs is the Minehan Family Professor of Organ and Chair of the Organ Department at the Eastman School of Music. He performs extensively throughout the United States and abroad and has inaugurated many important new instruments including Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas, St. Albans Cathedral, England, Church of St. Ignatius Loyola New York City, and Christ Church Cathedral Cincinnati. For over twenty years he performed annual holiday organ concerts to capacity audiences at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. He has performed with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Orpheus Ensemble, Chanticleer, and the Empire Brass. Mr. Higgs appears at organ festivals and competitions around the world, including the Stockholm Organspace Festival, Sweden; Fribourg International Organ Festival, Switzerland; in Germany, the European Organ Academy Leipzig, the Leipzig Bach Competition, Gottfried Silbermann Competition Freiberg, and Bremen Musikfest; festivals of Calgary, Dublin, Odense, Varzi, Redlands and San Anselmo, California; and the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival. In England, at the Oundle International Festival, the St. Albans International Festival, and the Cambridge Summer Festival; in France, the Xavier Darasse International Competition in Toulouse; and Japan at several venues, most recently an all-Bach recital at Izumi Hall in Osaka. He often performs at conventions of the American Guild of Organists, and in 2010, performed the inaugural St. Cecilia Recital at a national convention. In 2018 he performed concerts in France, including a solo recital at Notre-Dame Cathedral Paris, and as guest teacher at the Paris Conservatoire. Mr. Higgs is a distinguished pedagogue. He was appointed to the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music upon graduation from that institution, and has been a member of the faculty of the Eastman School of Music since 1992. His students have won prizes in prestigious international competitions, and hold important positions in leading academic and religious institutions. Mr. Higgs has recorded for Delos International, Pro Organo, Arsis, Loft, and Gothic records. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Prelude and Fugue in A Minor, BWV 543 David Conte (b.1955) Soliloquy Johann Gottfried Müthel (1728-1788) Fantasia in G Minor George Shearing (1919-2011) Two Hymn Preludes There is a Happ

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Date: Tue, Aug 18, 2:30 AM

Format: OrchestraTicketed

Venue: Spreckels Organ Pavilion • Neighborhood: Southern California • • Details

An Organ and Orchestra Celebration! An Organ and Orchestra Celebration! at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion About our Artists Conductor and violinist Alejandro Gómez Guillén is known for an energetic and thoughtful approach to music-making, with a focus on performances that are compelling and educational. He has appeared with orchestras across the United States and abroad, among them Phoenix Symphony, Orlando Philharmonic, Virginia Symphony, Illinois Symphony, New Mexico Philharmonic, and Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá. He has also performed at the Oregon Bach Festival and collaborated with conductors such as Robert Spano, Tito Muñoz, and Ankush Kumar Bahl. Alejandro previously served as Assistant Conductor of Omaha Symphony, where he participated in the premiere of Andy Akiho’s Grammy-nominated Sculptures. He was also Artistic Director of the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra, conducting the Indiana premiere of Florence Price’s Symphony No. 4. As Associate Conductor of Fort Worth Symphony, he led community, pops, and educational performances and collaborated with artists including Time for Three and mezzo-soprano Cecilia Duarte. He is also Music Director of Sphere, a Colorado-based string collective known for adventurous programming across genres and eras, including a recent recording featuring music by Grammy-nominated composer Carter Pann. He currently serves as Director of Orchestras at Arizona State University, where he leads one of the nation’s largest collegiate orchestral programs and directs a dynamic performance program for emerging artists. Recent performances there include the Arizona collegiate premiere of William Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony. Born in Colombia and a proud U.S. citizen, Gómez Guillén studied violin and conducting at Texas Christian University and the University of Colorado Boulder. Away from the podium, he enjoys trail running, singing, and sharing music with family and friends. @alejandromusick Violinist Jeff Thayer holds the Deborah Pate and John Forrest Concertmaster Chair of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Thayer is also a founding member of the Camera Lucida chamber music ensemble, formerly in residence at UCSD’s Conrad Prebys Music Center. Previous positions include assistant concertmaster of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, associate concertmaster of the North Carolina Symphony and concertmaster of the Canton (OH) Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Thayer was also formerly on the violin faculty of the Music Academy of the West where

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Date: Tue, Aug 25, 2:30 AM

Format: OrchestraTicketed

Venue: Spreckels Organ Pavilion • Neighborhood: Southern California • • Details

at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion About MusArt Duo MusArt is a piano–organ ensemble distinguished for its unique artistic profile and its commitment to expanding the expressive possibilities of this rare and powerful instrumental combination. The duo is formed by Raúl Prieto Ramírez , Civic Organist of San Diego, and María Teresa Sierra , concert pianist and piano professor. Spanish-born musicians based in Southern California, they maintain an active international performing and educational career. Raúl Prieto Ramírez is widely recognized as one of the leading concert organists of his generation. As Civic Organist of San Diego, he presents a regular concert season and performs extensively in major venues across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. His work includes international touring, recordings, and innovative cross-instrument projects that broaden the organ’s role in today’s concert landscape. M. Teresa Sierra is a concert pianist and dedicated instructor known for her expressive playing and refined musicianship. Alongside her performing activity, she directs a private piano studio whose students consistently achieve high distinctions in international examination systems and public performances. Her work combines solo performance, chamber music collaboration, and advanced level teaching. As Duo MusArt, they have performed in major concert venues and festival series across Spain, the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, and other European countries. Their programs feature original repertoire for piano and organ alongside their own transcriptions and arrangements of symphonic and Romantic works, as well as 20th and 21st century music. Their performances are noted for sonic richness, precision, and orchestral impact, highlighting the dramatic dialogue between both instruments. This season marks their third appearance at the Balboa Park Spreckels Organ Pavilion, one of the world’s most iconic outdoor organ venues. Charles Marie Widor (1844-1937) 6 Duos, Op. 6 V. Sérénade VI. Variations Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) Concertino for Two Pianos in A Minor, Op.94 (trans. Raúl Prieto Ramírez) Charles Marie Widor (1844-1937) 6 Duos, Op. 6 II. Allegro cantabile Witold Lutoslawski (1913-1994) Variations on a Theme by Paganini (arr. Raúl Prieto Ramírez) Theme – Allegro capriccioso Variation I Variation II – Meno moso Variation III Variation IV Variation V Variation VI – Poco lento Variation VII – Allegro molto Variation VIII Variation IX Variation X Variation XI –

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#Spreckels Organ Society

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#piano #organ

Date: Tue, Sep 1, 2:30 AM

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Venue: Spreckels Organ Pavilion • Neighborhood: Southern California • • Details

Not-So-Silent Movie Night with Clark Wilson at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion About Clark Wilson Clark Wilson is one of the most sought after silent film accompanists in America today. His work has included scoring for DVD release for Kino International, accompanying the repremier of "Wings" for Paramount Pictures' 100th anniversary at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and numerous appearances at Cinecon, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and other film festivals. He appears every Halloween night with a classic horror film at Disney Concert Hall in LA, and scores films on various organ series including at The Riverside Church in New York, Balboa Park in San Diego, and the East Texas Pipe Organ Festival. Wilson has been Resident Organist at the Ohio Theatre for the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts since 1992, and he has introduced and taught classes on film scoring as a visiting professor at two universities. When not performing, he administrates his own pipe organ business based out of Ohio. He has been recognized by the American Theatre Organ Society as both Organist of the Year and Technician of Merit, the first of only two people ever to receive both awards.. Organ Solos to Bid Farewell to the Sun and Welcome the Night Sky -FILMS- "The Immigrant", 1917 Starring and directed by Charlie Chaplin "Sherlock Jr.", 1924 Starring and directed by Buster Keaton Sign up for our weekly emails by clicking on the button above. After you submit your email address, be sure to check your email and confirm your signup by clicking on the link within that message. (We hear that initial email likes to wander into junk folders.) Thank you!

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#Spreckels Organ Society

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Planning a visit to Spreckels Organ Pavilion

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Sunkyung Noh and Grant Smith (Organ Four Hands & Four Feet)

David Higgs

An Organ and Orchestra Celebration

MusArt-Barcelona

Not-So-Silent Movie Night