Accomplished organist Raúl Prieto Ramírez (Spreckels Organ Society)
Music | San Diego
San Diego’s Civic Organist Brings Live Sound Waves Back to Balboa Park
By Frank Sabatini Jr.
Raúl Prieto Ramírez falls into a rare category of musicians. He’s one of a handful of organists in the world employed full time by a municipality—in this case the City of San Diego. Additionally, he ranks as only the eighth person to hold the position since it was established in 1915 by business tycoon John D. Spreckels.
A native of Spain, he has piped out at least 200 concerts on the world-famous Spreckels organ at the namesake amphitheater in Balboa Park. But those live performances, many held on Sunday afternoons, came to a deafening halt when the pandemic hit.
Until now.
We caught up with Ramírez to learn more about his illustrious career and the details involving his exciting return to performing live concerts in the park.
Downtown Condo Guys: How long have you held this honorable position with the city of San Diego? And how did you get it?
Ramírez: I got the job on Jan. 1, 2018. It was a one-year application process after meeting with the search committees. I had to submit my recorded concerts and program plans, and perform to voting audiences. I am also the artistic director for the Spreckels Organ Society. The organization promotes the Spreckels organ, which is the largest outdoor musical instrument in the world.
Downtown Condo Guys: How many pipes does the organ have?
Ramírez: It has 5,100 pipes, which includes the recent addition of 122 pipes. It was built in 1915, and there’s no other organ like it anywhere else.
Downtown Condo Guys: What were you doing professionally before landing this job?
Ramírez: I was a full-time organ professor at Ball State University in Indiana. And for many years, I was traveling all over the world concertizing as one of the few organists making a living just from concerts. My main passion is working hard to get music ready and then sharing it.
Downtown Condo Guys: At what age did you learn how to play the organ?
Ramírez: Very late. I was 13 years old and had discovered organ music on Spanish radio. My parents had given me a Casio keyboard one year for Christmas. So I was self-taught for the first three years before entering the Conservatory Music School in Salamanca, Spain. Then I moved to Barcelona for four years to continue studying, and then to Germany to finish my studies for five more years. Music studies in Europe take much longer than they do in the U.S.
Downtown Condo Guys: Do you play other instruments?
Ramírez: Yes, the transverse flute, the harpsichord and piano. I couldn’t handle the guitar, though. It was too hard for me.
Downtown Condo Guys: What genres of music do you most enjoy playing?
Ramírez: The key to me is quality. If the music is well made, it’s enjoyable no matter what type of style. Every Sunday concert, which is about an hour long, is different with the type of music I play: rock, jazz, classic, and more.
Downtown Condo Guys: Up until the restart of your concert schedule in the Spreckels Amphitheater, what were you doing during a year of lockdowns and restrictions?
Ramírez: The Organ Pavilion was closed altogether, but we gave our audiences a window into Balboa Park and my music with weekly recorded productions that could be seen online. We recorded the Spreckels Organ concerts overnight using seven cameras and six microphones. Our international audience grew significantly during that time.
Downtown Condo Guys: What is the concert schedule like now, moving forward?
Ramírez: Starting with our first live concert since Covid, on Sunday, June 27, we will have them every Sunday again at 2 p.m. We’ll also have a 4th of July concert, and then on Saturday, July 31, we are having our grand reopening.
