2025 — The Year in Review

The Year In Review

The Year in Review 2025

Table of Contents

04 Introducing Our New Executive Director

06 How I Do It: Bohemian Rhapsody by Artistic Director Raúl Prieto Ramírez

08 Bringing the Spreckels Organ Pavilion’s Unique Experience Closer to the World by Raúl Prieto Ramírez

10 A Message from President Kathleen Stoughton

12 Prestigious Recognition: The Prebys Foundation Grant

13 Let there be Light!

14 Orgelkids: A New Educational Program

15 Concert Highlights of the Year

20 Volunteers and Donations

Spreckels Organ Society Announces the Appointment of an Executive Director

The Spreckels Organ Society is delighted to welcome Magdalena O’Neill as its new Executive Director. With nearly two decades of leadership and arts management experience in San Diego’s premier cultural institutions — including the San Diego Symphony, Mainly Mozart, California Ballet, and as co-founder and executive director of Golden State Ballet — Ms. O’Neill brings an exceptional record of organizational growth, fiscal stewardship, and creative vision.

Prior to founding Golden State Ballet, Ms. O’Neill held key management positions with the San Diego Symphony for 13 years, playing a central role in collective bargaining negotiations, budget planning, and the coordination of major productions, tours, and special events. Her collaborative approach and proven success in aligning artistic excellence with operational strength have earned her wide respect in the regional arts community.

Subsequently, as the co-founder and executive director of the Golden State Ballet, Ms. O’Neill supervised all facets of company operations, from finance and fundraising to marketing, branding, and community engagement, guiding the organization through sustained expansion of its budget and audience reach. Her leadership also fostered meaningful community partnerships, including outreach initiatives that brought live performance experiences to underserved audiences.

The Society looks forward to the energy, innovation, and deep arts management expertise she will bring to advancing the Spreckels Organ Pavilion’s mission of preserving and promoting one of San Diego’s most treasured cultural landmarks.

Address

1549 El Prado Suite 10, San Diego, CA 92101-1661

(619) 702-8138 | info@spreckelsorgan.org

SpreckelsOrgan.org

Mission

The Spreckels Organ Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1988 to preserve, program and promote the Spreckels Organ as a world treasure for all people.

Executive Committee

President – Kathleen Stoughton

Vice President – Tom Hay Bauer

Executive Director – Magdalena O’Neill

Artistic Director – Raúl Prieto Ramírez, San Diego Civic Organist

Secretary-Treasurer – Jean Samuels

Curator – Dale Sorenson

Curator Emeritus – Lyle Blackinton

Other Trustees

Dennis Fox

Dwight Gordon

Joyce Kelly

Isaac Muñoz

Dang Nguyen

Kristine Press

David W. Stout

Committee Chairs

Executive – Kathleen Stoughton

Operations – Tom Hay Bauer

Investment – Dr. Gary Press

Budget & Finance – Jean Samuels

Nominating – Dr. William Devor

Education – Raúl Prieto Ramírez

Development – Kathleen Stoughton

Personnel – Kathleen Stoughton

How I Do It: Bohemian Rhapsody

RAÚL PRIETO RAMÍREZ

One of the most popular arrangements I have performed from the Organ Pavilion’s stage is Bohemian Rhapsody by Freddie Mercury.

How do I do it? I always start by listening to the music in my head repeatedly, making the effort to imagine it as an organ solo. When that organ solo comes naturally, then it’s time to start the process of picking up all the harmonies and melodies by ear. This is like “unearthing” the bare bones of the music I’m about to arrange and create a road map. In this case, the studio recording by Queen included so many added-on layers that many details weren’t clear on the finished track. Thus, I had to find a source for all those different layers (bass guitar and drums alone, piano alone, guitar solos alone). So I could listen to each one of them played separately in order to deliver a final work, both truthful to the original and respectful to the composer, Freddie Mercury. At the end of the day, I wouldn’t be arranging it if he had never written it in the first place, so respect is for me one of the most important pillars of an arrangement work. This respect for the original composer is a guiding principle in my work, ensuring that the essence of the music is preserved and honored.

Parallel to picking up all the notes, I double down on the process of playing the music inside my brain, but this time I get really detailed about reimagining it as a solid and convincing organ solo piece. That’s a task I mostly do during the early morning or late evening hours of the day, when the world around me is more peaceful, and I constantly jump on the organ console in my house to play and memorize what I just imagined.

This is a process in which I don’t feel in full control: sometimes ideas flow so fast I can barely play and remember them, leave aside going to sleep or simply take a break.

Sometimes time flies quickly while nothing is flowing, as my imagination is trapped in the wrong approach or a fruitless idea. It’s a very unpredictable process. What can really be predicted is that not spending time on it produces nothing at all. All the great ideas always come when I’m at work. It’s true that through hard work and experience, anyone can develop enough tools to arrange anything, even if inspiration doesn’t pay a visit, but I have also learned that the arrangements made through a process that is honest and truthful to oneself are simply more successful than pure craftsmanship. The audience may not see the difference, but they can sense artistic honesty, and they definitely like that sense.

Deciding between replicating literally what the band recorded note-by-note or my own imagined musical textures and ideas is a key part of the arrangement process. I always

choose the option that can deliver the energy and mood of the original recording because sharing those feelings with the audience is my motivation and ultimate goal. Sometimes, playing on an organ the exact same notes of the original recording does not create the same energy simply because it’s a different instrument. Thus, I arrange it.

Once the arrangement is done, and I have learned and practiced it up to a professional level, then it’s time to bring it to the audience. It often surprises me to realize, listening to past recordings, how inadvertently I change them over the years. Part of it happens because I don’t write them down; I just learn them as part of the arrangement process, so it seems like the process never really ends. It feels like my arrangements have their own lives now, and we travel together, getting better over the years. They have become my companions and friends during my music journey. The joy of sharing these arrangements with the audience, and the excitement of their reception, is a feeling that never gets old.

Bringing the Spreckels Organ Pavilion’s Unique Experience Closer to the World

RAÚL PRIETO RAMÍREZ

In the last hours of a dark, cloudy night in March, seasoned with light cold rain, Trustee Isaac Muñoz and San Diego State Associate Professor Dr. Chris Warren joined me for an exciting new project: create a digital sound image of the Spreckels Organ Pavilion as it is experienced by our Summer Festival audience. This sound image will later be used as part of our recording productions. The technology created by Dr. Warren makes it easier to store inside a so-called convolution file — an acoustic “blueprint” of a physical space — that can be later used to recreate the feeling of being physically there when listening to an audio recording.

As soon as the equipment was set, the maintenance crew of the Japanese Friendship Garden started their blowing machines, transforming our excitement into disappointment. A friendly conversation in Spanish with them through the fence made the magic that provided us with 15 minutes to get it done before the maintenance trucks and 163 traffic would start their San Diego morning symphony.

Dr. Warren succeeded, and now we have a powerful tool that puts us one step closer to providing listeners from all over the world with an experience like that of our International Summer Festival audience through recordings that will sound like they are physically there. We are working to bring the Spreckels Organ Pavilion’s unique experience closer to the world. More information about this project will be forthcoming soon.

A Message from the President of Spreckels Organ Society

KATHLEEN STOUGHTON

On behalf of the Spreckels Organ Society, I thank you for your continued support. This year, we have much to celebrate. With the help of generous donors, the San Diego Foundation, the County of San Diego District 4, the City of San Diego, and the State of California, we raised over $750,000 for Phase 1 of the 110th Anniversary Renovation, which focuses on the interior of the iconic Spreckels Organ Pavilion. A designated National Historic Site, the Pavilion was built in 1914 in just 7 months, and the full potential of its interior has never been fully realized.

installed, and the building will be regularly open for public tours and member events.

This year, the Society began the process of creating the beautiful, historically inspired interiors the Pavilion has always deserved. A new photographic exhibition chronicling the history of the Organ Pavilion will be

In addition, the Spreckels Organ Society was thrilled to announce a seed naming gift for an endowment that will support a substantial portion of the Artistic Director’s position in perpetuity. The endowment was made possible through the generosity of the nationally renowned economist Dr. Lynn Reaser. Reaser, who held several important positions in the finance world, was also a beloved Economics Professor for many years at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. “From my first encounter with Lynn Reaser upon my arrival in 2018,” says

San Diego Civic Organist Raúl Prieto Ramírez, “I was captivated by her professionalism and elegance. She played a crucial role in helping the Society make sound financial decisions, including endowment management, and obtaining sponsorships and grants that have made SOS programs and operations more sustainable.” Extroverted and down-to-earth, she also loved to volunteer as a greeter and at the SOS gift shop on Sunday afternoon and Monday night concerts. With her passing in 2024, she will be remembered forever for her love of the Spreckels Organ and her wisdom and leadership as a trustee of the Spreckels Organ Society.

2026 promises to be an exciting year with the reopening of the Pavilion, outstanding concerts, and exciting new educational programs.

Prestigious Recognition: The Prebys Foundation Grant

The Spreckels Organ Society is honored to have received an $81,000 2025 Arts Ecosystems: Venues and Spaces grant from the Prebys Foundation to acquire a state-ofthe-art surround sound system for the historic Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park. This technical upgrade will transform the Pavilion into a top-tier venue for live music. With cutting-edge sound equipment, every performance — from intimate to full-scale productions — will sound richer, clearer, and more balanced.

“These grants are designed to keep doors open, artists working, and community partnerships alive. If we wait, we risk losing not just organizations, but the spaces and connective tissue they provide for the entire community.”

— Dr. Emily Young, Executive Vice President of Prebys Foundation.

The Prebys Foundation is the largest independent private foundation in San Diego County, dedicated to creating an inclusive,

equitable, and dynamic future for all. The Foundation invests in four program areas: arts and culture, youth success, health and well-being, and medical research. The Spreckels Organ Pavilion has served as a cultural cornerstone in Balboa Park for over a century. With this generous grant, the Spreckels Organ Society will continue to elevate the quality of performances and expand programming to reach new and diverse audiences.

“With this transformative investment in the Pavilion’s future and San Diego’s cultural life, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Prebys Foundation.”

— Kathleen Stoughton, President of Spreckels Organ Society.

ARTICLE

Let There Be Light!

The Spreckels Organ Society is grateful for the expert help we received from Stevie Agnew and Stephanie Lasater in the Old Globe’s lighting department.  They recommended new fixtures to replace our old technology, and we went from displaying only a few colors on the face of the Spreckels Pavilion to infinitely many.  The new lighting has other special effects, such as strobes, which were on display at our Phantom of the Opera concert in October.

Nighttime audiences have also noticed two new large screen TVs, which have a display area 30% greater than the old ones.  So our organists’ hands and feet will appear larger than ever before.  All of this new technology will be on display at the 2026 San Diego International Organ Festival.

The state-of-the-art lighting and TV screens were funded by SOS Trustee Tom Hay Bauer, in loving memory of his mother Hazy Bauer.

A New Educational Program Started Fall 2025

The Spreckels Organ Society, with the support of the Art Pratt Foundation of Old Mission Rotary, has acquired two brandnew Orgelkids pipe organ kits for our education program. This unique, hands-on kit empowers children to build fully functional organs in groups and will be instrumental in expanding our educational program.

Each kit includes instructions and a curriculum useful to facilitate active learning. Combined, this hands-on experience teaches valuable STEAM skills while inspiring a lifelong love of music and culture. Additionally, the kit is easily transportable and reusable, allowing thousands of kids to bring the “King of Instruments” to life, sparking curiosity and setting them on a path to careers in music, technical design, and historic preservation.

The overall goal of the SOS Education Program is to provide high-quality, accessible music exposure programs for San Diego youth of all ages, fostering creative expression, confidence, and academic success. Spreckels Organ Society partners with numerous organizations, including the San Diego Youth Symphony, the San Diego Civic Youth Ballet, and the San Diego Children’s Choir, among many others. Additionally, Spreckels offers Family Discovery Days and other public programs, serving over 10,000 children annually. Hundreds of students will engage with this kit during the first year. Spreckels Organ Society has focused on underserved students in the past and will be expanding the programs into more schools in 2026. If you would like to help a school connect with this opportunity, please contact us at: info@spreckelsorgan.org or call at 619-702-8138.

Concert Highlights of the Year 2025

SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL ORGAN FESTIVAL

Organ and Orchestra Concert with Jeff Thayer, San Diego Symphony Concertmaster; Raúl Prieto Ramírez, organ; and Alejandro Gómez Guillén, conductor.

SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL ORGAN FESTIVAL

Not-So-Silent Movie Night featuring organist Russ Peck.

OPERA4KIDS

Opera4Kids is one of many educational programs SOS offers annually.

SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL ORGAN FESTIVAL

The Pavilion Rock Band, Organ-ism, performed a Beatles tribute concert commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Beatles’ only performance in San Diego.

THE HEART BEHIND THE MUSIC

Volunteer with the Spreckels Organ Society

The Spreckels Organ Pavilion remains one of San Diego’s most cherished landmarks — a place where music, community, and generosity come together. Since 1915, this open-air venue has welcomed people from all walks of life to enjoy free concerts, made possible by the dedication of musicians, donors, and especially volunteers.

One of those standout volunteers is Serena Meadows Graves, the Spreckels Organ Society’s (SOS) 2025 Volunteer of the Year. For the past three years, Serena has brought energy and creativity to Sunday concerts and special events. Her selfproduced video interviews with festival artists became a hit with audiences, and her warm presence at the membership table has made countless guests feel welcome. Serena’s passion and commitment reflect the heart of SOS’s volunteer community.

A Call to Action

Inspired by Serena’s example, we invite you to join the incredible team of volunteers. Audience ambassadors greet concertgoers and share information about the performances, while membership ambassadors help new supporters join Spreckels. Behind the scenes, production assistants and AV/lighting interns help bring each show to life, and roaming photographers capture the joy of every performance. Whether you’re looking to learn new skills, meet fellow music lovers, or give back to the community, volunteering with the Spreckels Organ Society is a meaningful way to make a difference.

Apply today!

MAKE A YEAR END DONATION TODAY.

To keep the music playing, your donation provides vital support needed to present more than 90 concerts annually and to ensure that we achieve our mission “to preserve, program, and promote the Spreckels Organ as a world treasure for all people.”

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