Fender guitars, Steinway pianos, and Suzuki harmonicas are iconic instruments. Locally, there is world-renowned instrument of a more rare make in Balboa Park at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion.

With more than 4,500 pipes and thousands of parts that move in sync to create a unique sound, the Spreckels Organ is considered to be the largest outdoor pipe organ in the world.

Built in 1915 by the Austin Organ Co., it was constructed for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition and given to the city by brothers John D. and Adolph Spreckels.

Since then, people have been able to visit the pavilion to listen to the famous Spreckels Organ for free. This was stipulated by the 1915 Deed of Gift whereby the brothers gave the organ and Pavilion to the city of San Diego.

The facility hosts an International Organ Festival on Monday evenings at 7:30 p.m. during the summer and the Twilight in the Park Concert Series on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays during the summer at 6:15 p.m.

In addition, the Pavilion is the site of numerous concerts, graduations, weddings, and special events throughout the year. Every Sunday, free, public organ concerts by the civic organist or guest artists are presented at 2 p.m.

“What a lot of people don’t realize is that the instrument is the pavilion itself,” said Raúl Prieto Ramírez, artistic director and San Diego Civic organist. “It’s massive like a three-story building with many moving parts. It’s the console that is what is wheeled out onto the stage during the performance.”

Ramírez typically plays the organ for one hour and 10 minutes on Sundays when the crowd becomes immersed in its unique sounds.

“Many cannot afford to go to a symphony, but they can come to Balboa Park and listen to the same quality experience,” he said.

Music for all

At one point these types of organs could be found in many big cities like New York, as well as in Austria, and the United Kingdom, Ramírez said.

“The idea was to make music for everyone,” Ramírez said. “What makes San Diego unique is that it is outdoors. I like to call it ‘open air,’ as the organ is in the pavilion that starts in the basement and people don’t see it. It goes several stories and some of its pipes are 32 feet long … so long that some had to be bent so they don’t break.”

The organ has over 4500 pipes and is designed to replicate an orchestra.

Early On

According to the San Diego History Center, “Philanthropist John D. Spreckels commissioned the organ’s manufacture. A commemorative plaque on the right side of the console states: ‘John D. Spreckels has generously given the organ in this temple for the pleasure of those who, like himself, are lovers of music AD MCMXXIV.’”

At the time, Adolph Spreckels was dying of syphilis and John donated it in his honor. He died before it was completed in 1925. The indoor/outdoor Skinner organ cost more than $100,000 at the time.

Today’s organist

As for Ramírez, he is the first Spanish organist in current times to establish himself among the elite of the international pipe organ scene.

“I learned about the organ by listening to the radio when I was a kid in my village in Spain and reading a dictionary,” he said.

He didn’t come face to face with an actual organ until he was 16, “which was very late.”

At age 27, as the first Organist of Spain’s National Concert Hall in Madrid, Ramírez increased attendance by a multiple of 30 and critics hailed him as one of the most exciting talents in the music scene.

He travels globally to perform, lecture and jury competitions in Europe and the US. Premieres of his works have been recorded and broadcast in Spain.

Care of the organ

As for the care of the massive organ, the city of San Diego maintains the instrument and the civic organist position with the support of the Spreckels Organ Society.

The society also provides educational programs for children, a loaner program to donate practice instruments for students provides scholarships, and presents the largest International Summer Organ Festival in the USA, in addition to special evening concerts, open doors, tours, and fundraisers.

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

The Pavilion recently presented a special Halloween event/concert and will be offering holiday concerts in the next few months.