Young students perform on Spreckels Organ!

Richard Schulte

June 2

Wow! Did you hear the three young organ students in Balboa Park today?

American Guild of Organists Scholarship students from local San Diego schools received loud applause after playing difficult pieces on the Spreckels Organ.

Each young person strode onto the stage with poise, sat down at the imposing console and immediately dived into the music. They made playing a very complicated instrument look effortless. Each student has been training on organ for years.

The first young man was Yuhan Jackson, 11 years old, in 5th grade at Hawthorne Elementary School. He triumphantly played pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach and Gordon Young.

Next up came Elijah Prada, who brilliantly played complicated pieces by the same two composers. He's 13 years old, a seventh grade student currently studying at the San Diego Piano Academy.

Then 17 year old Jonah Molina took the Spreckels Organ Pavilion stage. A student who attends Mission Bay High School, he also played pieces by Gordon Young and Johann Sebastian Bach. He was really great, too!

All three received gleaming trophies as the special Sunday organ concert concluded!

The concert was both excellent and inspirational. Organ students in San Diego are fortunate to have many outstanding local organists as mentors and teachers, including world-famous San Diego Civic Organist Raúl Prieto Ramírez!

Three more AGO Scholarships students will be performing next Sunday, June 9, 2024, at 2 pm. They'll also play the majestic Spreckels Organ.

Do you love fine music? Do you want to cheer on very talented youth? Be there!