Join us for what is sure to be an illuminating and moving recital by Jonathan Dimmock, international touring artist and Principal Organist of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. His varied program will include contemporary music by Philip Glass, Olivier Messiaen, and Aaron Copland, as well as romantic composer César Franck’s fiery Choral in A minor.

Our organ recital series features some of the finest organists playing one of America’s great organs. Grace Cathedral’s 7,466-pipe Aeolian-Skinner instrument, the Charles B. Alexander Memorial Organ (1934), is one of the first and finest American classic-style organs and is among the largest church organs in the West. Experiencing music in our gothic cathedral with its unique acoustics, soaring nave, and jewel-like stained glass windows is a feast for the ears, eyes, and soul. 

Please note there is an admission fee for visitors on Sundays from 1 to 5 pm. Those wishing to attend the organ recital must register in advance to avoid paying the fee. Thank you for your understanding. 

Program

Les corps glorieux: Sept visions brèves de la vie des ressuscités (1939)
     I. “Force et agilité des corps glorieux”
Olivier Messiaen (1908 – 1992) 

Billy the Kid
     I. “Open Prairie”
Aaron Copland (1900 – 1990)
arr. J. Dimmock  

Suite for Organ
     I. “On the Rhine”
II. “Stars”
Mason Bates (b. 1977) 

Ein feste Burg
John Karl Hirten 

Fugue in D, Op. 65, No. 6
Max Reger (1873 – 1916)  

Mad Rush (1979)
Philip Glass (b. 1937) 

Choral in A minor, FWV 40
César Franck 

About the Organist

Organist Jonathan Dimmock is well-known internationally as a concert soloist and recording artist.  He is the Principal Organist at the Legion of Honor Museum, Organist for the San Francisco Symphony, and Music Director at Congregation Sherith Israel. A graduate of Oberlin and Yale, he has the unique privilege of serving under Simon Preston as the first American Organ Scholar of Westminster Abbey; he has also served three American cathedrals:  St. John the Divine (New York), St. Mark’s (Minneapolis), and Grace (San Francisco).  Jonathan lives in San Francisco where, for over twelve years, he was Music Director at St. Ignatius Church (the largest Jesuit church in the United States) and where he bases his extensive freelance career. He is in steady demand as an organ accompanist and is one of the few organists in the world to tour on all six inhabited continents.  He is especially renowned for his interpretations of the music of Bach and Messiaen.  

Jonathan has recorded more than fifty CDs including a Grammy Award-winning CD of Mahler Symphony 8 with the San Francisco Symphony. In addition to hundreds of listings on YouTube, iTunes, Spotify, and other streaming sites, he has been interviewed and featured on nu7merous radio and television stations throughout the world, including National Public Radio, Radio France, BBC3, ABC (Australia), MTV2 (Budapest), BCC (Barbados), and SABC (South Africa). His teachers and mentors include Olivier Messiaen, Gillian Weir, Simon Preston, Jean Langlais, Peter Hallock, Haskell Thomson, William Porter, Thomas Murray, Harald Vogel, Naji Hakim, and Frédéric Blanc. He is co-founder of the highly acclaimed American Bach Soloists, founding director of Artists’ Vocal Ensemble (AVE), and founding President of The Resonance Project – which uses music in international conflict transformation.  He is deeply committed to healing our world through the beauty of music, and talks eagerly on the subjects of spirituality, psychology, aesthetics, and the arts. 

Event Details

The concert will also be livestreamed here and on YouTube.  The cathedral will open for seating at 3:30 pm. The entrance to the cathedral is at the top of the Great Steps. The accessible entrance is via the glass doors on Taylor Street or from the cathedral garage. Masks are strongly encouraged inside the cathedral. 

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