SAN DIEGO, CA – The Spreckels Organ Society announces that Andrea Card, George Hard and Leroy Phelps, Phd. have joined the board at the prestigious Balboa Park institution responsible for preserving, maintaining and promoting the Spreckels Organ, the largest outdoor organ in the United States.

Andrea Card was born into a musical family. Her grandmother was an organist, her grandfather a bass soloist and music critic for the Chicago Tribune, and her mother and father were both singers and instrumentalists. Andrea herself has played piano, cornet and French horn and has sung in many choirs. A graduate of Albion College, Andrea is a member of the American Guild of Organists and the Spreckels Organ Society and works in administration at the First United Methodist Church of San Diego.

George Hardy returns to the Spreckels Organ Society board, having been one of the founding members during its creation and development. He has stayed involved over the years and recently co-sponsored two International Summer Festival organists. He has lived and worked in San Diego for over 30 years, all but 3 of them as a criminal prosecutor and appellate attorney with the U.S. Attorney’s office. As a child, Hardy studied the piano, clarinet and voice and sang in many musical organizations while at Yale University. In San Diego he has been involved with the First Presbyterian Church choir, the La Jolla Civic Chorus and the San Diego Master Chorale where he has also served as a board member.

Leroy Phelps, Phd. came to San Diego in 1966 to teach microbiology at San Diego State University. A self-claimed non-musician, Phelps first heard organ music as a teenager and in 1967 began regularly attending the concerts in Balboa Park. He became a member of the Spreckels Organ Society in 1990 and over the years has made himself a valued volunteer in a front-of-house capacity and as a board member.

The not-for-profit Spreckels Organ Society was founded in 1988 with a mission to preserve, program and promote the Spreckels Organ as a world treasure for all people. With over 1,900 members world-wide, and governed by an all-volunteer Board of Trustees, the Society presents more than 100 free concerts a year and attracts over 100,000 people annually. For more information about the Spreckels Organ Society including a listing of upcoming concerts, visit sosorgan.com or the Spreckels Organ Society Facebook fan page.

Coming up this summer, the Spreckels Organ Society presents the 2010 Summer International Organ Festival featuring celebrated organists from around the world playing each Monday evening from June 21 through August 30, 2010 at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park. All 2010 Summer International Organ Festival concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. and are free of charge. Admission and parking are free, music-loving children and pets are welcome and many concertgoers enjoy picnics in Balboa Park before the concerts. Light snacks, beverages and gifts are available at the pavilion grounds with proceeds benefiting the not-for-profit Spreckels Organ Society.

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