CONCERT
The Mighty Organ
Saturday, May 8, 2027 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 9, 2027 at 2:30 p.m.
California Theatre,
San Jose, CA
Concert Length
Approx. 1 hr 50 min. with intermission
Music Notes occur one hour prior to
the concert in the auditorium.
Artists
Anna Rakitina, conductor
Margaret Kvamme, organ
Symphony San Jose
Program
Caroline Shaw
Entr’acte
Francis Poulenc
Organ Concerto
Camille Saint-Saëns
Symphony No. 3 (“Organ”)
About This Performance
As the California Theatre celebrates its 100th anniversary, we shine a spotlight on its Mighty Wurlitzer organ and honor the distinct role the theater plays in our community’s cultural landscape.
Like the organ itself, Pulitzer Prize-winner Caroline Shaw’s Entr’acte moves effortlessly between centuries, echoing Baroque elegance, bending classical forms, and revealing unexpected sonorities.
Francis Poulenc’s Organ Concerto is solemn, playful, and gloriously theatrical. Performed by renowned organist Margaret Kvamme, the concerto showcases the organ’s extraordinary range, from hushed, prayer-like intimacy to bold, blazing grandeur.
From its hushed beginnings to its blazing, triumphant finale, Camille Saint-Saëns’s Symphony No. 3 uses the organ not as an accompaniment, but as a force of nature. With the mighty Wurlitzer unleashed in all its glory, the symphony’s final pages promise a sonic experience as monumental as the California Theatre itself.
