Pacific Symphony Orchestra
Orchestras
Pacific Symphony, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2008-09, is the largest orchestra formed in the United States in the last 40 years. Recognized as an outstanding ensemble making strides on both the national and international scene as well as in its own burgeoning cultural community of Orange County, Calif., the orchestra launches a significant and celebratory season in 2009-2010. The season - a milestone year for Music Director Carl St.Clair, who marks his 20th anniversary with the orchestra - includes inventive, forward-thinking projects including the launch of a new series of multi-media concerts called "Music Unwound," featuring new visual elements, varied formats and more to highlight great masterworks.
In addition to classical music, Principal Pops Conductor Richard Kaufman leads a spectacular Pops season in 2009-10 - one of the most elaborate ever, starring some of the world's leading entertainers and enhanced by a state-of-the-art high-definition video and sound system. Each season also includes a three-concert chamber music series and "Classical Connections," which offers an intimate exploration of selected works hosted by St.Clair. And rising star Assistant Conductor Maxim Eshkenazy brings a new energy to the highly popular Family series - featuring holiday favorites and a number of new concert programs designed for families - as well as the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra.
It was at the start of the 2006-07 season that the orchestra first moved into the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, an acoustical gem designed by architect Cesar Pelli with acoustics by the late Russell Johnson. "Pacific Symphony is rising to meet the ambitions of its new home" - The New York Times. In September 2008, the Symphony debuted the hall's stunning new 4,322-pipe William J. Gillespie Concert Organ.
In 2005-06, the Symphony not only made its debut appearance in Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles by special invitation from the League of American Orchestra's 2006 National Conference, but also embarked on its first European tour. Performing in nine cities in three countries, the Symphony received rave reviews - 22 in all - expanding its reach to an international level. Timothy Mangan, classical music critic for The Orange County Register, who accompanied the orchestra on tour, said at the conclusion, "The tour has ended in something very close, or maybe even right on the nose, to triumph. All that happened on tour... showed that this band can really impress."
"Pacific Symphony clearly wanted to be measured against Europe's greatest. And they can be!"-Neue Rhein Zeitung, Dusseldorf, Germany.
The Symphony offers moving musical experiences with repertoire ranging from the great orchestral masterworks to music from today's most prominent composers, highlighted by the annual American Composers Festival. The Wall Street Journal said, "Carl St.Clair, the Pacific Symphony's dynamic music director, has devoted 19 years to building not only the orchestra's skills but also the audience's trust and musical sophistication - so successfully that that they can now present some of the most innovative programming in American classical music to its fast-growing, rapidly diversifying community."
With a vision for the future, the Symphony is dedicated to developing and promoting today's young and established composers and expanding the orchestral repertoire. This commitment to new works is illustrated through the Symphony's commissions and recordings, in-depth explorations of American artists and themes at the American Composers Festival. The Symphony's innovative approaches to introducing new works to audiences received the prestigious ASCAP Award for Adventuresome Programming in 2005. In 2009, the League of American Orchestras named the Symphony as one of five innovative orchestras to be profiled in an in-depth study.
The orchestra has commissioned such leading composers as Michael Daugherty, James Newton Howard, Paul Chihara, Philip Glass, William Bolcom, Daniel Catán, William Kraft, Tobias Picker, Frank Ticheli and Chen Yi, who composed a cello concerto in 2004 for Yo-Yo Ma. The Symphony has also commissioned and recorded An American Requiem, by Richard Danielpour, on the Reference Recordings label in 2002, and Elliot Goldenthal's Fire Water Paper: A Vietnam Oratorio with Yo-Yo Ma for SONY Classical.
The Symphony's award-winning education programs are designed to integrate the Symphony and its music into the community in ways that stimulate all ages and form meaningful connections between students and the organization. St.Clair actively participates in the development and execution of these programs. The orchestra's Class Act residency program has been honored as one of nine exemplary orchestra education programs in the nation by the National Endowment for the Arts and the League of American Orchestras. Added to Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra on the list of programs in 2007-08 were Pacific Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble and Pacific Symphony Santiago Strings.
The Symphony has played a central role in the phenomenal growth of the performing arts in Orange County. Presenting more than 100 concerts a year and a rich array of education and community programs, the Symphony touches more than 275,000 Orange County residents - from school children to senior citizens. In addition to its winter home, the Symphony presents a summer outdoor series at Irvine's Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, the organization's summer residence since 1987.
season 2009/2010
CARL ST.CLAIR, Music Director
In 09-10, Pacific Symphony's Music Director Carl St.Clair marks the start of his 20th anniversary with the orchestra. During his tenure, St.Clair has become widely recognized for his musically distinguished performances, his commitment to building outstanding educational programs and his innovative approaches to programming. St.Clair's lengthy history with the Symphony solidifies the strong relationship he has forged with the musicians and the community. His continuing role also lends stability to the organization and continuity to his vision for the Symphony's future. Few Orchestras can claim such rapid artistic development as Pacific Symphony - the largest orchestra formed in the U.S. in the last 40 years - due in large part to St.Clair's leadership.
St.Clair and the Symphony launch the 2009-10 season surrounded by internationally celebrated artists with whom he has developed close relationships. The season includes inventive, forward-thinking programming, including a new series of concerts, "Music Unwound," featuring multi-media, varied formats and ancillary events. Other highlights include four world premieres and the critically acclaimed American Composers Festival, in its 10th year under St.Clair, entitled "The Greatest Generation."
This past season, St.Clair celebrated another milestone - the 30th anniversary of Pacific Symphony. In 2006-07, St.Clair led the orchestra's historic move into its home in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. The move came on the heels of the landmark 2005-06 season that included St.Clair leading the Symphony on its first European tour - nine cities in three countries playing before capacity houses and receiving extraordinary responses. The Symphony received rave reviews from Europe's classical music critics - 22 reviews in total.
At the start of 2008-09, St.Clair added to his portfolio the role of general music director of the Komische Oper Berlin, a prestigious opera company located in Berlin, Germany, with a history that dates back to 1892. He recently concluded his tenure as general music director and chief conductor of the German National Theater and Staatskapelle (GNTS) in Weimar, Germany, where he recently led Wagner's "Ring Cycle" to great critical acclaim. St.Clair was the first non-European to hold his position at the GNTS; the role also gave him the distinction of simultaneously leading one of the newest orchestras in America and one of the oldest orchestras in Europe.
St.Clair's international career has him conducting abroad numerous months a year, and he has appeared with orchestras throughout the world. He was the principal guest conductor of the Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart from 1998-2004, where he successfully completed a three-year recording project of the Villa-Lobos symphonies. He has also appeared with orchestras in Israel, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and South America, and summer festivals worldwide.
St.Clair's commitment to the development and performance of new works by American composers is evident in the wealth of commissions and recordings by Pacific Symphony. St.Clair has led the orchestra in numerous critically acclaimed albums including two piano concertos of Lukas Foss on the harmonia mundi label. Under his guidance, the orchestra has commissioned works which later became recordings, including Richard Danielpour's An American Requiem on Reference Recordings and Elliot Goldenthal's Fire Water Paper: A Vietnam Oratorio on Sony Classical with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Other composers commissioned by St.Clair and Pacific Symphony include William Bolcom, Philip Glass, Zhou Long, Tobias Picker, Frank Ticheli and Chen Yi, Curt Cacioppo, Stephen Scott, Jim Self (the Symphony's principal tubist), Christopher Theofandis and James Newton Howard.
In North America, St.Clair has led the Boston Symphony Orchestra, (where he served as assistant conductor for several years), New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the San Francisco, Seattle, Detroit, Atlanta, Houston, Indianapolis, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver symphonies, among many.
Under St.Clair's dynamic leadership, the Symphony has built a relationship with the Southern California community by understanding and responding to its cultural needs. A strong advocate of music education for all ages, St.Clair has been essential to the creation and implementation of the symphony education programs including Classical Connections, arts-X-press and Class Act.
Season 2009/2010
