Pacific Symphony
Encyclopedia
The Pacific Symphony is a symphony orchestra located in Orange County
, California
. The orchestra performs at the Renée and Henry Segerstom Concert Hall, part of the Orange County Performing Arts Center
in Costa Mesa, California
. Since 1987, it has been playing its summer concerts at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
(previously known as "Irvine Meadows Amphitheater") in Irvine, California
.
Carl St.Clair
has been the orchestra's Music Director since 1990.
formed in the United States in the last 40 years.
at the Los Angeles Master Chorale
and principal guest conductor of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra) in his Fullerton, California
home's kitchen with a grant of $2,000 and some phone calls to local musicians. The musicians whom Clark called were mainly from Southern California's deep base of professional freelance musicians who performed in the area's movie studios, universities, and other regional performing arts organizations; many of these musicians were former concertmasters, associate concertmasters, and principal players with prominent orchestras including the Cleveland Orchestra
, Detroit Symphony, and Los Angeles Philharmonic
. Clark became the orchestra's first Music Director and the first orchestra personnel manager was Robert F Peterson known professionally as "Peeps".
The orchestra had its first performance in December 1979 at the Plummer Auditorium in Fullerton, with Clark on the podium. By 1981, the orchestra played its concerts at the "Good Time Theater" at Knott's Berry Farm
with a subscription base of 3,000. By 1983, the orchestra had moved its concerts to the Santa Ana
High School auditorium, made its first recording, and had a big enough budget to hire a full time manager. In that same year, they performed for the first time at the Music Center of Los Angeles County as part of the City of Los Angeles' bicentennial celebrations. James Chute, in a commentary for The Orange County Register, wrote:
, giving its first concerts in its new home in October of that year. The Center had originally refused to give the orchestra residency, citing its strong desire to limit performers to those of "world-class" stature; however, the Center eventually relented and the Pacific Symphony as well as other regional arts organizations were given residency, largely due to Clark's continued lobbying efforts. This move led to a substantial increase in its subscriber base, but also a doubling of the orchestra's budget; unfortunately, the orchestra soon experienced financial difficulties, among them losing its funding grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
.
In June 1987, the orchestra hired Louis Spisto, marketing director of the Pittsburgh Symphony as its new Executive Director. Within months, Clark and Spisto began to clash. Prior to Spisto's arrival, Clark had already developed a difficult reputation with some of the orchestra's Board of Directors and the orchestra's four prior Executive Directors, all of whom had resigned after relatively short tenures (one as short as six weeks).
In October 1987, Clark signed a one-year contract, giving him a substantial pay raise while also establishing an artistic review process the board would use to determine if the contract should be renewed. By February 1988, Spisto helped to engineer a vote by the orchestra's board on whether or not to renew Clark as Music Director through the end of his existing contract. In a vote of 12-11, the board voted against retaining Clark; three days later, Clark resigned.
By the end of 1989, the orchestra had removed all mention of Clark from its official literature. Eventually, after more than two decades of failing to acknowledge Clark's legacy, the orchestra once again recognized his contributions with a brief summary of his tenure midway through the official history it published during the 2010-11 season
, then Music Director of the Warsaw
Philharmonic, was named Principal Guest Conductor and Music Advisor for the 1989-1990 season.
The orchestra also began its search for a new Music Director. Some established conductors, including Lawrence Foster
, Sergiu Comissiona
, Zdeněk Mácal
, and Stuart Challender
, were considered along with lesser known names, such as Christopher Seaman
, Richard Buckley, Vakhtang Jordania
, Toshiyuki Shimada
, and Carl St.Clair
. Kord repeatedly said that despite his new titled position, he was not a candidate.
The board had wanted a strong musician that would also be willing to spend significant time with the greater Orange County community. Since Zdeněk Mácal
was a resident of nearby Laguna Niguel, California
in addition to being a conductor with a strong resume, many considered him the early front-runner; however, he had a number of other positions already to his name, and his busy schedule was thought to be a likely deterrent. He pulled himself out of the running before the 1989-90 season began.
By late 1989, Lawrence Foster
was the odds-on favorite to be named Music Director. In December 1989, the orchestra offered Foster the position, and he accepted in principle. Contract negotiations began, and Foster began planning his schedule and the orchestra's programs for the coming years. However, in February 1990, Foster revealed that the offer had been rescinded, largely due to concerns about his salary and level of commitment:
The news of the orchestra's decision to pull Foster's offer came on the heels of Carl St.Clair
's debut with the orchestra on January 31 and February 1. By all accounts, the concerts went well; despite changes in programs, concert soloists, and concertmasters, his conducting was well received by musicians, board, and audience alike. Moreover, he had indicated a willingness to move to Orange County and seemed enthusiastic about being a part of the county's burgeoning arts and cultural scene.
On February 26, 1990, the orchestra named Carl St.Clair
as its second Music Director, effective October 1 of that year.
In 2005-06, under St.Clair, the Symphony made its debut appearance in Walt Disney Concert Hall
in Los Angeles, by special invitation from the American Symphony Orchestra League’s 2006 National Conference. The symphony 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.”
At the start of the 2006-07 season, the orchestra moved into the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, designed by architect Cesar Pelli
with the late acoustician Russell Johnson.
The Symphony offers repertoire ranging from the great orchestral masterworks to music from today’s most prominent composers, highlighted by the annual American Composers Festival. The Christian Science Monitor has commented, “With the American Composers Festival, the Pacific Symphony has lifted the baton on an unprecedented … initiative to explore the impact of non-European sounds on Western music. This marks the Symphony as a leader in contemporary classical music.” In addition to the Symphony’s main stage concerts, the organization also features one of the best-attended Pops series performed by an orchestra in the United States (led by Principal Pops Conductor Richard Kaufman), as well as chamber music, and family concerts series, led by Associate Conductor Michael Hall, who also conducts the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra
.
Pacific Symphony has played a central role in the growth of the performing arts in Orange County
, considered to be one of the 10 fastest growing communities and centers for business and technology in the world. Presenting more than 100 concerts a year and a rich array of education and community programs, the Symphony touches more than 250,000 Orange County residents—from school children to senior citizens.
The orchestra has commissioned works by William Bolcom
, William Kraft
, Tobias Picker
, Frank Ticheli, and Chen Yi
, who composed a cello concerto in 2004 for Yo-Yo Ma
. The inaugural season in the new hall included commissions for works by Philip Glass
, William Bolcom
, and Daniel Catán
.
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 American Symphony Orchestra League. In addition to the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra
, in 2007-08, St.Clair added to the list of programs the Pacific Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble and Pacific Symphony Santiago Strings.
, on the Reference Recordings label in 2002, and Elliot Goldenthal’s Fire Water Paper: A Vietnam Oratorio with Yo-Yo Ma
for SONY Classical.
Additional recordings include two piano concerti of Lukas Foss recorded by Carl St.Clair
, Pacific Symphony, and pianists Jon Nakamatsu and Yakov Kasman, released on the harmonia mundi label in 2001, and a 1997 recording featuring the works of Japan’s leading composer, Toru Takemitsu
, with the percussion ensemble, Nexus
, on the Sony Classical label.
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The orchestra performs at the Renée and Henry Segerstom Concert Hall, part of the Orange County Performing Arts Center
Orange County Performing Arts Center
The Orange County Performing Arts Center is a performing arts complex located in Costa Mesa, California, United States.The Center offers the world’s leading dance companies, Broadway shows, award-winning classical, jazz and cabaret artists, family entertainment, special events and year-round...
in Costa Mesa, California
Costa Mesa, California
Costa Mesa is a city in Orange County, California. The population was 109,960 at the 2010 census. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to a primarily suburban and "edge" city with an economy based on retail, commerce, and light...
. Since 1987, it has been playing its summer concerts at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre (Irvine)
Not to be confused with amphitheatres in Georgia, Missouri, or Virginia.Verizon Wireless Amphitheater Irvine is a 16,085-capacity amphitheater, located in Irvine, California...
(previously known as "Irvine Meadows Amphitheater") in Irvine, California
Irvine, California
Irvine is a suburban incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the city has a population of 212,375 as of the 2010 census. However, the California...
.
Carl St.Clair
Carl St.Clair
Carl Ray St.Clair is an American conductor.St.Clair attended the University of Texas. He later studied conducting with Gustav Meier at the University of Michigan and Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood...
has been the orchestra's Music Director since 1990.
History
The Pacific Symphony is the largest orchestraOrchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
formed in the United States in the last 40 years.
Early years
The orchestra was founded in 1979 by Keith Clark (a former student and assistant conductor of Roger WagnerRoger Wagner
Roger Wagner, KCSG was an American choral musician, administrator and educator.-Early life:Wagner was born in Le Puy, France. His younger brother was actor and voiceover artist Jack Wagner. Roger Wagner was immersed in music from his youngest years...
at the Los Angeles Master Chorale
Los Angeles Master Chorale
The Los Angeles Master Chorale is a professional chorus in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1964 by Roger Wagner to be one of the three original resident companies of the Music Center of Los Angeles County...
and principal guest conductor of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra) in his Fullerton, California
Fullerton, California
Fullerton is a city located in northern Orange County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 135,161.It was founded in 1887 by George and Edward Amerige and named for George H. Fullerton, who secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway...
home's kitchen with a grant of $2,000 and some phone calls to local musicians. The musicians whom Clark called were mainly from Southern California's deep base of professional freelance musicians who performed in the area's movie studios, universities, and other regional performing arts organizations; many of these musicians were former concertmasters, associate concertmasters, and principal players with prominent orchestras including the Cleveland Orchestra
Cleveland Orchestra
The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1918, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Severance Hall...
, Detroit Symphony, and Los Angeles Philharmonic
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
. Clark became the orchestra's first Music Director and the first orchestra personnel manager was Robert F Peterson known professionally as "Peeps".
The orchestra had its first performance in December 1979 at the Plummer Auditorium in Fullerton, with Clark on the podium. By 1981, the orchestra played its concerts at the "Good Time Theater" at Knott's Berry Farm
Knott's Berry Farm
Knott's Berry Farm is a theme park in Buena Park, California, now owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, and a line of jams, jellies, preserves, and other specialty food, now part of The J. M. Smucker Company based in Placentia, California....
with a subscription base of 3,000. By 1983, the orchestra had moved its concerts to the Santa Ana
Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana is the county seat and second most populous city in Orange County, California, and with a population of 324,528 at the 2010 census, Santa Ana is the 57th-most populous city in the United States....
High School auditorium, made its first recording, and had a big enough budget to hire a full time manager. In that same year, they performed for the first time at the Music Center of Los Angeles County as part of the City of Los Angeles' bicentennial celebrations. James Chute, in a commentary for The Orange County Register, wrote:
"[T]he orchestra's growth continued, as Clark's programs at Santa Ana High School offered an engaging mixture of old and new works, especially American works. The ensemble's recordings of music by Copland, Barber, Ives and Harris were enthusiastically received, while its American music programs attracted large audiences by offering apple pie at intermission and world premieres by respected American composers such as Donald Erb."
Financial problems and Clark's ouster
In 1986, the orchestra became one of the resident companies at the new Orange County Performing Arts CenterOrange County Performing Arts Center
The Orange County Performing Arts Center is a performing arts complex located in Costa Mesa, California, United States.The Center offers the world’s leading dance companies, Broadway shows, award-winning classical, jazz and cabaret artists, family entertainment, special events and year-round...
, giving its first concerts in its new home in October of that year. The Center had originally refused to give the orchestra residency, citing its strong desire to limit performers to those of "world-class" stature; however, the Center eventually relented and the Pacific Symphony as well as other regional arts organizations were given residency, largely due to Clark's continued lobbying efforts. This move led to a substantial increase in its subscriber base, but also a doubling of the orchestra's budget; unfortunately, the orchestra soon experienced financial difficulties, among them losing its funding grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
.
In June 1987, the orchestra hired Louis Spisto, marketing director of the Pittsburgh Symphony as its new Executive Director. Within months, Clark and Spisto began to clash. Prior to Spisto's arrival, Clark had already developed a difficult reputation with some of the orchestra's Board of Directors and the orchestra's four prior Executive Directors, all of whom had resigned after relatively short tenures (one as short as six weeks).
"The standard of a respectable Clark performance seemed to be that he was prepared and that he didn't get lost. Occasionally he went further, as he did most recently in a Jan. 21, 1988 program of Prokofiev's "Ivan the Terrible" and Mussorgsky's "Boris Godunov." But too often, Clark's
performances sounded more like readings than interpretations, and sometimes bad readings, such as his Oct. 2, 1986 opening concert in the center, which was drubbed by critics.
The opposition to Clark, within the orchestra, according to musicians, has been vociferous but only talked about privately. Most musicians, essentially employed at Clark's pleasure, have no job security in the Pacific Symphony and those who invoked his displeasure have, according to musicians, been pulled arbitrarily from concerts."
In October 1987, Clark signed a one-year contract, giving him a substantial pay raise while also establishing an artistic review process the board would use to determine if the contract should be renewed. By February 1988, Spisto helped to engineer a vote by the orchestra's board on whether or not to renew Clark as Music Director through the end of his existing contract. In a vote of 12-11, the board voted against retaining Clark; three days later, Clark resigned.
Clark's last year and the orchestra's subsequent abandonment of his legacy
Keith Clark continued to conduct the orchestra through its 1988-89 season. As part of the terms of his resignation, he was given nine months of severance pay and he still maintained the power to hire and fire musicians at his sole discretion. "I will continue as music director in every sense of that word," he declared.By the end of 1989, the orchestra had removed all mention of Clark from its official literature. Eventually, after more than two decades of failing to acknowledge Clark's legacy, the orchestra once again recognized his contributions with a brief summary of his tenure midway through the official history it published during the 2010-11 season
New musician's contract
In the meantime, the orchestra and Spisto began to evolve the Pacific Symphony into what it hoped would eventually be a "world-class" orchestra. Its first move was to sign the orchestra musicians to a traditional orchestra contract, complete with tenure rights in line with typical American Federations of Musicians agreements. While critics frequently assailed Clark's podium leadership, the musicians themselves were given much credit. Establishing tenure helped to give the orchestra a more stable reputation. "Tenure will put to rest the notion that this is a pick-up orchestra," Spisto said. "It will also give the players a sense of security and a better understanding that they are a major part of our future."Search for a new music director
In May 1988, Kazimierz KordKazimierz Kord
Kazimierz Kord is a Polish conductor. Between 1939 and 1945, he studied piano at the Leningrad Conservatory. He also studied at the Academy of Music in Kraków....
, then Music Director of the Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
Philharmonic, was named Principal Guest Conductor and Music Advisor for the 1989-1990 season.
The orchestra also began its search for a new Music Director. Some established conductors, including Lawrence Foster
Lawrence Foster
Lawrence Foster is an American conductor.He became the conductor of the San Francisco Ballet at the age of 18, and served as Assistant Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta...
, Sergiu Comissiona
Sergiu Comissiona
Sergiu Comissiona was a Romanian conductor and violinist.-Early life:...
, Zdeněk Mácal
Zdenek Mácal
Zdeněk Mácal is a Czech conductor.Mácal began violin lessons with his father at age four. He later attended the Brno Conservatory and the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts, where he graduated in 1960 with top honors. He became principal conductor of the Prague Symphony Orchestra and...
, and Stuart Challender
Stuart Challender
Stuart David Challender, AO was an Australian conductor, known particularly for his work with Opera Australia and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.-Early life:...
, were considered along with lesser known names, such as Christopher Seaman
Christopher Seaman
Christopher Seaman is a British conductor, the son of Albert Edward Seaman and Ethel Margery Seaman. He was educated at Canterbury Cathedral Choir School and The King's School, Canterbury, and later studied at King's College, Cambridge...
, Richard Buckley, Vakhtang Jordania
Vakhtang Jordania
Vakhtang Jordania was a Georgian conductor.-Biography:Born in the Republic of Georgia on Dec. 9, 1943, Maestro Jordania studied piano from the age of five. After graduating from the Tbilisi Conservatory, he studied symphonic and operatic conducting at the Leningrad Conservatory, graduating with...
, Toshiyuki Shimada
Toshiyuki Shimada
Toshiyuki Shimada is a Japanese American orchestral conductor. He is Music Director of both Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra in New London, CT, and Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes in Corning, NY...
, and Carl St.Clair
Carl St.Clair
Carl Ray St.Clair is an American conductor.St.Clair attended the University of Texas. He later studied conducting with Gustav Meier at the University of Michigan and Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood...
. Kord repeatedly said that despite his new titled position, he was not a candidate.
The board had wanted a strong musician that would also be willing to spend significant time with the greater Orange County community. Since Zdeněk Mácal
Zdenek Mácal
Zdeněk Mácal is a Czech conductor.Mácal began violin lessons with his father at age four. He later attended the Brno Conservatory and the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts, where he graduated in 1960 with top honors. He became principal conductor of the Prague Symphony Orchestra and...
was a resident of nearby Laguna Niguel, California
Laguna Niguel, California
Laguna Niguel is an affluent city located in southern Orange County, California. The name "Laguna Niguel" is derived from the Spanish word "Laguna" which means lagoon, and the word "Nigueli" which was the name of a Juaneño Indian village that was once located on Aliso Creek. The population was...
in addition to being a conductor with a strong resume, many considered him the early front-runner; however, he had a number of other positions already to his name, and his busy schedule was thought to be a likely deterrent. He pulled himself out of the running before the 1989-90 season began.
By late 1989, Lawrence Foster
Lawrence Foster
Lawrence Foster is an American conductor.He became the conductor of the San Francisco Ballet at the age of 18, and served as Assistant Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta...
was the odds-on favorite to be named Music Director. In December 1989, the orchestra offered Foster the position, and he accepted in principle. Contract negotiations began, and Foster began planning his schedule and the orchestra's programs for the coming years. However, in February 1990, Foster revealed that the offer had been rescinded, largely due to concerns about his salary and level of commitment:
"I gave them a total package," Foster said. "I was given to understand that the board regarded it as too exorbitant." . . . "I am brokenhearted," he added. "From the very beginning I became extremely excited about the project. . . . But that is their right. It is their organization. I can't do anything about it." . . . "Besides the salary issue, Foster said, "There was some distrust about my commitment to building the orchestra, that I am regarded as a European person and would not be sufficiently committed here."
"I think they wanted more time, but it was impossible with my family commitments and my other activities," Foster said. "And I told them I wasn't able to move to Orange County. With my work in Europe, that would have been impossible. But my wife and I had gotten so excited about the possibility that we were considering moving back to the United States in a couple of years, to New York, so we could be midway between Southern California and Europe."
The news of the orchestra's decision to pull Foster's offer came on the heels of Carl St.Clair
Carl St.Clair
Carl Ray St.Clair is an American conductor.St.Clair attended the University of Texas. He later studied conducting with Gustav Meier at the University of Michigan and Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood...
's debut with the orchestra on January 31 and February 1. By all accounts, the concerts went well; despite changes in programs, concert soloists, and concertmasters, his conducting was well received by musicians, board, and audience alike. Moreover, he had indicated a willingness to move to Orange County and seemed enthusiastic about being a part of the county's burgeoning arts and cultural scene.
On February 26, 1990, the orchestra named Carl St.Clair
Carl St.Clair
Carl Ray St.Clair is an American conductor.St.Clair attended the University of Texas. He later studied conducting with Gustav Meier at the University of Michigan and Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood...
as its second Music Director, effective October 1 of that year.
Carl St.Clair, music director: 1990-present
The Wall Street Journal remarked, “Carl St. Clair, the Pacific Symphony's dynamic music director, has devoted [17] years to building not only the orchestra's skills but also the audience's trust and musical sophistication—so successfully that the [Pacific Symphony] can now present some of the most innovative programming in American classical music to its fast-growing, rapidly diversifying community.”In 2005-06, under St.Clair, the Symphony made its debut appearance in Walt Disney Concert Hall
Walt Disney Concert Hall
The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, California is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Avenue, 1st and 2nd Streets, it seats 2,265 people and serves as the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra and the...
in Los Angeles, by special invitation from the American Symphony Orchestra League’s 2006 National Conference. The symphony 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
The Orange County Register
The Orange County Register is a daily newspaper published in Santa Ana, California. The Register is the flagship publication of Freedom Communications, Inc., which publishes 28 daily newspapers, 23 weekly newspapers, Coast magazine, and several related Internet sites.The Register is notable for its...
, 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.”
At the start of the 2006-07 season, the orchestra moved into the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, designed by architect Cesar Pelli
César Pelli
César Pelli is an Argentine architect known for designing some of the world's tallest buildings and other major urban landmarks. In 1991, the American Institute of Architects listed Pelli among the ten most influential living American architects...
with the late acoustician Russell Johnson.
The Symphony offers repertoire ranging from the great orchestral masterworks to music from today’s most prominent composers, highlighted by the annual American Composers Festival. The Christian Science Monitor has commented, “With the American Composers Festival, the Pacific Symphony has lifted the baton on an unprecedented … initiative to explore the impact of non-European sounds on Western music. This marks the Symphony as a leader in contemporary classical music.” In addition to the Symphony’s main stage concerts, the organization also features one of the best-attended Pops series performed by an orchestra in the United States (led by Principal Pops Conductor Richard Kaufman), as well as chamber music, and family concerts series, led by Associate Conductor Michael Hall, who also conducts the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra
Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra
With its debut in 1993, the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra became the first educational program of the Pacific Symphony. This youth orchestra gives an opportunity to young, talented musicians in the Orange County and Inland Empire areas to grow and be trained as orchestral musicians. Members...
.
Pacific Symphony has played a central role in the growth of the performing arts in Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
, considered to be one of the 10 fastest growing communities and centers for business and technology in the world. Presenting more than 100 concerts a year and a rich array of education and community programs, the Symphony touches more than 250,000 Orange County residents—from school children to senior citizens.
New music
Pacific 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 Composer Festival, and the Young American Composers Competition. The Symphony’s approaches to introducing new works to audiences received the prestigious ASCAP Award for Adventuresome Programming in 2005.The orchestra has commissioned works by William Bolcom
William Bolcom
William Elden Bolcom is an American composer and pianist. He has received the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Arts, two Grammy Awards, the Detroit Music Award and was named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America. Bolcom taught composition at the University of Michigan from 1973–2008...
, William Kraft
William Kraft
William Kraft is a composer, conductor, teacher, and percussionist.-Undergrad and Graduate School Years :...
, Tobias Picker
Tobias Picker
Tobias Picker is an American composer. Picker began composing at the age of eight and studied at the Manhattan School of Music, The Juilliard School and Princeton University, where his principal teachers were Charles Wuorinen, Elliott Carter and Milton Babbitt...
, Frank Ticheli, and Chen Yi
Chen Yi (composer)
Chen Yi is a Chinese composer of contemporary classical music. She was the first Chinese woman to receive a Master of Arts in music composition from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. She is also a violinist....
, who composed a cello concerto in 2004 for Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma is an American cellist, virtuoso, and orchestral composer. He has received multiple Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 2001 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011...
. The inaugural season in the new hall included commissions for works by Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
, William Bolcom
William Bolcom
William Elden Bolcom is an American composer and pianist. He has received the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Arts, two Grammy Awards, the Detroit Music Award and was named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America. Bolcom taught composition at the University of Michigan from 1973–2008...
, and Daniel Catán
Daniel Catán
Daniel Catán was a Mexican composer of Russian Sephardic Jewish descent known particularly for his operas and his creative friendship with the tenor Plácido Domingo.-Career:...
.
Music in the community
Pacific Symphony’s education programs are designed to integrate the symphony and its music into the Orange County community in ways that stimulate all ages and form strong, meaningful connections between students and the organization. Music Director and educator Carl St.ClairCarl St.Clair
Carl Ray St.Clair is an American conductor.St.Clair attended the University of Texas. He later studied conducting with Gustav Meier at the University of Michigan and Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood...
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 American Symphony Orchestra League. In addition to the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra
Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra
With its debut in 1993, the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra became the first educational program of the Pacific Symphony. This youth orchestra gives an opportunity to young, talented musicians in the Orange County and Inland Empire areas to grow and be trained as orchestral musicians. Members...
, in 2007-08, St.Clair added to the list of programs the Pacific Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble and Pacific Symphony Santiago Strings.
Recordings
The Symphony has also commissioned and recorded An American Requiem, by Pacific Symphony’s most recent Composer-in- Residence, Richard DanielpourRichard Danielpour
Richard Danielpour is an American composer.-Biography:Danielpour is born of Persian/Jewish descent. He studied at Oberlin College and the New England Conservatory of Music, and later at the Juilliard School of Music, where he received a DMA in composition in 1986...
, on the Reference Recordings label in 2002, and Elliot Goldenthal’s Fire Water Paper: A Vietnam Oratorio with Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma is an American cellist, virtuoso, and orchestral composer. He has received multiple Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 2001 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011...
for SONY Classical.
Additional recordings include two piano concerti of Lukas Foss recorded by Carl St.Clair
Carl St.Clair
Carl Ray St.Clair is an American conductor.St.Clair attended the University of Texas. He later studied conducting with Gustav Meier at the University of Michigan and Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood...
, Pacific Symphony, and pianists Jon Nakamatsu and Yakov Kasman, released on the harmonia mundi label in 2001, and a 1997 recording featuring the works of Japan’s leading composer, Toru Takemitsu
Toru Takemitsu
was a Japanese composer and writer on aesthetics and music theory. Largely self-taught, Takemitsu possessed consummate skill in the subtle manipulation of instrumental and orchestral timbre...
, with the percussion ensemble, Nexus
Nexus (percussion ensemble)
Nexus is a Toronto-based percussion ensemble that performs jazz, world music, and western avantgarde music.The ensemble is made up of percussionists Bob Becker , Bill Cahn , Robin Engelman, Russell Hartenberger, John Wyre, and Garry Kvistad. Founding member Michael Craden died of liver cancer in 1982...
, on the Sony Classical label.
Music directors
- 1979-1988: Keith Clark
- 1990–present: Carl St.ClairCarl St.ClairCarl Ray St.Clair is an American conductor.St.Clair attended the University of Texas. He later studied conducting with Gustav Meier at the University of Michigan and Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood...