Conductor

Guest conductor Carl St. Clair leads the Columbus Symphony in a program featuring a recent work by John Wineglass that addresses the social issues faced during the pandemic. Pianist Claire Huangci returns with Tchaikovsky’s monumental first piano concerto. Brahms’ final symphony, the magnificent Symphony No. 4, completes the program.

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Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1

Ohio Theatre

Program and artists subject to change without notice.

Pacific Symphony

McCallum Theatre

The New York Times calls Scottish composer Sir James MacMillan as “ceaselessly inventive, evocative and penetrating.” He joins Pacific Symphony on a spiritual journey with his major commission “Fiat Lux” (“Let There Be Light”), a perfect pairing to Strauss’ eternal tone poem “Death and Transfiguration.”

Cathedrals of Sound

Segerstrom Center for the Arts

The joy of George Gershwin will fill the concert hall as Carl St.Clair explores those fascinatin’ rhythms, including Rhapsody in Blue, An American in Paris and other works from the Jazz Age. Who could ask for anything more?

Rhapsody in Blue

A three-part celebration starting with the music that defined the Roaring Twenties.  First, listen to music of the era in the concert hall, such as George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris.Then, foxtrot on the Plaza to the JT & Friends band, and finally, enjoy the landmark 1927 silent film It starring Clara Bow, accompanied on the organ by Dennis James.

Gershwin's Roaring '20s

A lecherous Duke, who lives to take his pleasure. His twisted court jester, who lives to take his revenge. Carl St.Clair conducts this season’s semi-staged opera production: Verdi’s Rigoletto, the composer’s masterpiece of duplicity and deception. A full theatrical experience in the splendor of the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.

Verdi's Rigoletto

Orange County’s beloved Pacific Symphony returns to Musco Center! Under the leadership of music director Carl St.Clair, the orchestra performs Mikhail Glinka’s Overture to Russian and Ludmilla, along with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, and Antonín Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 (From the New World).

Pacific Symphony, Conducted by Carl St. Clair

Chapman University

His life in constant turmoil, Tchaikovsky poured his soul into each of his symphonies. Symphonies that would express his inner anguish and romantic passions as no music had ever dared to. Carl St.Clair shares the story behind the notes of one of music’s most beloved composers, and how his greatest confidant was the champion he would never meet.

Tchaikovsky's Fourth

Tchaikovsky poured his soul into symphonies that would express his anguish and passions as no music had ever dared to. Carl St.Clair conducts Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony. The evening is complemented with the music of Richard Strauss and his graceful Serenade for Winds. Concertmaster Dennis Kim presents the world premiere of the new Violin Concerto of dynamic American composer, John Wineglass. With multiple Emmy nominations for his music for television, Wineglass is a vital presence in the symphonic world. Be there for the first performance of his captivating new work.

Tchaikovsky & Strauss

Tchaikovsky poured his soul into symphonies that would express his anguish and passions as no music had ever dared to. Carl St.Clair conducts Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony. The evening is complemented with the music of Richard Strauss and his graceful Serenade for Winds.  Concertmaster Dennis Kim presents the world premiere of the new Violin Concerto of dynamic American composer, John Wineglass. With multiple Emmy nominations for his music for television, Wineglass is a vital presence in the symphonic world. Be there for the first performance of his captivating new work.

Yefim Bronfman, Piano and the Pacific Symphony

Theirs was a love forbidden, and a love immortal. Experience Prokofiev’s intoxicating, impassioned “Romeo and Juliet,” as Carl St.Clair leads you through the greatest moments from Prokofiev’s sensuous ballet.  (Here’s some inside trivia — Prokofiev originally intended a happy ending!)

Romeo & Juliet

Robert Schumann wrote his one and only Piano Concerto after being encouraged by his loving wife Clara, the leading pianist of the time, who later premiered the romantic work. Hear it performed here by the legendary Yefim Bronfman, “a virtuoso with chops that defy comparison” (The New York Times). 
Before that, enjoy selections from Romeo and Juliet, Prokofiev's passionate retelling of Shakespeare's tragic tale of star-crossed lovers. Finally, be transported to a Viennese ballroom with the beloved On the Beautiful Blue Danube by waltz king Johann Strauss, Jr.

Two Love Stories

“A virtuoso with chops that defy comparison,” raves The New York Times. “Brings to mind stories of the young Rubinstein,” says The Washington Post. The legendary Yefim Bronfman plays Schumann’s romantic Piano Concerto in his long-awaited return to Pacific Symphony. And Carl St.Clair conducts two orchestral showpieces: selections from Prokofiev’s passionate Romeo and Juliet, and Johann Strauss’ beloved On the Beautiful Blue Danube.

Bronfman Plays Schumann

It's Mahler's last completed symphony. To many—his greatest. Carl St.Clair conducts the sublime Ninth Symphony of Gustav Mahler. Poignant and profound, the Ninth is Mahler’s moving testament of the artist and his own mortality. A powerfully affecting musical journey that one can't experience on their own.

Mahler 9

Mahler Symphony No. 9

The great strength and nobility of Brahms’ Fourth, and final, Symphony places it among his supreme masterworks. Carl St.Clair takes you into deep into the score, showing how Brahms would employ a favorite device of Bach to create his magnificent finale.

Brahms Symphony No. 4

"Worthless," declared the composer's friends. "Impossible to play." But Tchaikovsky refused to change a note of what became history's most popular piano concerto. Claire Huangci plays Tchaikovsky’s First Concerto. “If looking for characteristics of her playing, one finds them in her superior focus, imaginative abilities and the resulting poetics of her interpretation,” declares the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Also, Carl St.Clair conducts the great and noble Fourth Symphony of Johannes Brahms and music by Latin Grammy-nominated Gabriela Ortiz who is leading the new generation of Mexico’s composers.

Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto

It begins softly. A single snare drum. Then, a flute. Gradually, each instrument of Pacific Symphony joins in, one after the other, until Ravel’s Boléro reaches one of the greatest climaxes in all of music. Also, Orli Shaham, Dennis Kim and Warren Hagerty perform Beethoven’s too-rarely encountered tour-de-force, the Triple Concerto.  Carl St.Clair begins the season with Wagner’s stormy overture to The Flying Dutchman, and Re(new)al, a new work by the brilliant young composer, Viet Cuong.

Beethoven & Bolero

A legend by the age of 20. “Technical fireworks,” raves the San Francisco Examiner, “interpretive passion.” Experience the breathtaking virtuosity of Lang Lang—live in one very special concert with the Pacific Symphony in the beguiling Second Piano Concerto of Saint-Saëns. The evening opens with Ravel's vibrant orchestration of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.

Lang Lang Returns

Inspired by a Bavarian folk poem and a song he wrote, Gustav Mahler’s fourth symphony is an exploration of the idea of heaven from the perspective of a child. Come experience the sunniest of all his symphonies.

Mahler's Symphony No. 4

Pianist Alexander Romanovsky returns to the stage with one of Beethoven’s most beloved works—his Fifth Piano Concerto, “Emperor.” From sheer beauty to dazzling grandeur, the “Emperor” requires extreme virtuosity from its soloist, making it an ideal centerpiece in the hands of the talented Romanovsky.

Beethoven's Emperor Concerto

An all-Beethoven weekend – in celebration of the iconic composer’s 251th birthday – featuring all five piano concertos with the lavishly talented Alexander Romanovsky.

Beethoven’s Piano Concertos

Beethoven's Piano Concertos

Maestro Carl St.Clair and Marco Barricelli, who played Salieri in South Coast Repertory's 2016 production of Amadeus (and replaces the previously announced David Ivers), explore Mozart’s “Requiem” — one of the most enigmatic pieces ever composed, mainly due to the myths and controversies surrounding it. Mozart’s “Requiem,” which was left unfinished at the time of the composer’s death, now enjoys an elevated status as one of the most magnificent achievements in sacred music. Featuring the Grammy Award-winning Pacific Chorale.

Mozart's Requiem

Maestro Carl St.Clair and David Ivers, actor and artistic director at South Coast Repertory, explore Mozart’s Requiem—one of the most enigmatic pieces ever composed, mainly due to the myths and controversies surrounding it. Mozart’s Requiem, which was left unfinished at the time of the composer’s death, now enjoys an elevated status as one of the most magnificent achievements in sacred music.

The incredible story of genius musician Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, told in flashback by his peer and secret rival Antonio Salieri—now confined to an insane asylum. Adapted from the Tony Award-winning play and Oscar-winning movie Amadeus by Peter Shaffer, Mozart & Salieri includes a complete performance of Mozart’s Requiem—featuring the Grammy Award-winning Pacific Chorale—Don Giovanni Overture and other selections. Marco Barricelli (replacing the previously announced David Ivers) stars as Salieri, the role he incorporated in South Coast Repertory's 2016 production of Amadeus.

Mozart & Salieri

Jennifer Frautschi is a two-time GRAMMY nominee and Avery Fisher career grant recipient and is an internationally sought-after soloist and recitalist. She joins Pacific Symphony Chamber Orchestra and Maestro St. Clair in a program that includes Frank Ticheli’s Rest for String Orchestra and Beethoven’s only concerto for one of the most popular instruments of his day: the violin.

Pacific Symphony Performs Walker and Beethoven with Stefan Milenkovich

Soka Performing Arts Center

Love, betrayal and jealousy – all trademarks of great tragic opera – Otello embraces these themes to the fullest. Written decades after going into retirement, Verdi’s interpretation of Shakespeare’s tale takes you on a journey through a passionate romance destroyed by one of opera’s most loathsome villains.

Verdi's Otello

Celebrate Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, with the Farhang Foundation and Pacific Symphony! A traditional festival that marks the beginning of spring, Nowruz is a time to celebrate the “rebirth of nature” and wash away the past.

Nowruz: Iranian New Year

The USC Thornton Symphony performs Tchaikovsky's “Pathétique” Symphony and Witold Lutoslawski's Cello Concerto.  The ensemble, led by Artistic Leader and Principal Conductor of the USC Thornton Orchestras Carl St.Clair, features student-soloist and cellist Stella Cho, winner of the USC Thornton Concerto Competition.

USC Thornton Symphony

University of Southern California

Join us for Pacific Symphony’s annual festivities honoring the Lunar New Year! Celebrating the Year of the Tiger, this performance is sure to sell out once again as audiences from across our communities come together to feast on a colorful presentation of Eastern and Western music and dance.

Lunar New Year

Recognized as one of the most celebrated violinists of his generation, violinist Stefan Milenkovich enjoys a prolific career as an internationally sought-after soloist and recitalist. The program includes George Walker's Lyric for Strings, and Beethoven’s only concerto for one of the most popular instruments of his day: the violin.

Sundays at Soka: Walker & Beethoven With Stefan Milenkovich

Awe is the only adjective to describe twin piano phenoms, Christina Naughton and Michelle Naughton; watch as they take Mozart’s rarely performed Concerto for Two Pianos to the stage. On the second half, Mahler’s popular Symphony No. 4 evokes memories of youthful innocence and rustic German countryside.

Mozart & Mahler

Vivaldi’s lyrical masterpiece, “The Four Seasons,” paints tantalizing pictures of the changing seasons in a series of three-movement concertos. Concertmaster Dennis Kim captures the magic of "Spring" at this concert, from the re-awakening of nature to a sudden spring shower. Listen for the "barking" sheep dog played by the viola.

Symphony Thursdays @7pm - Vivaldi’s Spring

Let us pause on Memorial Day to remember all the lives we have lost, and find solace in Frank Ticheli's moving piece, Rest. Originally a vocal work based on the poem There Will Be Rest by Sara Teasdale, this arrangement by the composer for string orchestra will be accompanied by visual elements. Ticheli dedicated this composition to the memory of Cole Carsan St.Clair, the son of Carl St.Clair and his wife, Susan.

There Will Be Rest

Alone Together - In Memory of George Floyd

Wolfgang comes to life in this all-Mozart evening!  Maestro St.Clair conducts the legendary composer’s charming overture to <em>Don Giovanni</em> and the gloriously dark and transcendent Requiem, interspersed with a portrayal of his greatest rival, Antonio Salieri, performed by SCR Artistic Director David Ivers.

The Mozart Project

Joan Tower's six "Fanfares for the Uncommon Woman" are a tribute to "women who take risks and are adventurous," with each one dedicated to an inspiring woman in music. The first of these short pieces was inspired by Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man" and is dedicated to conductor Marin Alsop. In Prokofiev’s first symphony, which he named “Classical Symphony,” he loosely imitates the style of Haydn.

Symphony Thursdays @7pm - Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman

Inspired by a Bavarian folk poem and a song he wrote, Gustav Mahler’s fourth symphony is an exploration of the idea of heaven from the perspective of a child. Come experience the sunniest of all his symphonies as soprano Celena Shafer performs her role “with childlike, cheerful expression.”

Carl St. Clair

Conductor

Events

23 - 24 Feb, 2024

Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 · Columbus Symphony Orchestra

Feb 6, 2024

Pacific Symphony · Palm Springs Friends of Philharmonic

15 - 17 Jun, 2023

Cathedrals of Sound · Pacific Symphony

May 14, 2023

Rhapsody in Blue · Pacific Symphony

11 - 13 May, 2023

Gershwin's Roaring '20s · Pacific Symphony

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