In Sunday’s (9/9) Orange County Register (California), Timothy Mangan writes, “Carl St.Clair, music director of the Pacific Symphony since 1990, was lounging recently at an outdoor Laguna Beach café, near his home. … St.Clair turned 60 in June. The orchestra celebrated with a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at Segerstrom Concert Hall, which was simultaneously broadcast to a throng of listeners outdoors in the plaza. … As St.Clair begins his 23rd season with the Pacific Symphony this month, he is reflecting on his age, his past and his future. … When the conductor arrived in 1990, the orchestra was offering just 16 classical concerts a season in its signature series. Now it offers 36, with similar expansions in its pop series, chamber music series, special events and educational outreach. … Instigated by St.Clair and energized by the contribution of the noted musicologist Joseph Horowitz, the annual American Composers Festival has become a jewel on the orchestra’s calendar, introducing a vast array of contemporary American music and little known gems from the past in historical, often multimedia context, with live interviews, seminars and other ancillary events in support.”
Posted September 11, 2012
