The Pacific Symphony is “always on the prowl for new ways to bring younger listeners into the fold, and this week the Orange County-based organization is trying perhaps its most ambitious gambit to date with the four-day Wavelength Festival in Costa Mesa,” reports Randy Lewis in Wednesday’s (8/21) Los Angeles Times. “From Thursday through Sunday, the orchestra will host a broad spectrum of musicians … with concerts at the Pacific Amphitheatre, starting with the blues, rock, folk and pop of Bonnie Raitt and Keb’ Mo’. That will be followed Friday by an indie rock night with the Airborne Toxic Event, then an electronic dance music program Saturday.… On Sunday, the festival concludes with a Pink Floyd tribute band performing the … ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ album with backing by the orchestra.… ‘I remember … when “Yesterday” came out with Paul McCartney singing with a string quartet, or when the Moody Blues came out with their album with a symphony orchestra,’ [Pacific Symphony Music Director Carl St.Clair said].… ‘We’re doing the same thing—in reverse.’ … ‘It’s an experiment,’ orchestra President John Forsyte said. ‘We’re taking a page from some of the greater pop music festivals, where you have an eclectic blend of a lot of different artists concentrated in a short period.’ ”
Posted August 23, 2013
