Festival Artists

The following artists will participate in this year's American Composers Festival:

Music Director Carl St.Clair

In 2009-10, 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.

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.

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.

Pacific Symphony

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.

Michael Daugherty

Michael Daugherty is one of the most commissioned, performed and recorded composers on the international concert music scene today. Inspired by icons, places and historical figures, his music is rich with cultural and political allusions and bears the stamp of classic modernism, with colliding tonalities and blocks of sound; at the same time, his melodies can be eloquent and stirring. Daugherty has been hailed by The Times (London) as "a master icon maker" with a "maverick imagination, fearless structural sense and meticulous ear". Daugherty first came to international attention when the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Zinman, performed his Metropolis Symphony at Carnegie Hall in 1994. Since that time, Daugherty's music has entered the orchestral, band and chamber music repertoire and made him, according to the League of American Orchestras, one of the ten most performed living American composers.

Born in 1954 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Daugherty is the son of a dance-band drummer and the oldest of five brothers, all professional musicians. He studied music composition at the University of North Texas (1972-76), the Manhattan School of Music (1976-78) and computer music at Boulez's IRCAM in Paris (1979-80). Daugherty received his doctorate from Yale University in 1986 where his teachers included Jacob Druckman, Earle Brown, Roger Reynolds, and Bernard Rands. During this time, he also collaborated with jazz arranger Gil Evans in New York, and pursued further studies with composer György Ligeti in Hamburg, Germany (1982-84). After teaching music composition from 1986-1990 at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Daugherty joined the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance in Ann Arbor, Michigan where, since 1991, he has been a mentor to many of today's most talented young composers.

Daugherty is a frequent guest of professional orchestras, festivals, universities and conservatories around the world where he participates in pre-concert talks, teaches composition master classes and works with student composers and ensembles. Daugherty has been the Composer-in-Residence with the Louisville Symphony Orchestra (2000), Detroit Symphony Orchestra (1999-2003), Colorado Symphony Orchestra (2001-2002), Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music (2001-04, 2006-08), Westshore Symphony Orchestra (2005-06), Eugene Symphony (2006), Henry Mancini Summer Institute (2006), Music from Angel Fire Chamber Music Festival (2006) and Pacific Symphony (2010).

Daugherty has received numerous awards, distinctions, and fellowships for his music including a Fulbright Fellowship (1977), Kennedy Center Friedheim Award (1989), Goddard Lieberson Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1991), fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (1992) and the Guggenheim Foundation (1996), the Stoeger Prize from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (2000) and the Michigan Governor's Award (2004). In 2005, Daugherty received the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra Composer's Award, and in 2007, the Delaware Symphony Orchestra selected Daugherty as the winner of the A. I. duPont Award. Also in 2007, Daugherty was named "Outstanding Classical Composer" at the Detroit Music Awards and received the American Bandmasters Association Ostwald Award for his composition Raise the Roof for Timpani and Symphonic Band. His music is published by Peermusic Classical and, since 2003, by Boosey and Hawkes. Daugherty's music can be heard on, among others, the Albany, Argo, Delos, Equilibrium, Naxos, Nonesuch and Sony labels.

Douglas Webster

Considered the foremost interpreter of the role of the Celebrant in Leonard Bernstein's MASS, Douglas Webster’s portrayal was recorded for DVD when he, along with a hand-picked cast, presented the work in performance at the Vatican. The following day, he was received by His Holiness, Pope John Paul II. Recent performances of MASS have included The Kennedy Center, the Dallas Symphony and Catholic University of America. He returns to the role of the celebrant for the 25th anniversary season of Columbus Pro-Musica. Between stints in Les Miserables (Broadway, National Tour), Douglas was awarded a Concert Artists Guild prize and the Joy In Singing Award for recitalists. Over the past two seasons, he has logged over one hundered solo recitals in as many cities with pianist, Lincoln Mayorga. His regional stage credits include Tony in West Side Story, Tommy in Brigadoon, Top in Copland's The Tender Land (Koch records) and the title roles in Sousa's El Capitan (Zephyr records) and Don Giovanni (Mozart). He has appeared with orchestras across the country both as baritone soloist and with the trio, "BRAVO Broadway!" Douglas is artistic director of American Singer Seminars, a program that brings young performers together with working professionals from Broadway, opera, and the concert stage.

Pacific Chorale

Founded in 1968, Pacific Chorale is internationally recognized for exceptional artistic expression, stimulating American-focused programming, and influential education programs. Pacific Chorale presents a substantial performance season of its own at the Orange County Performing Arts Center and is sought regularly to perform with the nation's leading symphonies. Under the inspired guidance of Artistic Director John Alexander, Pacific Chorale has infused an Old World art form with California's hallmark innovation and cultural independence.

Pacific Chorale is comprised of 140 professional and volunteer singers. In addition to its long-standing partnership with Pacific Symphony, the Chorale has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Disney Hall on numerous occasions. Other noted collaborations include the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Boston Symphony, the National Symphony, and the Long Beach, Pasadena, Riverside and San Diego symphonies. John Alexander and the Chorale have toured extensively in Europe, South America and Asia.

Pacific Chorale, the seventh largest-budgeted chorus in the United States, has received numerous awards, including Chorus America's prestigious "Margaret Hillis Achievement Award for Choral Excellence" and the first national "Educational Outreach Award." In 2005, Pacific Chorale received the ASCAP Chorus America Alice Parker Award for adventurous programming.

The Chorale's outstanding performances can be heard on seven CDs, including Musica and Nocturne, collections of American a cappella works conducted by John Alexander; Songs of Eternity by James F. Hopkins and Voices by Stephen Paulus, conducted by John Alexander and featuring Pacific Symphony; Pacific Symphony's Fire, Water, Paper: A Vietnam Oratorio by Elliot Goldenthal, and An American Requiem by Richard Danielpour (both recordings conducted by Carl St.Clair); and a holiday recording, Christmas Time Is Here, released on the Gothic Records label.

John Alexander

Artistic Director of Pacific Chorale since 1972, John Alexander is one of America's most respected choral conductors. He has conducted his singers with orchestras throughout Europe, Asia, the former Soviet Union and South America and, closer to home, with Pacific Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, Musica Angelica and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Alexander has prepared choruses for many of the world's most outstanding orchestral conductors, including Zubin Mehta, Pierre Boulez, Seiji Ozawa, Michael Tilson Thomas, Leonard Slatkin, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Gustavo Dudamel, Lukas Foss, Max Rudolf, Carl St.Clair, Gerard Schwarz, Marin Alsop, John Mauceri, John Williams, and Keith Lockhart.

Alexander is nationally recognized for his leadership in the musical and organizational development of the performing arts. He is a board member and former president of Chorus America, the service organization for choruses in North America. Alexander also has served on artistic review panels for national, statewide and local arts organizations, including the National Endowment for the Arts, the California Arts Council, and the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.

Alexander retired in spring 2006 from his position as Director of Choral Studies at California State University, Fullerton, having been awarded the honor of Professor Emeritus. From 1970 to 1996, he held the position of Director of Choral Studies at California State University, Northridge. In 2003, Chorus America honored him with the establishment of the "John Alexander Conducting Faculty Chair" for their national conducting workshops.

Alexander's numerous tributes and awards include: The "Distinguished Faculty Member" award from California State University, Fullerton (2006); the Helena Modjeska Cultural Legacy Award (2003), presented in honor of his lifetime achievement as an artistic visionary in the development of the arts in Orange County; the "Outstanding Individual Artist" Award (2000) from Arts Orange County; and the "Gershwin Award" (1990), presented by the county of Los Angeles in recognition of his cultural leadership in that city. In June 2008, Alexander received the "Michael Korn Founders Award for Development of the Professional Choral Art" from Chorus America.

Joseph Horowitz

Joseph Horowitz has served as artistic advisor to Pacific Symphony since the inception of the critically acclaimed American Composers Festival in 2000. A distinguished cultural historian, he is the author of eight books, most recently Artists in Exile: How Refugees from War and Revolution Transformed the American Performing Arts (HarperCollins); like Classical Music in America: A History (2005), it was named one of the best books of the year by The Economist. As executive director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra in the 1990s, Horowitz was a pioneer in the exploration of new symphonic concert formats. He has since curated more than three dozen interdisciplinary festivals throughout the United States. Two seasons ago, he inaugurated the New York Philharmonic's new "Inside the Music" series, producing, writing, and hosting a presentation on Tchaikovsky's Pathétique Symphony. Last season, he returned to the Philharmonic to produce two programs on Dvo¡rák in America.

Horowitz's many honors and awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship, two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and a certificate of appreciation from the Czech Parliament for his many celebrations of Dvo¡rák's historic sojourn in America (including Pacific Symphony's American Composers Festival of 2002). He is the author of the entry on "classical music" for both the Oxford Encyclopedia of American History and the Encyclopedia of New York State. He is cofounder and artistic director of Post-Classical Ensemble, a chamber orchestra based in Washington, D.C.; his "Post-Classical Productions" also produces events in New York City and Chicago.

George Stoney

George Cashel Stoney is a legendary documentary filmmaker who is also considered to be a father of public access television. He has mentored hundreds of young filmmakers as a professor of production and media theory at NYU, where he has taught since 1970. At NYU, he co-founded the Alternate Media Center, and his interns eventually went on the start the Alliance for Community Media.

Stoney was born in Winston-Salem, NC, on July 1, 1916. Prior to his film career, he worked as a freelance journalist, and a photo intelligence officer. He began making films in 1946, focusing on films primarily in the areas of health and social change. Eventually he became Executive Director of the National Film Board of Canada's influential Challenge for Change series from 1966-1970.

Raymond Kobler

Violinist Raymond Kobler was appointed concertmaster of Pacific Symphony in 1999. During his illustrious career he has appeared as soloist on numerous occasions with the Cleveland Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Zurich Chamber Orchestra and San Francisco Symphony. In this capacity, he has collaborated with such conductors as André Previn, Lorin Maazel, Sir Neville Marriner, Leonard Slatkin, Christoph Eschenbach, Neemi Järvi, and Herbert Blomstedt. At the festivities surrounding the opening of Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco in 1980, he performed the Bach Double Concerto with Yehudi Menuhin.

From 1974 to 1980, Kobler served as associate concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra, and from 1980 to 1998, he served as concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony. In 2002, Kobler was nominated for a Grammy Award as a member of the chamber group AN DIE MUSIK. In 1995, Kobler was appointed by Sir Georg Solti to be concertmaster of the World Orchestra for Peace, an ensemble comprised of concertmasters and principal musicians from major orchestras around the globe. The orchestra was created for the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations. The Outstanding Individual Artist Award of 2002 was presented to Kobler by Arts Orange County.

Bridget Dolkas

A vibrant member of the musical community in Southern California, Bridget Dolkas is the principal second violinist of Pacific Symphony, first violinist of the California Quartet, and performs in Pacific Symphony's popular chamber music series, Café Ludwig. With the California Quartet, Dolkas has been invited to perform in Europe and across the United States. She has attended the University of Southern California, the University of California, Los Angeles, the Manhattan School of Music, and now teaches on the faculty of Chapman University. In her spare time, Bridget works as a "professional organizer" for her family and friends. Her most recent passion has become property restoration, discovered while renovating four houses on five acres in Carlsbad, CA.

Robert Becker

Principal viola of Pacific Symphony since 1982, Robert Becker was recently appointed to the position of full-time Director of String Studies at Chapman University's Conservatory of Music. Internationally known as a pedagogue of the viola and chamber music and founder of the Viola Workout in Crested Butte, CO, he is dedicated to the training of young violists and string players for a future career in performing, teaching, chamber music and orchestral playing. Continuing his tenure as principal viola of Pacific Symphony, he serves once again as principal and solo viola for America Ballet Theatre's West Coast performances at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in 2009-10.

Becker's orchestral experience includes service as principal viola of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra appointed at age 17, the American Symphony, co-principal viola for the Juilliard Concert Orchestra, assistant principal viola for the Aspen Festival Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra, invited guest principal viola for the New York Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, assistant and principal viola of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and as Opera Pacific's principal viola from it's inception to its closure in 2008.

As of 2009, Becker has recorded for over 400 film and television scores. Other recordings include chamber music with the American String Quartet, New York String Quartet, and Pacific Symphony. Background recordings span genres and artists from Elvis to Elton John and everything in between: Johnny Cash, Madonna, Aerosmith, Ray Charles, Ray Price, Barbara Streisand and jazz recordings with Wayne Shorter, among others. Recently, Becker served as principal viola on George Clooney's new film "Up in the Air" and on the new season of "Desperate Housewives."

Kevin Plunkett

Kevin Plunkett is currently in his 19th season as assistant principal cellist of Pacific Symphony. Born and raised in Los Angeles, he studied at the New England Conservatory under Laurence Lesser, and at Northern Illinois University under Raya Garbousova. He has been a member of the Rochester Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony, as well as the Detroit Symphony. He has also held teaching positions at the Universities of Maine and Delaware, where he was also a member of the Delos String Quartet. In his leisure moments Plunkett enjoys tinkering with computers, reading, hiking, and various intellectual pursuits.

Gloria Cheng

Pianist Gloria Cheng, recent winner of the 2009 Grammy® for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without Orchestra), is widely recognized as a colorful and communicative interpreter of contemporary music. She has garnered universal acclaim for her unassuming virtuosity and eloquence, and has premiered dozens of new compositions, including works composed for her by John Adams, Mark Applebaum, Pierre Boulez, Joan Huang, David Raksin, Terry Riley, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Stephen Andrew Taylor, Chinary Ung, and Andrew Waggoner. Cheng's passionate dedication to contemporary music has brought about close collaborations with many of the leading composers of our time: Thomas Adès, Henry Brant, Earle Brown, Elliott Carter, George Crumb, John Harbison, György Ligeti, Witold Lutoslawski, Steve Reich, and Steven Stucky.

On the world premiere of Salonen's Dichotomie, composed for and dedicated to Cheng, the Los Angeles Times described her performance as "miraculous in the sheer speed and sureness of her fingers, in the rich depth of color and sonority she obtained from the piano, and in the sheer expression of joy she brought to a demanding new work." The New York Times has praised her "commanding technique, color and imagination."

Cheng appears annually on the Piano Spheres concert series founded by Leonard Stein and collaborates with a number of chamber ensembles, most notably with the Calder Quartet and on the Jacaranda Music series. She has been featured in film scores by composers such as Don Davis, Danny Elfman, James Horner, Maurice Jarre, David Newman, and John Williams.

Cheng's solo discography includes her highly praised debut CD of music by Olivier Messiaen on Koch, and two critically acclaimed Telarc releases: Piano Music of John Adams and Terry Riley and Piano Dance: A 20th-Century Portrait. In July 2008 Cheng's newest Telarc disc: Piano Music of Esa-Pekka Salonen, Steven Stucky, and Witold Lutoslawski, was released to international accolades that include Gramophone Magazine's Editor's Choice, New York Times Record of the Year, and the GRAMMY® Award.

University Singers

The University Singers (formerly Chamber Choir,) under the direction of Robert Istad, is comprised of upper class members selected by audition. In recent years, they have become recognized as a premier collegiate vocal ensemble performing for numerous choral conventions including the American Choral Directors Association. The group has joined with the CSUF Concert Choir performing with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and the Pacific Symphony Orchestra among others, and in February 2003, the choir was selected as one of 42 choral ensembles to perform at the ACDA National Convention in New York presenting concerts at Riverside Church, Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall. Tours have included performances in Italy, Spain, Germany, and most recently, Australia.

Rob Istad

Dr. Robert M. Istad is Director of Choral Studies at California State University, Fullerton where he conducts the University Singers and Concert Choir in addition to teaching courses in conducting, advanced interpretation and literature. He has prepared choruses for Esa–Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Carl St.Clair and Pacific Symphony, Sir Andrew Davis and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Nicholas McGegan and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, as well as conductors Bramwell Tovey, Eric Whitacre, Giancarlo Guerrero, Marin Alsop, George Fenton, John Alexander, William Dehning, David Lockington and Mark Manderano. Istad received his Bachelor of Arts degree in music from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, his Master of Music degree in choral conducting from California State University, Fullerton and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral music at the University of Southern California. He studied conducting with Dr. William Dehning, John Alexander and Dr. Jon Hurty. Istad is also the Artistic Director of the Long Beach Camerata Singers and Long Beach Bach Festival, is the Assistant Conductor of the Pacific Chorale, and is in demand as an adjudicator and guest clinician throughout the region.

Christopher Russell

Christopher Russell is Coordinator of the Orchestra Program at the Orange County High School of the Arts (OCHSA) and Director of Orchestral Studies at Azusa Pacific University. Russell received his bachelor’s degree in Composition from Cal State Fullerton and his master’s degree in Conducting from Indiana University. Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times described Russell as “a forcefully dramatic conductor with a strong technique.”

Russell has appeared with the OCHSA Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and the Sydney Opera House, and has received numerous awards for innovative programming. Russell and the OCHSA Symphony can be heard on the MMC Recordings label performing works ranging from Gluck and Beethoven to Stucky and Lindberg.

Aaron Orullian

Aaron Orullian came to OCHSA in 2002 as a teacher and independent filmmaker and now serves as Director of its Film & Television Conservatory. “My aim is to develop both honorable and exceptional artists and individuals. I really try to teach my kids to value films and stories that thoughtfully explore the human condition.” Mr. Orullian’s students who collaborated with Pacific Symphony to make these documentaries summed it up best: “We got the chance to make films while learning to appreciate the lives of a generation we knew little about.”

Maria Lazarova

Dr. Maria Lazarova, soprano, earned a Bachelor of Music degree form Cal State Long Beach, a Masters of Music degree and a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California.

Dr. Lazarova was born in Bulgaria and has lived in Algeria, France, and Italy. She has performed as a soloist in numerous venues, including the Orange County Performing Arts Center and the Hollywood Bowl, and has won numerous competitions and scholarships, including the Marilyn Horn Scholarship and the International Liszt Competition. Dr. Lazarova maintains a private voice studio and is on the voice faculty at Cal State University Long Beach.