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The title honors St.Clair’s significant impact and continued relationship with Pacific Symphony

The Board of Directors of Pacific Symphony formally announces the start of Carl St.Clair’s honorary role as Music Director Laureate, a significant moment in the Symphony’s carefully planned artistic transition process. The title acknowledges St.Clair’s lasting artistic achievements in programming, community engagement, and shaping the orchestra into an internationally acclaimed ensemble, the largest budgeted orchestra founded in the past 50 years.

The honor also coincides with St.Clair’s induction into the Orange County Hall of Fame by the Orange County Board of Supervisors with a ceremony on December 9. He joins the ranks of fellow celebrated inductees including philanthropist Henry Segerstrom, who played a key role in the building of Segerstrom Center for the Arts and the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, home to Pacific Symphony; and philanthropist Charlie Zhang, founder of Pick Up Stix, who is a close friend of St.Clair’s and a major supporter of Pacific Symphony.

After a season-long celebration of his more than 35 years of dedicated service in 2024-2025, St.Clair led his final concert as music director on August 8 at the Great Park Live in Irvine with members of the Association of California Symphony Orchestras in attendance. As Music Director Laureate, St.Clair will be invited to return to the podium for select classical programs and projects, and participate in artistic and community endeavors. During the current 2025-2026 season, St.Clair is conducting three Classical Series sets of concerts, the annual Lunar New Year and Nowruz celebrations, a performance at SOKA University, and a special performance with pianist Lang Lang.

Arthur Ong, Chair of the Board of Directors, highlighted the significance of naming St.Clair Music Director Laureate: “This milestone reflects both continuity and renewal. Under Carl's extraordinary leadership, Pacific Symphony has developed a national reputation for artistic excellence, innovation, and transformative community impact. We are deeply grateful that he will continue to lend his artistry and wisdom as Music Director Laureate. At the same time, we look forward with great anticipation and excitement to Pacific Symphony’s future under our next artistic and music director, Alexander Shelley. It’s a thrilling period for the organization.”

Carl St.Clair reflected, “As I enter this next chapter of my relationship with Pacific Symphony as Music Director Laureate, I do so with profound gratitude and fulfillment. Leading Pacific Symphony for the greater part of my life has been the greatest gift, and I feel fortunate to have shared this journey with such extraordinary musicians and a deeply supportive community. My connection to this orchestra remains strong, and I look forward to supporting its future under Alexander Shelley’s leadership while continuing my work as a conductor and educator.”

Alexander Shelley, currently Artistic and Music Director Designate, will become Pacific Symphony’s Artistic and Music Director on July 1, 2026 after a prelude season leading four concerts in 2025-2026. He shared: “For more than 35 remarkable years, Carl’s leadership created an ensemble of extraordinary caliber. His artistry captivated our audiences, and his brilliance and dedication profoundly strengthened our community. As the musicians and I begin a new chapter with bright artistic ambitions, Carl's legacy will continue to inspire us.”

St.Clair’s elevation to Music Director Laureate not only honors a lifetime of visionary leadership, but also affirms the enduring artistic foundation he built—one that will continue to resonate through the orchestra, musicians and the community of symphony patrons he helped to cultivate. As Pacific Symphony embarks on its next chapter, his legacy stands as both a guiding light and a source of inspiration for generations to come.

About Carl St.Clair
For more than 35 years, Carl St.Clair led Pacific Symphony, making him the longest-tenured American-born conductor of a major American orchestra. In December 2025, during the Symphony’s 47th season, he will be honored with the lifetime title of Music Director Laureate. Under St.Clair’s guidance, Pacific Symphony has emerged as the largest-budgeted orchestra founded in the past 50 years and is recognized for its rapid artistic growth, innovative programming, and growing national stature.  St.Clair was instrumental in shaping the vision that led to the construction of the 2,000-seat Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, the Symphony’s permanent home and one of the nation’s finest concert venues. Widely recognized for his musically distinguished performances and innovative programming, St.Clair guided Pacific Symphony to its sold-out Carnegie Hall debut in April 2018, celebrating Philip Glass’s 80th birthday in the closing concert of Carnegie’s yearlong tribute to the composer. The New York Times hailed Pacific Symphony as “a major ensemble!” That same year, he led the orchestra on its first tour to China, performing in five cities. Earlier, in 2006, he took the Symphony on its inaugural European tour, performing in nine cities across three countries—including Munich, Frankfurt, Cologne, Lucerne, and Vienna—where the orchestra played to capacity houses, standing ovations, and critical acclaim. Reviews praised the performances as “electrifying…captivating” (General Anzeiger, Cologne) and “utterly breathtaking” (Hannoversche Allgemeine).

St.Clair also conducted Pacific Symphony’s national PBS debut in 2018 on Great Performances with Peter Boyer’s Ellis Island: The Dream of America. He has spearheaded long-running artistic initiatives, including the American Composers Festival (launched in 2000) and “Symphonic Voices”, the orchestra’s acclaimed opera-in-concert series, which has featured Das Rheingold, Madama Butterfly, The Magic Flute, Aida, Turandot, Carmen, La Traviata, Tosca, Rigoletto, and La Bohème.

A champion of new music, St.Clair has led Pacific Symphony in dozens of premieres and recordings. Recent highlights include the 2024-25 premieres of Marine Layer by Composer-in-Residence Viet Cuong and Adolphus Hailstork’s Piano Concerto No. 3 (“The Way Things Are”). In 2024, the Symphony released the world-premiere recording of Sir James MacMillan’s Fiat Lux with Pacific Chorale. Other notable commissions include John Wineglass’s Alone Together, William Bolcom’s Songs of Lorca and Prometheus, Elliot Goldenthal’s Symphony in G-sharp Minor, Richard Danielpour’s Toward a Season of Peace, Philip Glass’s The Passion of Ramakrishna, and Michael Daugherty’s Mount Rushmore and The Gospel According to Sister Aimee.

His discography also features works by Lukas Foss, Danielpour’s An American Requiem, and Goldenthal’s Fire Water Paper: A Vietnam Oratorio with Yo-Yo Ma. Additional commissions have come from James Newton Howard, Zhou Long, Tobias Picker, Frank Ticheli, Chen Yi, Curt Cacioppo, Stephen Scott, Jim Self, Christopher Theofanidis, and others.

Internationally, St.Clair has conducted extensively across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. In 2025, he was appointed Music Director of the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, adding to a distinguished career abroad while continuing his lifetime role as Music Director Laureate of Pacific Symphony. That same year, he was named Conductor Emeritus of the National Symphony of Costa Rica, recognizing his decade of leadership (2014–2023). In January 2024, following a 27-year relationship with Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal, he was appointed Honorary Guest Conductor for Life. He has also served as General Music Director of Berlin’s Komische Oper (2008–10) and as General Music Director and Chief Conductor of the German National Theater and Staatskapelle in Weimar, where he led Wagner’s Ring Cycle to great acclaim—the first non-European to hold that post. Earlier in his career, he was Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (1985–90) and has since guest conducted leading orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and many others.

Carl St.Clair is internationally recognized as a master teacher and visionary advocate for music education. During his tenure, Pacific Symphony’s education and community programs have grown into one of the most comprehensive networks in the country, reaching more than 50,000 participants annually. From the award-winning Freida Belinfante Class Act program in local elementary schools, to arts-X-press middle school arts camp and the Pacific Symphony Youth Ensembles, to initiatives like Heartstrings and Symphony on the Go that bring music to underserved audiences, St.Clair has ensured that the Symphony’s impact extends far beyond the concert hall.

He has also nurtured the next generation of professional musicians through long associations with leading conservatories, including Chapman University (where he served as Presidential Fellow, 2018–2022), the University of Texas Butler School of Music (Distinguished Alumnus, 2019), Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, and the USC Thornton School of Music, where for more than 30 years he has been Artistic Leader and Principal Conductor of orchestral programs.

About Pacific Symphony
Pacific Symphony is the largest orchestra formed in the United States in the past 50 years and is ranked among the top orchestras in the U.S. by the League of American Orchestras. Founded in 1978, the Symphony has been led for 35 years by Carl St.Clair who is honored with the title of Music Director Laureate starting in the 2025-26 season. In 2024, Alexander Shelley was named Artistic and Music Director Designate for the 2025–26 season and will begin his full-time tenure in the 2026–27 season, marking a bold new chapter in the Symphony’s artistic evolution.

In its 47-year history, Pacific Symphony has gained national and international recognition, with recent highlights including a 2018 Carnegie Hall debut in celebration of composer Philip Glass; a five-city tour of China; and a PBS Great Performances broadcast of Peter Boyer’s “Ellis Island: The Dream of America.” In 2024, Pacific Symphony released the world-premiere recording of “Fiat Lux,” a stirring new commission by composer Sir James MacMillan performed with long-time artistic partner Pacific Chorale. The Symphony has been recognized with multiple ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming and included among the country’s five most innovative orchestras by the League of American Orchestras.

With a purpose to lift the human spirit through the power of music, the Symphony is a cornerstone of the cultural landscape of Southern California, enriching lives and bringing communities together through creative and diverse programming. As the resident orchestra of the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, the Symphony presents more than 100 concerts and events each year and a rich array of education and community engagement programs, reaching more than 300,000 residents of all ages.

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