Janelle Kruly

714.858.0945

janellek@reveilleinc.com

Pacific Symphony welcomes back Carl St.Clair for his first concerts as Music Director Laureate, with a program that showcases the friendship, collaboration, and shared artistry of the musicians in the orchestra. Taking place February 5-7, 2026, at 8 p.m. in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, the program opens with one of the most beloved works in the violin repertoire, Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, featuring acclaimed guest violinist Paul Huang. Paired with the transcendent concerto is Richard Strauss’ playful musical portrait of Cervantes’ “Don Quixote.”

To open the concert, St.Clair partners with Huang to perform Beethoven’s luminous Violin Concerto. Winner of the 2015 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Huang has been praised by The Washington Post for his “big, luscious tone, spot-on intonation and a technique that makes the most punishing string phases feel as natural as breathing.”

“To be surrounded by the sheer beauty of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, a remarkable exchange between solo violin and orchestra, is a moving and awe-inspiring experience for both the audience and orchestra, especially in the hands of the talented Paul Huang, who has performed with us on several occasions,” says St.Clair.

The timeless spirit of Cervantes’ novel “Don Quixote,” with its themes of honor, nobility, and courage, is captured by the orchestra as St.Clair leads Pacific Symphony in Richard Strauss’ sweeping musical journey. Three of the orchestra’s illustrious principal musicians step into starring roles, with cellist Warren Hagerty portraying the idealistic knight Don Quixote, violist Meredith Crawford as his faithful squire Sancho Panza, and Concertmaster Dennis Kim as the noble Dulcinea.

“I chose Strauss’s ‘Don Quixote’ because it allows me to share this extraordinary music while featuring three of our principal players—musicians who are not only leaders in the orchestra, but dear friends and longtime collaborators,” continues St.Clair. “There’s a sense of joy and homecoming in making this music together. At the same time, Don Quixote is a work that engages the entire orchestra, giving every musician a voice in Strauss’s vivid and deeply human storytelling.”

Drawing directly from Cervantes’ episodes, Strauss uses his extraordinary imagination to translate narrative, character, and satire into sound with each variation mirroring a specific chapter, misadventure, or emotional turn in the novel. Windmills become whirling brass and strings, sheep transform into bleating woodwinds, and Don Quixote’s lofty ideals soar through the cello line, only to be gently undercut by irony, humor and sudden collapse. The result is music that thinks, laughs, and dreams alongside its hero, capturing both the comedy and the aching humanity of Cervantes’ text.

The concert program, titled “Beethoven’s Violin Concerto & Don Quixote,” takes place Thursday-Saturday, February 5-7 at 8 p.m. in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall and will include IMAG on the big screen. The concert includes a preview talk with KUSC midday host Alan Chapman at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $36. For more information or to purchase tickets, call (714) 755-5799 or visit pacificsymphony.org.

Pacific Symphony’s Classical Series is made possible by the Hal and Jeanette Segerstrom Family Foundation, with additional support from Classical California KUSC, Avenue of the Arts Costa Mesa, The Park Club and PBS SoCal.

• Dennis Kim, First Violin & Concertmaster, Eleanor and Michael Gordon Chair

• Meredith Crawford, Viola & Principal, Leona Aronoff-Sedacca Chair

• Warren Hagerty, Cello & Principal, Catherine and James Emmi Chair

For more than 35 years, Carl St.Clair led Pacific Symphony, making him the longest-tenured American-born conductor of a major American orchestra. He was honored with the lifetime role of Music Director Laureate in December 2025 during the orchestra’s 47th season, as well as inducted into the Orange County Hall of Fame by the Orange County Board of Supervisors. Under his leadership, Pacific Symphony has grown into the largest-budgeted orchestra founded in the past half-century, recognized nationally for its artistic, innovative programming, and community impact. St.Clair also helped catalyze the vision to build a 2,000-seat Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in 2006, the Symphony’s permanent home and one of the nation’s finest concert venues.

St.Clair has guided the Symphony through many landmark achievements. In 2018, he led its sold-out Carnegie Hall debut celebrating Philip Glass’s 80th birthday, which the New York Times praised as proof that Pacific Symphony is “a major ensemble!” That same year, he conducted the orchestra’s first tour of China. Earlier, in 2006, he led the Symphony on its European debut, performing in nine cities across three countries, including Vienna, Munich, Cologne, and Lucerne, to capacity audiences and widespread acclaim. He also conducted the orchestra’s national PBS debut on Great Performances with Peter Boyer’s Ellis Island: The Dream of America. His artistic initiatives include the long-running American Composers Festival and Symphonic Voices, the orchestra’s acclaimed opera-in-concert series.

A champion of new music, St.Clair has commissioned and premiered dozens of works. Recent highlights include the 2024–25 premieres of Viet Cuong’s Marine Layer and Adolphus Hailstork’s Piano Concerto No. 3 (“The Way Things Are”). In 2024, Pacific Symphony released the world-premiere recording of Sir James MacMillan’s Fiat Lux. Other notable commissions include works by Philip Glass, Michael Daugherty, William Bolcom, Richard Danielpour, John Wineglass, and Elliot Goldenthal. His discography also includes collaborations with Yo-Yo Ma, Lukas Foss, and others.

Internationally, he was appointed Music Director of the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra in 2025 and holds honorary posts with the National Symphony of Costa Rica and Germany’s Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal. Earlier positions include General Music Director of Berlin’s Komische Oper and of the German National Theater and Staatskapelle in Weimar.

Equally committed to education, St.Clair has overseen the development of one of the country’s most comprehensive orchestra-based education networks, reaching more than 50,000 participants annually. Pacific Symphony’s award-winning Class Act program, arts-X-press, Youth Ensembles, Heartstrings, and Symphony on the Go bring music to schools and communities across Southern California. He has also taught at Chapman University, the University of Texas, Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, and the USC Thornton School of Music, where he has served for more than three decades as Artistic Leader and Principal Conductor of orchestral programs.

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. In 2024, Alexander Shelley was appointed to become Pacific Symphony’s third artistic leader, taking the title of Artistic and Music Director, beginning in the 2026-27 season. He is serving as Artistic and Music Director Designate during the 2025-26 season, which marks Pacific Symphony’s 47th season. Founded in 1978, the Symphony was 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 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.