COSTA MESA, CA. (Orange County's Pacific Symphony/ www.pacificsymphony.org) -
Orange County's Pacific Symphony - the third largest orchestra in California and the largest symphony to have been formed in the United States over the past 30 years - has announced the details of its first international concert tour that commences March 20, 2006, in Munich and ends March 30 in Vienna. In between, the Symphony will perform in Frankfurt, Lucerne, Hannover, Cologne, Dusseldorf, and Essen.
Longtime supporters and Orange County civic leaders Sandy and John Daniels have provided a gift of $750,000 to finance the tour. PIMCO and Allianz Global Investors are the Munich concert sponsors, and The Segerstrom Foundation is a supporting sponsor of the tour. Tour gifts to date are $1 million.
The Pacific Symphony's European tour comes during its final season in the Orange County Performing Arts Center's Segerstrom Hall, and just six months prior to the fall 2006 opening of the Center's new $200 million Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall designed by world-renowned architect Cesar Pelli and acoustician Russell Johnson of ARTEC.
Repertoire to be performed on the tour will include selections from Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess;" Zhou Long's "Two Poems from T'ang for violin, cello, ErHu, pipa and orchestra;" "Concerto No. 1 for cello and orchestra" by Shostakovich; and "Ein Heldenleben" by Strauss. Cellist Lynn Harrell will be the soloist in the Shostakovich concerto.
"This tour will reinforce the Pacific Symphony's growing prominence on the national and international stage and underscores the financial and artistic health of a unique American orchestra," explained Music Director Carl St.Clair. "This is a great opportunity for our musicians to play together in the great concert halls of the world and perform for demanding critics in major European cities. With our new concert hall opening soon, it's the perfect time for this initiative."
Founded in 1978, the Pacific Symphony is one of a small group of orchestras to have balanced its budget for 14 consecutive years. The Symphony enjoys tremendous support from its Southern California community, and serves 250,000 people with over 70 classics, pops and family concerts annually, plus 20 diverse music education programs.
The Pacific Symphony invests 10 percent of its annual budget - nearly $1.2 million - on music education and outreach programs, a larger percentage than any other orchestra in America.
In 2000, the Pacific Symphony inaugurated its nationally acclaimed American Composer's Festival, which is currently presenting a 3-year survey of non-Western influences on American music.
For more information, contact the Pacific Symphony at 714-755-5788, or visit www.pacificsymphony.org.
