Carl St.Clair reflects on over three decades with Pacific Symphony

When Pacific Symphony music director Carl St.Clair first came to Orange County there was no Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa. In fact, in 1990 the classical music scene in Orange County was quite small. However, its size was not indicative of its ambition.

“In 46 years what has been accomplished here has been nothing less than miraculous,” St.Clair said at the Box Circle Club of the concert hall on Oct. 17. “But it’s not because of me, it is because of this community. The dedication of our board members and our subscribers and people like yourselves sitting here, all realizing the importance of classical music in your life.”

Founded in 1978, Pacific Symphony began as a collaboration between Cal State Fullerton and north Orange County community leaders led by Marcy Mulville and has been the resident orchestra of the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall since 2009. In June 2018, the orchestra made its national PBS debut in June 2018 on “Great Performances.”

Under St.Clair’s direction, Pacific Symphony has become highly regarded among the classical music community, with the conductor responsible for creative endeavors like the American Composers Festival, which began in 2000 as well as introducing an opera initiative, “Symphonic Voices.” Pacific Symphony has also become the largest budgeted orchestra formed in the last 50 years and was recognized by the League of American Orchestras as a Tier 1 Orchestra, one of America’s youngest orchestra to earn the distinction.

Pacific Symphony Music Director Carl St.Clair answered questions from the audience at a fireside chat with KUSC 91.5 FM radio host Rich Capparela.

(Sarah Mosqueda)

In an intimate and passionate conversation with KUSC 91.5 FM radio host Rich Capparela, St.Clair reflected on how far the Orange County classical music scene has come since he began his tenure at Pacific Symphony more than three decades ago. As the longest-tenured American-born conductor of a major U.S. orchestra, he reflected on his career in Orange County and his efforts to create programs that fit the community while also challenging the audience.

“After this long of a relationship with you, I feel I have become a sort of an artistic or musical conscious for Orange County,” said St.Clair. “It is not just want I want to do but what is good for us. Sometimes I give you what you want and sometimes I give you what you need. Everybody needs to have spinach and broccoli in their life. It’s good for you.”

St.Clair spoke about his early career in academia as a trumpet teacher and regaled the audience with stories of his time spent with the illustrious Leonard Bernstein.

“One night after a concert in Vienna I kept calling him Mr. Bernstein,” said St.Clair. “And he said ‘Cowboy, if you call me Mr. Bernstein one more time …’ and he kind of kind of leapt across the table and mock-choked me.”

Although St.Clair said Bernstein often went by “Lenny,” he could never bring himself to refer to the legendary conductor and composer with such familiarity even though they were friends.

“I called him Mr. B, because I could never call him anything but Mr. or Maestro,” said St.Clair.

St.Clair spoke passionately about his philosophies on classical music, at times getting up from his chair. In the middle of one such impassioned monologue, St.Clair turned to Capparela and joked, “Sorry, did you have questions?”

This summer Pacific Symphony brought its outdoor concert series to Irvine and last year brought in pops conductor Enrico Lopez-Yañez to head up a program of popular music. St.Clair emphasized the dedication the orchestra has to each performance, regardless of the venue or the subject matter, crediting the musicians as ones of “virtuosity and versatility.”

“Any given week, we could play the ballet, we could do an opera, we could do a pops, we could be in our symphony-on-the-go truck in someone’s park in their hometown, we could be outside playing the film score to ‘Harry Potter,’” said St.Clair. “The musicians of Pacific Symphony put 100% of their talents into everything. There is nothing that doesn’t deserve everyone’s top effort and attention.”

St.Clair made sure to express his gratitude to the Orange County community and also his pride in being associated with it.

“In 2006, when we played our last concert in Vienna, the review came out and said, ‘I don’t know where Orange County, Calif., is but wherever it is, it is obvious that they care about classical music and their orchestra,’” said St.Clair. “What a compliment for all of us.”

Pacific Symphony Music Director Carl St.Clair gives a passionate talk at at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.

(Sarah Mosqueda)

The conversation with St.Clair was followed by a Halloween-themed performance titled “Classical Spooktacular,” courtesy of Pacific Symphony. The performance featured the music like John Williams’ “Devil’s Dance” from the 1987 film “The Witches of Eastwick.” The night also featured an original piece by composer Kenji Bunch titled “The Devil’s Box” with a special virtuoso performance by Meredith Crawford on viola. Inspired by the long association between the Devil and fiddle, Bunch imagined the viola as a supernatural instrument and suggests a Cajun bowing style known as “devil’s elbow,” in which the bow hair is wrapped around the instrument.

In the remainder of St.Clair’s 2024-25 season, music lovers can look forward to even more unique classical music experiences like “Rediscover Verdi’s Requiem” in June 2025 with St.Clair’s commentary guiding the audience through the piece before it is performed. A full calendar of events can be viewed at pacificsymphony.org.