Connections series renamed, programming set

Pacific Symphony has changed the name of its long-running Sunday Casual Connections series to Sunday Matinees. The substance of the series remains the same: The four concerts each are performed without intermission and last about 90 minutes. Carl St.Clair conducts and offers commentary on the pieces performed.

Subscription brochures for the series were sent out last week, and programming has been finalized. Sunday Matinees opens on Sept. 30 with pianist Olga Kern joining the orchestra for Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3. St.Clair and the ensemble close with Ravel’s “Boléro.”

Concert two in the series (Oct. 28) celebrates the 100th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia with a performance of Dvorák’s Symphony No. 9, “From the New World.” A specially-produced video will be part of the presentation.

Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade,” with the orchestra’s new concertmaster Dennis Kim as soloist, is the featured work on Feb. 3. A performance of Mahler’s mammoth Symphony no. 8, “Symphony of a Thousand,” with guest soloists and the Pacific Chorale, closes the series on June 9.

All concerts in the Sunday Matinees series begin at 3 p.m. Series subscriptions start at $88. Kids aged 11-17 attend free with each paid adult ticket. For more info, call (714) 755-5799 or visit the Sunday Matinees page at pacificsymphony.org. –TM