Sunday afternoon concerts provide an intimate and lively behind-the-scenes exploration of the classics. Concerts are 90 minutes long, leaving plenty of time for a pre-show brunch or post-show shopping at South Coast Plaza!
This series consists of 4 performances.
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Fantastic Symphony
October 20, 2024
Carl St.Clair, conductorBERLIOZ: Symphonie Fantastique
Get ready for a wild ride with the “Fantastic Symphony” of French composer Hector Berlioz—the ultimate trip of an opium-dazed composer who ends up RSVPing to his own funeral. It’s a symphonic rollercoaster of lovesick melodies, a witches’ sabbath party, and enough drama to make your ex's wedding look tame. Buckle up for a musical escapade so intense, you'll leave the concert hall checking your own pulse!
A Day in the Alps
January 12, 2025
Carl St.Clair, conductorTobias Melle, visuals
STRAUSS: An Alpine Symphony (with jaw-dropping visuals!)
Leave your hiking boots at home and embark on a risk-free ascent to scale musical heights. With Strauss as your guide, traverse musical meadows, survive thunderous mountain storms, and reach the Alpine summit without breaking a sweat. It's an orchestral odyssey that hits the high notes of adventure—a 'peak' experience minus the actual peaks! Strap in for a high-altitude journey without leaving sea level; oxygen masks not required.
Carmina Burana
March 02, 2025
Carl St.Clair, conductorPacific Chorale―Robert Istad, artistic director
Southern California Children’s Choir―Lori Loftus, founding director
Vocal soloists to be announced
ORFF: Carmina Burana
Ladies and gents, grab your goblets and get ready for wine, women, and song featuring the raucous revelry of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana! Performed by the Grammy Award-winning Pacific Chorale, this isn't just a concert, it's a rambunctious romp through the most celebrated drinking establishments of the 13th century, without the hangover. You'll be whisked from the budding romance of "Springtime" to the rollicking "In the Tavern," and sway arm-in-arm through "The Court of Love," all under the watchful eye of the goddess Fortuna herself. So, channel your inner medieval minstrel, loosen your bowties and pearls, because we're turning the concert hall into the bawdiest watering hole in town.
re-Discover Verdi's Requiem
June 08, 2025
Carl St.Clair, conductorPacific Chorale—Robert Istad, artistic director
Vocal soloists to be announced
VERDI: Messa da Requiem
This isn't your typical requiem; it's Verdi unbuttoned and unbound. With St.Clair's commentary slicing through the history and straight to the heart, expect a visceral journey through the "Dies irae," where terror and beauty collide, and the "Sanctus," a celestial burst of clarity. The "Libera me" is not just sung; it's unleashed—a raw, pleading force of nature that will seize your soul. Buckle up for an audacious concert where the sacred meets the gut-wrenching drama of the opera house. Forget what you thought you knew—this is Verdi, reinvented.
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