New Choral Music Is Focus of Pacific Chorale’s 2021-22 Season in Costa Mesa

Pacific Chorale, led by Artistic Director Robert Istad and Andrew Brown, President & CEO, presents sweeping programming during its 2021-2022 Season that builds upon its trailblazing legacy of championing contemporary composers. The “A-list ensemble” (Los Angeles Times) acclaimed for its “polish, poise and tonal splendor” (Orange County Register) presents five transformative programs, bookending the 54^th season with two world premieres by Grammy-nominated former Composer-in-Residence Tarik O’Regan. Pacific Chorale is the resident choir at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, in Costa Mesa, CA.

Each of the five programs this season, launching October 30, includes a range of compelling works by some of the most groundbreaking composers of our time, including the West Coast premieres of Damien Geter’s Cantata for a More Hopeful Tomorrow, featuring celebrated soprano Aundi Marie Moore and Pacific Symphony Principal Cellist Warren Hagerty; and Frank Ticheli’s Until Forever Fades Away. Istad also conducts Pulitzer Prize winner Caroline Shaw’s and the swallow, and Music in Common Time; Paul Fowler’s hypnotic Calling; and Edie Hill’s poignant We Bloomed in Spring. Additionally, Pacific Chorale performs Estonian composer Galina Grigorjeva’s On Leaving; Spiritus Mundi by Dale Trumbore; Jake Runestad’s exuberant setting of Walt Whitman’s Proud Music of the Storm; and South Korean composer Hyo-Won Woo’s dramatic Me-Na-Ri (Space Music).

Adding further breadth to the season are three iconic 20^th century choral masterworks: Rachmaninoff’s a cappella Vespers (All Night Vigil), Op. 37; Martin’s Mass for Double Choir; and the choir’s first-ever performance of Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem, featuring renowned guest artists soprano Liv Redpath and bass-baritone Dashon Burton. Pacific Chorale presents two holiday programs as well.

“As Pacific Chorale resumes singing in person, I wanted to select works that both recognize the challenges we have all faced in recent times and reflect the diverse repertoire that our singers love to perform and our audiences have come to expect,” says Istad. “Composers creating artistic statements right now are deeply connected to our current human experience. I sincerely hope their messages resonate with our singers and audiences in an immediate, powerful way.”

“We are extremely grateful to the Pacific Chorale’s loyal patrons, vital community partners and committed donors for helping the organization transition through the extended closure brought about by the global pandemic,” says Brown. “While we made it a top priority to remain artistically connected to our patrons during this challenging time by pivoting to create innovative, digital programming, there is nothing like the visceral aspect of a live performance. We are thrilled to be able to, once again, welcome patrons back inside the concert hall and showcase the Pacific Chorale’s artistry in a concert setting.”

Pacific Chorale has adopted the requirement that all audience members attending indoor performances be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and wear masks while inside the concert venue.

For full season details, visit www.pacificchorale.org or call 714-662-2345.

About Pacific Chorale

Pacific Chorale, an Orange County “treasure” with a “fresh viewpoint” that “can sing anything you put in front of it, with polish, poise and tonal splendor” (Orange County Register) has “risen to national prominence” (Los Angeles Times) since its inception in 1968. Hailed for delivering “thrilling entertainment” (Voice of OC), the resident choir at Segerstrom Center for the Arts is noted for its artistic innovation and commitment to expanding the choral repertoire. It has given world, U.S., and West Coast premieres of more than 35 works, including numerous commissions, by such lauded composers as John Adams, Jake Heggie, James Hopkins, David Lang, Morten Lauridsen, Ravel, Tarik O’Regan, Karen Thomas, Frank Ticheli, András Gábor Virágh, and Eric Whitacre. In addition to presenting its own concert series each season, Pacific Chorale enjoys a long-standing partnership with Pacific Symphony, with whom the choir made its highly anticipated Carnegie Hall debut in 2018. The chorus also regularly appears with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and has performed with such leading orchestras as the Boston Symphony, National Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, and Musica Angelica, among others. Pacific Chorale has garnered international acclaim as well, having toured extensively to more than 19 countries in Europe, South America, and Asia, and through collaborations with the London Symphony, Munich Symphony, L’Orchestre Lamoureux and L’Orchestre de St-Louis-en-l’Île of Paris, National Orchestra of Belgium, China National Symphony, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Estonian National Symphony, and Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional of Argentina, among others. Deeply committed to making choral music accessible to people of all ages, the organization, which has a discography of 14 self-produced recordings and an extensive collection of exceptional free digital offerings, places a significant emphasis on choral music education, providing after-school vocal programs for elementary school students, a choral summer camp for high school students, and an annual community-wide singing event at Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

Robert Istad, who “fashions fluent and sumptuous readings” (Voice of OC) with his “phenomenal” artistry (Los Angeles Times), was appointed Pacific Chorale’s Artistic Director in 2017. Under his leadership, the chorus continues to expand its reputation for excellence for delivering fresh, thought-provoking interpretations of beloved masterworks, rarely performed gems and newly commissioned pieces. His artistic impact can be heard on two recent recordings featuring Pacific Chorale: “Mahler’s Eighth Symphony” with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Gustavo Dudamel on Deutsche Grammophon (2021), for which he prepared the chorus, and “Ecstasies Above: The Music of Tarik O’Regan,” which he conducted, on Yarlung Records (2020). Istad has also prepared choruses for such renowned conductors as Esa-Pekka Salonen, John Williams, John Mauceri, Keith Lockhart, Nicholas McGegan, Vasilly Sinaisky, Sir Andrew Davis, Bramwell Tovey, Carl St.Clair, Eugene Kohn, Giancarlo Guerrero, Marin Alsop, George Fenton, and Robert Moody. He regularly conducts and collaborates with Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra, Sony Classical Records, Yarlung Records, Berkshire Choral International, and Long Beach Symphony Orchestra. An esteemed educator, Istad is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at California State University, Fullerton, where he was recognized as CSUF’s 2016 Outstanding Professor of the Year. He conducts the University Singers and manages a large graduate conducting program, in addition to teaching courses on conducting and performance practice. Istad, who is on the Executive Board of Directors of Chorus America and serves as Dean of Chorus America’s Conducting Academy, is in demand as guest conductor, lecturer, and clinician.