Masterworks 5 St. Clair Conducts Tchaikovsky

Carl St. Clair Guest Conductor

The 2022-23 season marks Carl St. Clair’s 33rd year leading the Pacific Symphony in Southern California as Music Director. During his tenure, Mr. St. Clair has become widely recognized for his musically distinguished performances, his commitment to building outstanding educational programs and his innovative approaches to programming. In April 2018, he led the Pacific Symphony in its sold-out Carnegie Hall debut as the finale to the Carnegie’s yearlong celebration of pre-eminent composer Philip Glass’s 80th birthday, ending in a standing ovation with The New York Times calling the Symphony “a major ensemble!” He led the Pacific Symphony on its first tour to China in May 2018, the Orchestra’s first international tour since touring Europe in 2006. The Orchestra made its national PBS debut in June 2018 on Great Performances with Peter Boyer’s Ellis Island: The Dream of America conducted by Mr. St. Clair. Among Carl St. Clair’s many creative endeavors are the highly acclaimed American Composers Festival, which began in 2000, and the opera initiative “Symphonic Voices” which has included concert-opera productions of Madame Butterfly, The Magic Flute, Aida, Turandot, Carmen, La Traviata, Tosca and La Bohème.

 
Carl St. Clair’s commitment to the development and performance of new works by composers is evident in the wealth of commissions and recordings by the Pacific Symphony. The 2016-17 season featured commissions by pianist/composer Conrad Tao and composer-in-residence Narong Prangcharoen, a follow-up to the recent slate of recordings of works commissioned and performed by the Symphony in recent years. These include John Wineglass’ Alone Together (2021), William Bolcom’s Songs of Lorca and Prometheus (2015-16), Elliot Goldenthal’s Symphony in G-sharp Minor (2014-15), Richard Danielpour’s Toward a Season of Peace (2013-14), Philip Glass’ The Passion of Ramakrishna (2012-13) and Michael Daugherty’s Mount Rushmore and The Gospel According to Sister Aimee (2012-13). Mr. St. Clair has led the Orchestra in other critically acclaimed albums including two piano concertos of Lukas Foss; Danielpour’s An American Requiem and Goldenthal’s Fire Water Paper: A Vietnam Oratorio with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Other commissioned composers include James Newton Howard, Zhou Long, Tobias Picker, Frank Ticheli, Chen Yi, Curt Cacioppo, Stephen Scott, Jim Self (Pacific Symphony’s principal tubist) and Christopher Theofanidis.

From 2008-10, Carl  St. Clair was General Music Director for the Komische Oper in Berlin. He also served as General Music Director and Chief Conductor of the German National Theater and Staatskapelle (GNTS) in Weimar, Germany, where he led Wagner’s Ring Cycle to critical acclaim. He was the first non-European to hold his position at the GNTS; the role also gave him the distinction of simultaneously leading one of the newest orchestras in America and one of the oldest in Europe.

In 2014, Carl St. Clair became the Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Costa Rica. His international career also has him conducting abroad several months a year, and he has appeared with orchestras throughout the world. Mr. St. Clair has led the Boston Symphony Orchestra (where he served as Assistant Conductor for several years), the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the San Francisco, Seattle, Detroit, Atlanta, Houston, Indianapolis, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver symphonies, among many others.

Aubree Oliverson Violin

Praised for her evocative lyricism and joyful, genuine approach, violinist Aubree Oliverson is proving to be one of America's most compelling young artists, distinguishing herself with clear, honest, and colorful interpretations. Her performances have been described by the Miami New Times as “powerful… brimming with confidence and joy” and “masterful” by the San Diego Story. Aubree Oliverson won the 2021 Special Prize of Merit for Violin at the prestigious Verbier Festival Academy in Switzerland, earned a National YoungArts Foundation award, was honored as a United States Presidential Scholar in the Arts, and was selected for the Dorothy DeLay Fellowship and concerto performance at the Aspen Music Festival.  She made her solo debut with the Utah Symphony at age eleven, her Carnegie Hall Weill Hall recital debut at age twelve as winner of the American Protégé International Strings Competition, and has been featured on NPR’s hit radio show From The Top.

Ms. Oliverson’s recent engagements include opening the 2021-22 Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra season with a two-week residency; her debuts with the Pacific Symphony, San Diego Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, Cappella Istropolitana (Vienna), the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, Kontrapunktus Baroque Ensemble, and the Rome Chamber Music Festival; performing as soloist on a mini-tour with the Utah Symphony; and six performances of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with Carlos Miguel Prieto and Paolo Bortolameolli conducting the Orchestra of Americas on their tour of Mexico. She has also previously soloed with the American Youth Symphony, Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra, Colburn Orchestra, Colburn Baroque Ensemble, Millennial Choir and Orchestra, Salt Lake Pops Orchestra, Pasadena Orchestra, Utah Chamber Artists, and the Innsbrook Festival Orchestra, among others.

Passionate about reaching a broader audience and the importance of music education, Aubree Oliverson has traveled to over 100 schools throughout the Western United States, encouraging thousands of children to work hard and participate in music, and has also spoken at national education conventions. Recently, she presented digital master classes for organizations including the Orchestra of the Americas, Music to Save Humanity, and Kontrapunktus Baroque, and she participated in a master class and side-by-side performance with the Esperanza Azteca Youth Orchestra in Mexico. In 2018, she gave a master class and performance in China, and worked individually with over thirty young violinists.

Aubree Oliverson graduated from the Colburn Music Academy in Los Angeles in 2016 and is a former student of Debbie Moench, Eugene Watanabe, Danielle Belen, and Boris Kuschnir at the Musik und Kunst Privatuniversität der Stadt Wien. She currently studies with Robert Lipsett, the Jascha Heifetz Distinguished Violin Chair at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles.