- Sep 18, 2026
Pacific Chorale, Led By Artistic Director Robert Istad, Opens 2026–27 Season With Carmina Burana And The North American Premiere of Tarik O'Regan's Critical Mass
Saturday, October 17, 2026, 7:00 p.m.
at Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Costa Mesa
Program Also Includes the World Premiere of Starr Parodi's I Am America and Carl Orff's Carmina Burana in a New Chamber Orchestration by Paul Leonard Schäffer
COSTA MESA, CA (18 September 2026) — GRAMMY® Award-winning Pacific Chorale opens its 2026–27 season on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at 7:00 p.m., at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall with a program driven by rhythm, voice, and collective power. Led by Artistic Director Robert Istad and joined by Pacific Symphony and Southern California Children's Chorus, the evening receives the North American premiere of Critical Mass, a new mass setting by British-American composer Tarik O'Regan, co-commissioned by Pacific Chorale and London's Wimbledon Choral. The program also features the world premiere of I Am America by GRAMMY® Award–winning composer Starr Parodi, and Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, presented in a new chamber orchestration by Paul Leonard Schäffer that heightens its raw, percussive energy.
“Commissioning bold new work is central to Pacific Chorale's mission,” said Istad. “Opening this season with two premieres — Tarik O'Regan's Critical Mass and Starr Parodi's I Am America — lets us stand behind today's composers with the same care we bring to the masterworks our audiences already treasure. That's how choral music stays a living, evolving art form.”
Critical Mass is built around O'Regan's own Agnus Dei, composed for the 2023 Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Westminster Abbey, for which O’Regan was awarded the Coronation Medal. Wimbledon Choral gave the work's world premiere at Cadogan Hall in London on April 18, 2026; Pacific Chorale and Pacific Symphony now bring it to American audiences for the first time. For the surrounding movements, O'Regan invited four acclaimed writers — John Caird, Colm Tóibín, Marcus Omari, and Alice Goodman — to each contribute an original text for the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, and Sanctus. Commissioned by Wild Plum Arts in memory of Teresa Sipes McCutchan, the texts were written independently, without each writer seeing another's work, yet trace a shared arc from fracture and doubt toward light, belief, and peace. Published by Novello, Critical Mass reimagines the traditional mass setting through a humanistic lens. The North American premiere is supported by the estate of former Pacific Chorale President & CEO Elizabeth Pearson.
“We are honored to continue our artistic collaboration with Tarik O'Regan on this visionary new work,” said Istad. “Critical Mass speaks directly to the kind of meaningful, forward-thinking choral music Pacific Chorale is proud to champion—music that not only inspires, but also invites reflection on our shared humanity. We are excited to bring this extraordinary project to American audiences in Orange County this October.”
O'Regan has described the commission as “elevating the liturgical form into a poignant meditation on humanity's responsibilities and aspirations,” adding: “I want to merge the solemnity of tradition with a vibrant, forward-looking energy, challenging and inspiring listeners to engage with the world in a spirit of hope and action.”
O'Regan's music has drawn international acclaim, including from The Times of London, which praised his Coronation Agnus Dei for its “welcome degree of aural mysticism.”
Also receiving its world premiere is I Am America, a new work by Starr Parodi, setting her own text and commissioned by Pacific Chorale with underwriting from Mei-Yen Huang Chang and Charlie and Ling Zhang. The piece traces America's vast, restless landscape as a living presence — a journey from uncertainty and departure toward hope, freedom, and belonging — closing in an affirmation of equality and courage for all people.
Closing the program is Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, one of the most widely performed works, in a new chamber orchestration by Paul Leonard Schäffer. Schäffer's reduced instrumentation invites listeners to focus on the star power of the choir while preserving its original sound and raw energy.
Pacific Chorale's 2026–27 season is made possible by generous support from Phillip N. and Mary A. Lyons, Charles and Ling Zhang, and an Anonymous patron.
Single tickets for “Orff's Carmina Burana” start at $35. Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626. Ticketholders may arrive early for Before the Downbeat, Pacific Chorale's pre-concert conversation series hosted by PBS SoCal arts and culture journalist Maria Hall-Brown, beginning at 6:00 p.m. and included with every ticket. For tickets and information, visit www.pacificchorale.org or call (714) 662-2345.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
ROBERT ISTAD, a GRAMMY® Award-winning conductor 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. The 2026–27 season celebrates 10 years under his leadership, continuing to expand the chorus's reputation for excellence in 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, including the 2022 GRAMMY® Award-winning “Mahler's Eighth Symphony” with the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Gustavo Dudamel on Deutsche Grammophon (2021), for which he prepared the chorus. Additionally, Istad conducted Pacific Chorale's recording “All Things Common: The Music of Tarik O'Regan,” released on Yarlung Records (2020). He regularly conducts and collaborates with Pacific Symphony, Berkshire Choral International, and Yarlung Records, with additional credits recording for Sony Classical and guest conducting Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, Bach Collegium San Diego, Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra, Bath Philharmonia, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Tesserae Baroque, and Freies Landesorchester Bayern. 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. Istad, who sits 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.
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 40 works, including numerous commissions, by such lauded composers as John Adams, Jocelyn Hagen, Jake Heggie, David Lang, Morten Lauridsen, Tarik O'Regan, Frank Ticheli, and Eric Whitacre. In addition to presenting its own concert series each season, Pacific Chorale, led by Artistic Director Robert Istad, enjoys a long-standing partnership with Pacific Symphony, with which the choir made its highly anticipated Carnegie Hall debut in 2018. The chorus also regularly appears with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with which it won the 2022 GRAMMY® Award for Best Choral Performance for its contribution to the live recording of “Mahler: Symphony No. 8, 'Symphony of A Thousand,'” conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. Deeply committed to making choral music accessible to everyone, the organization has a discography of 14 self-produced recordings and an extensive collection of free digital offerings, and places significant emphasis on choral music education through after-school vocal programs, a high school summer camp, and an annual community-wide singing event. www.pacificchorale.org
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EDITORS, PLEASE NOTE:
WHAT:
Pacific Chorale Presents
Orff's Carmina Burana
Robert Istad, conductor
Pacific Chorale
Pacific Symphony
Southern California Children’s Concert Chorus
Anna Schubert, soprano
JJ Lopez, tenor
Michael Kelly, baritone
PROGRAM:
Starr PARODI I Am America (World Premiere Commission)
Tarik O'REGAN Critical Mass (North American Premiere & Co-Commission)
Carl ORFF Carmina Burana (New chamber orchestration by Paul Leonard Schäffer, 2022)
WHEN:
Saturday, October 17, 2026 — 7:00 p.m.
WHERE:
Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall
600 Town Center Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
TICKETS/INFORMATION:
Starting at $35
www.pacificchorale.org
(714) 662-2345
Artists, date, program, and venue subject to change.
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