• Jul 24, 2018

Chorale’s Festival to Unite Southern California in Song


For release: July 23, 2018

Contacts: Molly Buzick Pontin, DMA, Managing Director 

MOLLY@PACIFICCHORALE.ORG

Ryan McSweeney, Director of Marketing & Box Office

RYAN@PACIFICCHORALE.ORG

714/662-2345

CHORALE’S FESTIVAL TO UNITE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IN SONG

Artistic Director Robert Istad Conducts an All-Mozart Program in Free Public Performance

Costa Mesa, CA – More than 300 Southern California singers, including members of Pacific Chorale, are scheduled to perform in Pacific Chorale’s Choral Festival in a free public concert onstage at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall on August 12, 2018. The annual event, presented in collaboration with Segerstrom Center for the Arts, draws singers from cities throughout the United States for a weekend of intensive rehearsals culminating in this community performance. 

“Pacific Chorale has been presenting the Choral Festival for eleven years now,” said Molly Buzick Pontin, Managing Director. “This event has become a highlight of the year for the choral community, and available spaces for singers in the Festival Chorus regularly fill within the first few hours of registration. We love bringing our community together every summer, both as performers and audience members, for this celebration of song.” 

Robert Istad, now entering his second year as the Chorale’s Artistic Director, will conduct the program of music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The highly regarded organist Jung-A Lee will accompany at the William J. Gillespie Concert Organ. The concert also features four accomplished soloists from Pacific Chorale.

Pacific Chorale’s Choral Festival

Sunday, August 12, 2018, 5:00 p.m.

Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall

600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

A community-wide event presented in association with Segerstrom Center for the Arts

 

Pacific Chorale’s Festival Chorus

Jung-A Lee, organist

Maria Cristina Navarro, soprano

I-Chin Lee, mezzo-soprano

Nicholas Preston, tenor

Ryan Antal, baritone

Robert Istad, conductor

 

Program:  Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) 

• Excerpt from Fantasia in F minor for Organ, K. 608

• Vesperae solennes de confessore, K. 339

• “Alleluia” from Exsultate, jubilate, K. 165

• Ave verum corpus, K. 618 

 

Concert is free to the public. General admission tickets are available through Segerstrom Center for the Arts: www.scfta.org and (714) 556-2787. Ticket holders are guaranteed admission until 4:50 p.m., after which time any available seating will be made available to stand-by patrons.

 

Pacific Chorale gratefully acknowledges its generous sponsors:

Gold Season Sponsor and Presenting Sponsor, Education: 

Phillip N. and Mary A. Lyons

Silver Season Sponsor: 

Charles and Ling Zhang

Education Program Sponsors:

California Arts Council

The Capital Group Companies

Edison International

Kenneth Lester Family Foundation

Lon V. Smith Foundation

Pacific Premier Bank

 

ABOUT ROBERT ISTAD

Dr. Robert Istad has served as Pacific Chorale’s Artistic Director since July 1, 2017.  Before taking on the lead artistic role, he served as Pacific Chorale’s Assistant Conductor and ultimately as the Associate Conductor for a total of 13 years. He continues in his role as Professor of Music, Director of Choral Studies, California State University, Fullerton. He is also serving as the President of the California Choral Directors Association and was recently elected to the board of directors of the choral industry’s national association, Chorus America.

 

ABOUT PACIFIC CHORALE

Pacific Chorale has delighted national and international audiences with concerts of great choral music performed at the highest musical standards since 1968.  Under the artistic leadership of Robert Istad, the organization produces a series of concerts each year at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, where it serves as the sole resident choir. The mission of Pacific Chorale is to inspire our community through artistry and innovation in choral music performances and education programs.

Pacific Chorale is recognized for exceptional artistic expression, preserving and performing classical choral music as well as stimulating American-focused programming. Pacific Chorale presents a substantial performance season of its own and is sought regularly to perform with the nation’s leading symphonies. The organization boasts over 30 world premieres and has released 14 self-produced recordings.

In addition to its long-standing partnership with Pacific Symphony, the Chorale has performed with such renowned American ensembles as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the National Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, and Musica Angelica. 

Pacific Chorale has toured extensively to over 19 countries – in Europe, South America and Asia – and has collaborated with the London Symphony, the Munich Symphony, L’Orchestre Lamoureux and L’Orchestre de St-Louis-en-l’Île of Paris, the National Orchestra of Belgium, the China National Symphony, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, the Estonian National Symphony, and the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional of Argentina.

Pacific Chorale also places a significant emphasis on choral music education, offering grades 1-6 after-school programs, a high school student summer camp, and a community-wide singing event at Segerstrom Center for the Arts.