Pacific Symphony's ELLIS ISLAND to be Broadcast Live From Segerstrom Concert Hall

Pacific Symphony's critically acclaimed American Composers Festival (ACF), led by Music Director Carl St.Clair, enters its 17th year with"Ellis Island"-a meaningful nod to the past, with lessons for the present, fortified by hope for the future. Each year, ACF uncovers a different facet of American music, and in 2017, the Symphony pays tribute to our nation's historic immigrant experience and the American dream by taking inspiration from the Grammy-nominated work composed by Peter Boyer, "Ellis Island: The Dream of America." This ambitious blending of narration, projected images and orchestral writing highlighting individual immigrants who came to America's shores between 1910 and 1940 offers a searing, emotionally charged concert experience.

With 40 percent of the U.S. population able to trace their roots through Ellis Island, and with immigration at the forefront of recent news, the Symphony tackles one of today's most relevant topics. Exploring the impact of an era that defined our nation, ACF honors the hopes and fears of those immigrants in search of a better life.

Pacific Symphony's performance of Boyer's "Ellis Island" will be recorded for national broadcast by PBS' acclaimed "Great Performances"-the first-ever national broadcast from the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. This national platform on public television will ensure that people around the nation will be able to enjoy this profound musical experience during the 2017-18 season of "Great Performances." Now in its 44th season, "Great Performances" has presented programs from nearly every discipline of performing arts, featuring some of the best-known orchestras in the world, including the New York Philharmonic, the LA Phil, Vienna Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony and many more.

On the same program with Boyer's work, the Symphony pays tribute to two of today's top contemporary California composers, John Adams and Frank Ticheli. In celebration of Adams' 70th birthday, the orchestra performs the composer's "The Dharma at Big Sur," featuring preeminent electric violinist, Tracy Silverman. The program opens with Ticheli's jazz-infused "Blue Shades." The concert, "Ellis Island" takes place Thursday through Saturday, April 6-8, at 8 p.m., in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. A preview talk with Alan Chapman begins at 7 p.m. Concert tickets are $25-$125 (Box Circle, $195); for more information or to purchase tickets, call (714) 755-5799 or visit www.PacificSymphony.org.

On April 8, the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO)-a national non-profit organization whose mission is to honor and preserve the diversity of America, and to foster tolerance, respect and understanding among religious and ethnic groups-will be hosting a ceremony for the Ellis Island Medal of Honor winners (approximately 150 individuals), who will be attending the concert. This year, NECO will be awarding the Ellis Island Medal of Honor to Orange County philanthropist and Symphony supporter, S. Paul Musco. This marks only the second time NECO has held the ceremony outside of Ellis Island in New York.

The following day, the Symphony's Sunday Casual Connections returns to Boyer's compelling work with "Ellis Island: An American Dream," in an effort to dig even deeper beneath the surface of the multi-faceted work-on Sunday, April 9, at 3 p.m., in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. Tickets are $25-$98.

Additionally, Chapman University joins forces with the Symphony to present Interplay, as part of an expanded festival of music, culture and ideas called "Golden Dreams." For more information on the events taking place March 8-April 9, visit www.chapman.edu/interplay.

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