Pacific Symphony Announces Concert Postponements and Artist Changes

Pacific Symphony announced today that Pacific Chorale and the American Feel Young Chorus will not be appearing on the Lunar New Year concert (Feb. 5). The orchestra also announced the postponement of "Cinderella-Opera for Kids" on Farmers & Merchants Family Musical Morning series and "Cathedrals of Sound" (Feb. 17-19). The common denominator among these three programs is the participation of vocalists, who are unable to rehearse or perform wearing masks, necessitating changes be made.

For the Lunar New Year concert, the two choruses involved-Pacific Chorale and the American Feel Young Chorus-will not be appearing on the program, although they will be seen on a pre-recorded mosaic video to the traditional Chinese song, "Swan Goose." "Cinderella-Opera for Kids" has been rescheduled to June 4, and "Cathedrals of Sound" will be scheduled for the 2022-23 season. In its place, Carl St.Clair will conduct a program entitled "Beethoven and Rachmaninoff" (Feb. 17-19), which features Beethoven's "Pastorale" Symphony and Rachmaninoff's Third Piano Concerto with Italian pianist Alessio Bax as soloist.

Anyone holding either a 10 a.m. or 11:30 a.m. ticket for "Cinderella-Opera for Kids" will be able to attend the same program on June 4. Tickets for "Cathedrals of Sound" will be honored at the "Beethoven and Rachmaninoff" concerts.

With vocalists unable to rehearse or perform while wearing masks, officials felt these program changes and postponements were the best way to ensure the safety of audiences, musicians, volunteers and staff. Late January concerts remain scheduled as planned with robust safety protocols in place.

Pacific Symphony President and CEO John Forsyte said "We were fortunate to be able to postpone the Family Musical Morning 'Cinderella' program to early June and to make some modifications to the artist lineup for the Lunar New Year program. While we were gratified to be able to bring together an appealing program featuring works of Beethoven and Rachmaninoff with an engaging young piano soloist in place of 'Cathedrals of Sound,' our disappointment is palpable at needing to postpone to next season the world premiere of 'Fiat Lux' by the celebrated composer Sir James MacMillan. We know our audiences share that disappointment."

Forsyte added, "Our ongoing commitment to the well-being of our audiences, musicians and staff, though, is a responsibility we take extremely seriously. We appreciate your understanding, apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to our performances later this month that do not involve vocalists."

For more information, call Pacific Symphony's ticket office at (714) 755-5799 or visit PacificSymphony.org.