Camerata Pacifica to Launch 37th Season With Rachmaninoff and Schubert

Camerata Pacifica, named 2026 Ensemble of the Year by the national organization Chamber Music America, launches its 2026-27 season with landmark works by Rachmaninoff and Schubert at four Southern California locations on Sunday, October 11, 3:00 pm, at Thousand Oaks' Janet and Ray Scherr Forum; Tuesday, October 13, 7:30 pm, at The Huntington's Rothenberg Hall in San Marino; Wednesday, October 14, 8:00 pm, at Zipper Hall in Downtown Los Angeles; and Thursday, October 15, 2026, 7:00 pm, at Santa Barbara's Music Academy of the West.

The ensemble's 37th season opens with pianist Irina Zahharenkova bringing her unique artistic sensibility to Rachmaninoff's Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22, a collection of 22 variations on Chopin's Prelude in C that arc from melancholy to exultant. Rachmaninov's first large-scale piece for solo piano, the virtuosic and demanding work is filled with inventiveness and emotional intensity that showcases the composer's distinctive musical style.

For the finale, violinist Grace Park and cellist Santiago Cañón-Valencia join Zahharenkova, to perform Schubert's B-Flat Major Trio, considered among the most celebrated chamber works in the classical repertoire. Composed at the end of Schubert's life and published posthumously, the radiant masterwork displays the composer's command of sonority.

'We are delighted to welcome new and returning audiences to the concert hall with this compelling season-opening program, brought to life by some of the most talented and characterful chamber musicians from around the globe,' says Camerata Pacifica Founder/Artistic Director Adrian Spence. 'Filled with beauty and striking virtuosity, it's music at its most intimate and uplifting.' Spence, who founded Camerata Pacifica in Santa Barbara in 1990, was named to Musical America's prestigious list of Top 30 Professionals in Classical Music in January 2026.

The three featured artists have also garnered tremendous acclaim. Zahharenkova is praised for delivering performances with 'impressive…musical colour' (Bachtrack). Park is lauded for her 'intensely wrought and burnished' sound (Strings Magazine). Cañón-Valencia, hailed as 'technically flawless' (The Strad), was named a 2022 BBC New Generation Artist, and Silver Medalist and 'Audience Favorite' at the 2019 XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition.

For tickets ($85 at The Huntington, Music Academy of the West, and Zipper Hall; $75, at Janet and Ray Scherr Forum) and information, visit www.cameratapacifica.org.

Program

RACHMANINOFF Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22

SCHUBERT Piano Trio No. 1 in B-flat Major, D. 898

Tour Dates

Sunday, October 11, 3:00 pm — Janet and Ray Scherr Forum, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd, Thousand Oaks, CA 91362

Tuesday, October 13, 7:30 pm — The Huntington's Rothenberg Hall, 1151 Oxford Rd, San Marino, CA 91108

Wednesday, October 14, 8:00 pm — Zipper Hall, The Colburn School, 200 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Thursday, October 15, 7:00 pm — Music Academy of the West, 1070 Fairway Rd, Santa Barbara, CA 93108

Tickets and Information

$85 at The Huntington, Music Academy and Zipper Hall

$75 at Janet and Ray Scherr Forum

www.cameratapacifica.org

info@cameratapacifica.org

805-884-8410

(ticket prices include fees)

Venue, artists, program, ticket prices subject to change.

About Camerata Pacifica

Camerata Pacifica, considered one of the nation's leading chamber ensembles, has been hailed as 'innovative and intrepid' (The Daily Telegraph), 'visceral and powerful' (The Economist). Its considerable commissioning portfolio includes more than 20 works by such established and rising composers as John Harbison, Jake Heggie, Huang Ruo, Lera Auerbach, Bright Sheng, Ian Wilson, David Bruce, Libby Larsen, and John Luther Adams. Two new commissions for the ensemble are currently in process from Clarice Assad and Niloufar Nourbakhsh. The chamber collective has also been lauded for its warm and engaging rapport with audiences, bringing context and immediacy to the music it performs. Based in Santa Barbara, California, the ensemble enjoys a busy performance schedule throughout Southern California and beyond. Camerata Pacifica's flagship annual series showcases its exceptional musicians as well as a range of distinguished guest artists. Each program is structured as a week-long residency with the ensemble performing in four Southern California locales: The Huntington's Rothenberg Hall in San Marino; Colburn School's Zipper Hall in downtown Los Angeles; Janet and Ray Scherr Forum in Thousand Oaks; and Santa Barbara's Music Academy of the West. The chamber ensemble has previously toured to Hong Kong and appeared at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., Morgan Library & Museum in New York City, and major concert halls in London, Dublin and Belfast. Camerata Pacifica was founded by Artistic Director Adrian Spence, an acclaimed 'high-flying flautist' (The Irish Times) applauded for his 'unstoppable energy, his organizational genius, his taste in music and musicians' (Noozhawk). A native of Northern Ireland, Spence's keen artistic sensibilities are evident in every aspect of Camerata Pacifica, from the ensemble's stellar roster of international chamber artists and thoughtfully curated musical offerings to its authentic connection with audiences. He also sets the tone for the deep comradery among the collective's musicians, which is evident both on and off stage.

In addition to its busy performance schedule, Camerata Pacifica is committed to serving the community. In 2021, Camerata Pacifica, in collaboration with UCLA Health, developed The Nightingale Channel, a landmark resource for hospitals providing programming drawn from the ensemble's extensive video library of its performances delivered via iPads to patient bedsides and care teams. Based on the well-documented positive effects of music in healing, The Nightingale Channel has been adopted by UCLA Health, UC Davis Health, Keck Medicine at USC, Loma Linda University Medical Center, City of Hope National Medical Center, and Augusta University Health, and is being introduced to other hospitals across the country.

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