Carl St. Clair

About

Under his dynamic leadership, the Orchestra has gained national prominence through recording projects, commissions of new works, world premieres, live broadcasts, and innovative educational programs such as Classical Connections, an introductory program to the Orchestra that utilizes the conductor's skill in communicating with new audiences.

St. Clair's concept of a large-scale, symphonic/choral work reflecting on the human experience of the Vietnam War was brought to life when the PSO commissioned Elliot Goldenthal to compose Fire Water Paper: A Vietnam Oratorio. The work has since been premiered and recorded by the Orchestra, and released to critical acclaim on the Sony Classical label, featruing Yo-Yo Ma as cello soloist. The Pacific Symphony Orchestra's second Sony Classical recording with Carl St.Clair, featuring the music of Toru Takemitsu and the percussion ensemble Nexus, will be released in February 1998.

As a guest conductor, St. Clair's appearances have included highly acclaimed debuts with the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestra. He has also appeared with the orchestras of Baltimore, Colorado, Houston, Minnesota, Indianapolis, Nashville, New Jersey, New Mexico, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Saint Paul, San Antonio, San Jose, Seattle, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

Carl St.Clair continues to expand his presence on the German musical scene where he is a frequent guest conductor of the radio orchestras of Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Saarbrucken, Hannover and Vienna, as well as the Frankfurt Opera Orchestra, Bamberg Symphony, Stuttgart Philharmonic, Essen Philharmonic and the Staatsphilharmonie.

He regularly conducts the orchestras of Jerusalem and Caracas, and has been a guest conductor in Australia, Hong Kong and New Zealand. His summer festival appearances include the Schleswig-Holstein Festival, Pacific Music Festival in Japan with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, Cabrillo Festival, Grant Park Music Festival, Round Top Festival and Tanglewood. He has led the Austin Lyric Opera in Rigoletto, La Bohème, Tosca and Tannhäuser.

Selected as a conducting fellow at the Tanglewood Music Centre in 1985, Carl St.Clair became assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1986. His highly successful, four-year tenure included numerous performances at Symphony Hall and Tanglewood. St. Clair also served as music director of the Arin Arbor Symphony Orchestra (1985-1992) and Cayuga Chamber Orchestra (1986-1992). In 1990, St. Clair received the NEA/Seaver Conductors Award - the most prestigious of such prizes in the nation.

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