Rebels with a Cause

With an unshakable belief that new music matters, Pacific Serenades began as a spark, a rebellion against the classical music scene of the 80s—concerts with music only by dead composers or, if they were alive, European or East Coast composers. But we believed that a chamber ensemble not only should support the music of its own time, but of its own community.

And that is just what we have done.

Since then, Pacific Serenades has grown into an integral and valued member of the community that is Southern California, commissioning and premiering over 90 works by composers representing the cultural and musical diversity of this unique place.

We are ourselves a community, a family of friends who love music—new and old—and which serves the larger community in which we live. From the beginning, we built a bridge into that community for those many who think that they dislike new music, placing it amid treasured masterpieces of the past.

A composer friend of ours, John Steinmetz, referred to us as one of his favorite renegade organizations.

And we deserve our renegade status. We have never done concerts the way new music ensembles are “supposed to.” Our commitment to music that is exhilarating, heart-breaking, uplifting, funny, devastating, imaginative—to music that reaches you emotionally, no matter its style—has been unwavering.

As another composer friend, Larry Lipkis, an LA native now living in Pennsylvania, pointed out, “There is no Atlantic Serenades.”

True! There is no other ensemble here or anywhere which commissions a new piece for every single program, presenting it alongside great works from the past. What a wonderfully rebellious way to indicate the value of a new piece than to show that it is part of a long, rich tradition of beautiful music.

In our 23 seasons, we have created our own rich tradition. And what we have found in so doing is that people love hearing new music!

The proof is not only in the enjoyment people get from our concerts but in the extraordinary success of the pieces we have commissioned and premiered. They are being heard all over the world now, in performances by other ensembles and in the many recordings that have been made of them.

This season, our renegade activities include programming Münir Beken’s Middle-Eastern inspired music, Billy Childs’ jazz-imbued music, my own music—always an amalgam of diverse styles, and music by Paul Chihara—creator of music for ballet, film, Broadway, and the concert stage—with music by Ravel, Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms, Haydn, and Dvorak.

Come with us this season and join in this joyous and magnificent rebellion.