In the beginning was the Bach Camerata, an intrepid new chamber music group founded by flutist and dogged, eloquent classical music entrepreneur Adrian Spence. The group performed at the Lobero and other venues, but soon morphed into the more broadly-defined — and oceanic-aligned — moniker, Camerata Pacifica, whose 34th season is coming soon to a Southern California venue near you. For Santa Barbarans, that musical home is Hahn Hall at the Music Academy, launching locally with a meat-and-potatoes program of Beethoven, Mozart and Elgar, on Friday, September 15.
Camerata Pacifica evolved into one of the sturdier, and artistically flexible, classical organisms in Southern California, with world-class musicians on board, monthly concerts at the Music Academy as well as Ventura, Pasadena, and downtown Los Angeles (Zipper Hall). Despite the Bach alliance of the group’s salad days, Spence’s programming purview has always entailed a wide berth, from Baroque to romantic fare, to modernist and contemporary repertoire, and to ink-still-wet world premieres.
This season’s hallmarks include the world premiere of Clarice Assad’s accordion-featuring new work and the U.S. premiere of Martin Butler’s Remember this Fire. Bach continues to be a presence in the group’s DNA, expanded this season with the commencement of a new period instrument sub-series Camerata Pacifica Baroque. On the organizational side, this marks the first season with Ana Papakhian — long centrally associated with the Music Academy in a resume extending back more than a quarter century — on board as executive director.