Carl Ray St.Clair (born June 5, 1952) is an American conductor.

Early life and education

Born in Hochheim, Texas, St.Clair went to school in Yoakum, Texas, and graduated from Yoakum High School. He attended the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

and later studied conducting with Gustav Meier at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

and

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue and Music festival, festival in the towns of Lenox, Massachusetts, Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony ...

. He was Music Director of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra (Michigan) from 1985 to 1992, and of the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra (Ithaca, New York) from 1986 to 1991. Beginning in 1986, he was an assistant conductor with the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five (orchestras), Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in ...

. In 1990, he was a recipient of the Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Award. St.Clair has served on the faculty of

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) is a public university in Edwardsville, Illinois, United States. Located within the Metro East of Greater St. Louis, SIUE was established in 1957 as an extension of Southern Illinois University Ca ...

Career

In January 1990, he conducted the

Pacific Symphony The Pacific Symphony is a symphony orchestra based in Orange County, California. The orchestra performs at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall as a part of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California. From 1987 to 2016 ...

for the first time. On the success of that appearance, he was named the orchestra's music director, a position he still holds. During his Pacific Symphony tenure, he and the orchestra have commissioned and recorded several works, including Richard Danielpour's ''An American Requiem'' (Reference Recordings) and

Elliot Goldenthal Elliot Goldenthal (born May 2, 1954) is an American composer of contemporary classical music and film and theatrical scores. A student of Aaron Copland and John Corigliano, he is best known for his distinctive style and ability to blend variou ...

's ''Fire Water Paper: A Vietnam Oratorio'' (Sony Classical) with cellist

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is a French-born American Cello, cellist. Born to Chinese people, Chinese parents in Paris, he was regarded as a child prodigy there and began to study the cello with his father at age four. At the age of seven, ...

. Other recordings include "Radiant Voices" and "Postcard" by composer in residence

Frank Ticheli Frank Ticheli ( ; born January 21, 1958) is an American composer of orchestral, choral, chamber, and concert band works. He lives in Los Angeles, California, where he is a Professor Emeritus of Composition at the University of Southern Califo ...

(Koch International Classics), and the two piano concertos of Lukas Foss (harmonia mundi). The orchestra and St.Clair host an annual festival of American composers, including "Uncharted Beauty: The Music of Lou Harrison" (2005–2006), "Los Sonidos de México" (2006–2007), and "The West — Music inspired by the American Frontier" (2007–2008). In Europe, St.Clair was the principal guest conductor of the

Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart The Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (German: ''Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR'') was a German radio orchestra based in Stuttgart in Germany. History The ensemble was founded in 1945 by American occupation authorities as the orches ...

from 1998 to 2004, where his work included a three-year recording project of the Villa–Lobos symphonies. He became ''

Generalmusikdirektor A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

'' (General Music Director, or GMD) of the

Staatskapelle Weimar The (DNT), or German National Theater and Weimar State Orchestra, is the most significant arts organization in Weimar. The institution unites the (German National Theater) with the (Weimar State Orchestra). It plays on a total of six stages ...

in 2005, a post he held for three years. In 2008, he took up the post of GMD of the

Komische Oper Berlin The Komische Oper Berlin is a German opera company based in Berlin. The company produces operas, operettas and musicals. The opera house is located on Behrenstraße, near Unter den Linden. Since 2004, the Komische Oper Berlin, along with the Be ...

, with an initial contract of six years, but in May 2010 he resigned effective with the end of the 2009/10 season. In 2012, St.Clair was appointed to Principal Conductor and Artistic Leader of the Thornton Symphony Orchestra at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

's Thornton School of Music. St.Clair has worked on the creation and implementation of various symphony education programs, including "Classical Connections", "arts-X–press" and "Class Act". In 2006, he worked with the German Bundesjugendorchester (National Youth Orchestra). On September 13, 2013, St.Clair was appointed Principal Conductor of the .Yendry Miranda (2013-08-13)
"Carl St.Clair es el nuevo director de la Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional"
''

La Nación ''La Nación'' () is an Argentine daily newspaper. As the country's leading conservative newspaper, ''La Nación''s main competitor is the more liberal ''Clarín (Argentine newspaper), Clarín''. It is regarded as a newspaper of record for Argen ...

''. Retrieved 2013-08-13.

References

External links

Komische Oper Berlin English-language biography

Pacific Symphony biography

Staatskapelle Weimar German-language biography

Profile
Schmidt Artists International * https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jul-28-me-60373-story.html {{DEFAULTSORT:St.Clair, Carl American male conductors (music) 20th-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American conductors (music) University of Texas at Austin College of Fine Arts alumni University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni Southern Illinois University faculty USC Thornton School of Music faculty 1952 births Living people People from DeWitt County, Texas People from Laguna Beach, California Classical musicians from Texas 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians