The American Composers Festival opens with “Nowruz—Celebrating Spring,” exploring intersections between American and Persian music, on Thursday-Saturday, March 22-24, at 8 p.m. in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. Led by St.Clair, the performance features Grammy Award-winning soprano Hila Plitmann, known for her astonishing voice. Her ability to perform challenging new works makes her the ideal choice to perform, along with the Pacific Chorale, the concert’s centerpiece, the world premiere of Richard Danielpour’s “Toward a Season of Peace.” Also on the program is Iran’s preeminent conductor, Farhad Mechkat, who takes turns with St.Clair on the podium, including conducting Kodaly’s “Dances of Galanta”; plus, the highly acclaimed Shams Ensemble performs Persian music. Read more about the Festival
