Joshua Bell and Shelley Open Pacific Symphony’s New Season in Style
/By Truman C. Wang
9/26/2026
Photo credit: Pacific Symphony
I have reviewed and enjoyed Alexander Shelley’s previous outings with the Pacific Symphony. But this week marks the first official season of Mr. Shelley as the orchestra’s Music Director, in a program that showcases the orchestra’s diverse stylistic range – from classical to musical theater, from the classics to the new and popular – all tied together with irresistible dance rhythms in pieces large and small that would have one danced all night. 2026 also marks Segerstrom Center’s 40th anniversary as well as the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall’s 20th (It seems only yesterday that I was there for the grand opening. How time flies!)
For his part, Mr. Shelley made quite an entrance. After conducting a stirring national anthem, we watched a video montage of him with the orchestra on two giant screens, above the stage and in the hall ceiling, which also carried live simulcast of the performance for the benefit of those sitting upstairs. Mr. Shelley gave a speech about how he has “fallen deeply in love” with his new orchestra. The concert that followed could only be described as a labor of love. In the past, I sometimes complained about certain weak sections or solo playing. Today, I hear a new sound from the Pacific Symphony that is at once powerful, detailed, and full of emotion.
Jessie Montgomery's “Banner” is a restless, kaleidoscopic riff on "The Star-Spangled Banner". The brass and strings traded fragments of militant discord (so much so that the Principal cello broke his string!) before coming to a bright, unified close. It made a fitting curtain-raiser for a night about renewal.
The popular Joshua Bell was the violin soloist. Gone were the histrionics that I found hard to watch in years past. Here, Mr. Bell stood tall and immobile, holding his Strad and bow high up on the chin, emoting generously but not excessively. Kevin Puts’ “Earth” from The Elements (a new commission from Mr. Bell), a piece in ABA form with a glowing dialog for harp and violin in the A sections, provided a vehicle for Mr. Bell’s silvery singing tone, and a contemplative foil to the Lalo that followed it. The Symphonie espagnole – essentially five dance movements for violin and orchestra – showed the soloist’s impressive technical and emotional range: the Scherzando had a teasing, off-the-string lightness, while the Andante drew out a darker, more searching sound, his supple phrasing unhurried and full of small rubato surprises. The finale's Rondo heard rapid-fire double-stops and cascading runs tossed off with ease. Maestro Shelley and his orchestra were attentive partners throughout, giving real snaps to the Spanish-flavored rhythms.
After intermission, a rousing “Candide” Overture by Bernstein set the tone of the lighter populist second half. The orchestra’s unusual platform layout – all violins on the left, violas on the right with cellos behind and bass clumped right – gave, I think, maximum shine and sweep to the big string tunes in the pieces that followed. Joan Tower's oddball and bity “Sixth Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman” was followed by another woman composer, Florence Price, whose Andante Moderato showed her skills of colorful orchestration using simple melodic materials.
More talk from maestro/raconteur Shelley on next pieces by Korngold and Bartók, who noted that the “Kings Row Suite” might have influenced a certain Hollywood film composer, and that many Pacific Symphony players are also active in film recording studios. Predictably, the opening brass fanfare of the Korngold drew knowing smiles from many in the audience. Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances featured memorable solo turns by the clarinet, piccolo (stamping dance), first violin (hornpipe dance) and concluded in a delightful Romanian polka for the whole orchestra. Gershwin's “Girl Crazy” Overture saw Mr. Shelley taking on bandmaster duty and sent the night out on high-spirited, syncopated rhythms. Who can ask for anything more?
Next week, the Pacific Symphony will be joined by the Pacific Chorale in the Mahler Second. For information and tickets to the 2026/27 season, go to https://www.pacificsymphony.org/season-series/129/2026-27-classical
Truman C. Wang is Editor-in-Chief of Classical Voice, whose articles have appeared in the Pasadena Star-News, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, other Southern California publications, as well as the Hawaiian Chinese Daily. He studied Integrative Biology and Music at U.C. Berkeley.