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Maestro Eshkenazy bids Adieuas he leads final PSYO concert

It’s a fond farewell for Pacific Symphony’s beloved Assistant Conductor Maxim Eshkenazy, as he leads Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra (PSYO) in their 2012-13 “Spring Concert.” During his five-year tenure as music director of PSYO, Eshkenazy has enhanced the ensemble’s creativity through unique collaborations, performances of contemporary music, interdisciplinary projects and its first international tour to his native country, Bulgaria. In 2012, the ensemble was named Youth Orchestra of the Year by Classics Alive, and a record-breaking 402 people auditioned for the current season. In the spirit of these accomplishments, the Pacific Chorale Honor Choir (PCHC), led by Robert Istad, joins PSYO (for the fourth time) in a performance of masterpieces and music that holds a personal connection to the maestro.

Maxim The Youth Orchestra opens the performance with the premiere of a new work by Pacific Symphony’s principal tuba player Jim Self, “El Guapo, Latin Dance for Orchestra,” commissioned in honor of Eshkenazy’s departure, and finishes with the fourth movement of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1. The “Spring Concert” takes place Sunday, March 10, at 3 p.m. in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. Tickets are $12, general admission. For more information or to purchase tickets, call (714) 755-5799 or visitwww.pacificsymphony.org.

“When I started thinking about this particular concert, I knew it was going to be my last with PSYO, so I wanted it to be significant—my way of saying goodbye,” says Eshkenazy. “I’ve chosen to conclude the concert with the fourth movement of Mahler’s First Symphony, which is one of the first symphonies that I conducted with this orchestra.

Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra “The last five years have been a very, very special time of my life because of the bond that was created between me and the orchestra,” he continues. “I’ve fallen in love with this orchestra, and it’s with a very heavy heart that I am saying goodbye. But I know the future will be bright for the orchestra and for me. And I’m looking forward to one day coming back and doing something with them again.”