MUSIC : Concert Series to Begin July 4th

Forget St. Nick. Forget snow. Think summer. Think fireworks. Think outdoor concerts at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre.

That’s what’s on Pacific Symphony’s wish list right now, as officials announce the orchestra’s fourth five-program summer season, beginning at the amphitheatre July 4.

“What we’re trying to do is provide a great deal of variety from the beginning to the end of the summer,” Carl St. Clair, the Pacific’s new music director, said by phone from Miami on Tuesday. St. Clair, who has programmed the series, will conduct concerts on Aug. 17 and 31.

“I was there for one concert last summer, and I really enjoyed the possibility of the outdoor setting,” he said. “As far as acoustics and all those types of things, one has to make various kinds of accommodations, but I feel the outdoor setting can provide not only entertainment but can provide an artistic product.

“I hope people feel that we all take it very seriously. Every time I stand on the podium and the Pacific Symphony sits down, we take that very seriously, whether the setting is outside or inside, in a gymnasium for young people. . . . People can get to know the symphony and our repertory who might not come to the Performing Arts Center.”

The Pacific’s executive director, Louis Spisto, said the actual scheduling of the new season will reflect “pretty much the same approach as last year, ticking off with a Fourth of July special, then moving into so-called extended theme programs.”

“Each year, we find out what worked and what didn’t work in terms of marketing and programming,” Spisto continued. “One of the things that surprised us--pleasantly--was that our Mozart evening worked very well. It drew the largest attendance of the non-fireworks performances. Mozart beat out Beethoven.”

The Pacific has seen a rise in summer attendance from approximately 35,000 in 1988, the year the series started, to about 43,000 this year. That first year it lost about $80,000; this year, Spisto said, it made about $93,000.

The orchestra has a long-range plan to add more concerts to the summer schedule. But for now, they are taking a conservative approach to expanding.

“We’re sticking to five concerts for a couple of reasons,” Spisto said. “Firstly, we’re still not sold out. We’ve grown tremendously in the past years, but there’s more room for growth (within the five-concert framework).

“And from a cost perspective, it’s very expensive to add a concert. Each concert runs at least $100,000 between the expense of the facility, the orchestra and marketing. At that rate, we want to see a very established series before we consider expanding.”

Guest conductors will include Mark Gould on July 4, William McGlaughlin July 27 and Alasdair Neale Sept. 21. Gould, a pops conductor, also will be trumpet soloist on the July 4th program. McGlaughlin is music director of the Kansas City Symphony and host of the “St. Paul Sunday Morning” public radio program. Neale is assistant conductor of the San Francisco Symphony.

Soloists will include the Pacific’s principal flutist, Louise DiTullio, on July 27; violinist Elmar Oliveira Aug. 17, and on Sept. 21, pianist Dickran Atamian, who won the 1975 Naumburg Competition when he was 19. Violinist Andrew Cardenes and cellist Anne Martindale Williams, both of the Pittsburgh Symphony, will team up with pianist David Deveau for Beethoven’s Triple Concerto on Aug. 31. The July 4 concert will feature a pop song and dance trio called the Manhattan Rhythm Kings and vocalists to be announced.

All concerts will begin at 8 p.m. Picnic grounds will open at 6 p.m. Fireworks will be featured at the first and last concerts.

The schedule:

* July 4: “Star-Spangled Celebration”: Gould, conductor and trumpet soloist; Manhattan Rhythms Kings; soprano and baritone soloists to be announced: Selections from Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess” and the Overture to Gershwin’s “Girl Crazy”; Kern’s “Waltz in Swing Time”; Cohan’s “Star-Spangled Spectacular”; Armstrong’s “When It’s Sleepy Time Down South.”

* July 27: “Mid-Summer Mozart”: McGlaughlin, conductor; DiTullio, flute: Mozart’s “Impresario” Overture, Flute Concerto No. 1 and Symphony No. 39.

* Aug. 17: “Symphony for a New World”: St. Clair, conductor; Oliveira, violin: Berlioz’s “Roman Carnival” Overture, Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1, Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 (“From the New World”).

* Aug. 31: “Beethoven Times 3”: St. Clair, conductor; Cardenes, violin; Martindale Williams, cello; Deveau, piano: Beethoven’s “Egmont” Overture, Triple Concerto and the Symphony No. 7.

* Sept. 21: “Tchaikovsky Spectacular”: Neale, conductor; Atamian, piano: Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, “Capriccio italien,” Polonaise from “Eugene Onegin,” Waltz from “The Sleeping Beauty,” “1812” Overture.

Season subscriptions go on sale in March ($70-$205, with tables for 4 available for $1,320). Tickets to individual concerts will be available about 30 days before each one; the price range will be $10 to $43. Information: (714) 474-4233.