Pacific’s Season of Diversity : Music: Guest artists for the orchestra’s Costa Mesa run include cellist Yo-Yo Ma and a jazz quartet.

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and the Turtle Island String Quartet will be among the guest artists highlighting Pacific Symphony’s 1995-96 season, announced Monday. Ma will be the soloist in Dvorak’s Cello Concerto on the opening concerts, Oct. 11 and 12, with the orchestra led by music director Carl St.Clair.

The Turtle Island quartet, founded by jazz violinist Darol Anger and cellist Mark Summer, will play works for quartet and orchestra by Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and former Turtle Island violinist David Balakrishnan on Feb. 28 and 29.

“We’ve been trying to get Yo-Yo Ma for a long time,” St.Clair said. “This developed as we got into the Vietnam (recording) project. It was just a matter of arranging dates.”

Although Ma will have a prominent part in the recording of the Pacific-commissioned Elliott Goldenthal work commemorating the suffering inflicted by the Vietnam War, he will not be present at the first performances in April, nor when the orchestra records it. Ma will record his part separately, and it will be dubbed in during the post-production process. Pacific principal cellist Timothy Landauer will play at the premiere.

“Turtle Island came about simply because I heard their CD,” St.Clair said, “and I think these gentlemen are terrific. Their artistic integrity is incredibly high.”

In addition to the cellist and the jazz quartet, soloists for the season will include sopranos Helen Donath, Cheryl Parrish and Camellia Johnson; mezzo-soprano Eugenie Grunwald; bass Brian Matthews; pianists Andrei Gavrilov and Anatol Ugorski, and violinists Maria Bachman and Sheryl Staples, who was appointed concertmaster of the Pacific in October.

Guest conductors will include Marin Alsop, principal conductor of the Colorado Symphony since 1993, and Klaus Donath, music director of England’s Bath City Orchestra and Bath and Wessez Opera since 1991.

Donath led the Pacific in a Mozart program last August at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre and conducted Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” for Opera Pacific in 1993.

All concerts will take place at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa. The Thursday concerts, for the fourth consecutive year, will be broadcast live over KUSC-FM (91.5).

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THE PACIFIC SYMPHONY

The ‘95-’96 Season:

* Oct. 11, 12: Dvorak’s “Carnival” Overture and Cello Concerto (Yo-Yo Ma, soloist); Prelude and Liebestod from Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde.”

* Nov. 1, 2: William Bolcom’s “Commedia for ‘Almost’ 18th-Century Orchestra”; Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 (Anatol Ugorski, soloist); Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 (“Pathetique”).

* Dec. 13, 14: Mozart’s Symphony No. 23 and two concert arias--”Bella Mia Fiamma,” K. 528, and “Ch’io Mi Scordi Di Te,” K. 505 (Helen Donath, soprano); Schubert’s Symphony No. 9 (“The Great”). Klaus Donath, conductor.

* Jan. 10, 11: Overture to Barber’s “The School for Scandal”; Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 (Maria Bachman, soloist); Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade.” Marin Alsop, conductor.

* Feb. 7, 8, 1996: Mahler’s Symphony No. 6.

* Feb. 28, 29, 1996: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 (“Pastorale”) and, with the Turtle Island String Quartet, David Balakrishnan’s “Spider Dreams,” Dizzy Gillespie’s “A Night in Tunisia” and Miles Davis’ “Seven Steps to Heaven.”

* April 17, 18, 1996: Ravel’s “Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte”; Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 1 (Andrei Gavrilov, soloist); Franck’s “Les Djinns” (Gavrilov, soloist); Stravinsky’s “Le Sacre du Printemps.”

* May 8, 9, 1996: Brahms’ “Academic Festival” Overture; Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto (Sheryl Staples, soloist); Henryk-Mikolaj Gorecki’s Symphony No. 3 (“Symphony of Sorrowful Songs”) (Sheryl Parrish, soprano).

* May 29, 30, 1996: Verdi’s Requiem (soprano Camellia Johnson, mezzo-soprano Eugenie Grunwald, tenor TBA, bass Brain Matthews).

Carl St.Clair will conduct all concerts except as indicated. Series tickets will go on sale April 1 at prices to be announced. (714) 755-5799.--C.P.