Jacob Sustaita has been the assistant conductor for the Pacific Symphony since 2020, but this summer will be his first time leading that ensemble in the "Symphony in the Cities” series. The symphony hosts five free concerts that have been running since July 29 in Costa Mesa and continued in Irvine. Audiences can catch the rest of the program in Mission Viejo Aug. 9, and at Musco Center for the Arts at Chapman College Aug. 10, culminating in a concert in Newport Beach on Aug.17.
With an assortment of well-known classics, pop tunes, and patriotic favorites, the concerts are held outdoors, where the audience is also invited to participate in sing-alongs. This unique family-friendly series also features a pre-concert “Musical Playground” with interactive and hands-on activities for kids, including instrument making and a drum circle. In addition, Sustaita holds a brief session teaching the children how to conduct.
“The program reflects the community, the symphony, and the essence of what a park concert is — an informal, fun, family-oriented good time,” Sustaita said. “It’s not about sitting in a concert hall and being quiet. It’s about being on [your] feet and clapping, and one of the hallmarks is that the children get a private mini-lesson with me before the concert.
“They get a baton, and I teach them all the basics,” added the conductor. “Fifteen minutes is all we need. It’s a Sousa march [called] ‘Hands Across the Sea,’ and it’s amazing, because the young mind grabs onto this idea of conducting so quickly. It’s about moving your body with the baton, and the music comes out of the orchestra.”
Sustaita noted that several hundred kids participate, and that there are 3,000-7,000 people in the park at any given concert. The program also features baritone Michael O’Halloran and soprano Jessica Choi, who will be performing solos and duets including selections from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story, and Franz Lehár’s Giuditta.
“Michael and Jessica worked with us a few times,” he said. “They both sing incredibly, and we invited them to sing on our family opera program this last season. When I was able to secure them, I had to ask ‘what’s in your repertory?’, and they had so many options. I initially thought, ‘Let’s do an all-American concert,’ but as we delved into it, we decided not to go that route, [and] came up with Lehár and Bernstein.”
The patriotic element of the concert holds special meaning for Sustaita, who said his father, stepfather and grandfather served in the military. When the symphony performs the “Armed Forces Salute,” he said they ask members of the Navy and Coast Guard to stand.
Sustaita says that Orange County residents know that this orchestra is their own, even though the name doesn’t proclaim that. And he wants audiences to have a good time and come together over great music.
“When people walk away enjoying themselves, I think we’ve won; it’s mission accomplished,” he enthuses. “We’re not here to play music for music’s sake, we’re here to play it for our audience, for our community.”
