Camerata Pacifica returns to San Marino on Tuesday, November 10, with a concert built around a brand-new piece: the world premiere of Niloufar Nourbakhsh's “The Innocence of Life,” paired with Mozart's Quintet for Piano and Winds. The performance is set for 7:30 p.m. at Rothenberg Hall at The Huntington.
A New Octet Takes the Stage
According to Pasadena Now, the evening centers on Nourbakhsh's new work alongside Mozart's Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat Major, K. 452, a pairing confirmed in Camerata Pacifica's own season listing. The program also folds in music by Michael Daugherty, Sarah Gibson, and Missy Mazzoli, as the ensemble's season lineup notes. “The Innocence of Life” is scored for a mixed octet, as SF Classical Voice reports, with the composer describing the work's third movement as, in her words, “the act of birth.”
The piece runs roughly 20 minutes and calls for clarinet, oboe, horn, violin, viola, cello, percussion, and piano, per a report from localnewspasadena.com. Accounts differ on who commissioned the new work: that same report credits Camerata Pacifica itself with commissioning the premiere, while coloradoboulevard.net states it was commissioned by the family of George Stephens in his memory. Hoodline could not independently resolve which account is accurate.
Ten Musicians, Changing Lineups
Coloradoboulevard.net notes that Camerata Pacifica's roster of ten musicians will vary from piece to piece across the evening, a format consistent with the ensemble's chamber-music approach. Tickets for the Rothenberg Hall concert at The Huntington are listed at $85.
The San Marino date fits into a broader run for the new piece. SF Classical Voice reports that Camerata Pacifica planned to give the premiere of “The Innocence of Life” across four Southland venues between November 8 and 13, including Los Angeles' Zipper Hall and the Huntington Library in San Marino, with the latter's program also appearing on a venue listing from cmsocal.org.
Part of a Season Built on New Commissions
The premiere is one piece of a larger season for the ensemble. The Santa Barbara Independent reported in June that Camerata Pacifica's 2026–27 season includes eight programs total, featuring world premieres of a mixed octet by Nourbakhsh and a mixed sextet by Howard Frazin, both commissioned by Camerata Pacifica according to that announcement. The season splits into six standard chamber music programs and two piano recitals, the same report notes, with repertoire spanning composers including Bach, Mozart, and Schubert.
Santa Barbara audiences will get their own look at the season at Music Academy of the West, where performances are scheduled for October 15, November 13, December 7, January 15, February 19, March 26, April 16, and May 14, all at 7 p.m., per the Independent's report. Nourbakhsh's connection to the ensemble isn't new, either — Camerata Pacifica's own past-concerts archive lists an earlier work of hers, “Veiled for Solo Viola and Live Electronics,” among its prior programs.
