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(Santa Barbara, CA, January 7, 2026) – Camerata Pacifica Founder/Artistic Director Adrian Spence, who established the acclaimed Santa Barbara-based international chamber music collective in 1990, has been named to Musical America’s prestigious list of Top 30 Professionals in Classical Music. Musical America, created in 1898, is the country’s oldest and most influential classical music magazine. According to Musical America, the individuals honored are among those “who make the industry tick, but don’t get their names on the marquee.” The list was announced on January 6.
Spence, a former flutist, garnered the major recognition for building Camerata Pacifica from the ground up and shepherding its robust commissioning portfolio and diverse musical offerings over the past 36 years. He also received accolades for his highly successful fund-raising efforts and Camerata Pacifica’s “crowning achievement…The Nightingale Channel. A collaboration with UCLA’s hospital system, the channel makes a rich trove of Camerata performances accessible to those on UCLA Health’s wi-fi network. That endeavor alone has raised nearly $2 million. (For the channel’s content), the group films and uploads some of its concerts online in gorgeously produced, HD videos” (Musical America).
“I am incredibly honored to be named one of Musical America’s Top 30 Professionals,” says Spence, who hails from Northern Ireland. “To be singled out among my outstanding peers in the classical music industry is deeply humbling. It affirms my life’s work, building and nurturing Camerata Pacifica and sharing the power of classical music with the broader community through live concerts and the Nightingale Channel.”
Spence adds, “I am also deeply grateful to the musical artists, patrons, and staff who have embraced and supported Camerata Pacific’s vision throughout the years. They are the backbone of the organization, enabling it to thrive and extend its reach far beyond the concert stage.”
Camerata Pacifica has expanded considerably since its inception. It now produces its chamber concert series at four Southern California venues: Santa Barbara’s Music Academy of the West, Zipper Hall in downtown Los Angeles, San Marino’s The Huntington, and the Janet and Ray Scherr Forum in Thousand Oaks. In 2021, it launched The Nightingale Channel, which hasbeen adopted by UCLA Health, UC Davis Health, Keck Medicine of USC, Loma Linda University Medical Center, City of Hope National Medical Center, Augusta University Health, and University of Miami Health, and is being introduced to other hospitals across the country.
Camerata Pacifica’s slate of upcoming concerts include chamber works for piano and viola by Beethoven, Schubert and Schumann, January 11-16; the world premiere of a Camerata Pacifica-commissioned wind quintet by David Bruce, March 1-6; and three programs that are part of “Beethoven 32,” a three-year Beethoven cycle featuring Principal Pianist Gilles Vonsattel performing all 32 of Beethoven’s piano sonatas, March 20 and 21, April 10 and 12, and May 14-19, 2026.
For information about Camerata Pacifica, visit http://www.cameratapacifica.org
ABOUT ADRIAN SPENCE
Adrian Spence founded Camerata Pacifica when he was 25 years old, as The Bach Camerata. Originally a chamber orchestra, its inaugural performance was Bach’s six Brandenburg Concertos on December 3, 1990, in Santa Barbara’s Lobero Theatre. In 1994 the name changed to Camerata Pacifica, and the ensemble launched into a dedicated exploration of the world of chamber music. Over the course of 35 seasons, Camerata Pacifica has developed a loyal following, now presenting resident series in Santa Barbara, Thousand Oaks, San Marino and Los Angeles. As an administrator, Spence created a business model to permit the presentation of world-class artists in intimate venues, emphasizing the essence of chamber music. Camerata Pacifica’s artists, drawn from around the world, are selected by Spence not just because they are exceptional musicians, but because their individual characters combine in an eclectic and compelling mix, that is the ensemble’s distinct personality. The musicians’ personalities are matched by that of the audience. Over three decades, the maxim “treat intelligent people intelligently” has informed an uncompromising approach to programming, enthusiastically embraced by an audience whose intellectual curiosity is evident at every performance. Heritage works are presented in context with less familiar music and newly commissioned works, in a manner welcoming, provocative and, occasionally, challenging — always illuminating the limitless reward provided by the chamber music repertoire. The production of new music is critical to Spence’s mission, with a commissioning portfolio of works by composers who include John Harbison, Jake Heggie, Huang Ruo, Lera Auerbach, Bright Sheng, Ian Wilson, David Bruce, Libby Larsen, John Luther Adams, and Clarice Assad. Commissions are in process from EmmaRuth Richards, David Bruce, and Niloufar Nourbakhsh. In 2020, Spence developed a landmark resource for hospitals entitled The Nightingale Channel. The initiative draws upon Camerata Pacifica’s extensive video library to create curated programming delivered to patient bedsides, offering interest and solace when it can be particularly meaningful. The program launched in 2021 as a collaboration with UCLA Health and is now being shared with hospitals across the country. Spence comes from Newtownards in County Down, Northern Ireland. He has three children, Erin, Keiran and Kaeli, and is a master-rated skydiver having logged over 2,300 skydives.
ABOUT CAMERATA PACIFICA
Camerata Pacifica, considered one of the nation’s leading chamber ensembles, has been hailed as “innovative and intrepid” (The Daily Telegraph), “visceral and powerful” (The Economist). Its considerable commissioning portfolio includes more than 20 works by such established and rising composers as John Harbison, Jake Heggie, Huang Ruo, Lera Auerbach, Bright Sheng, Ian Wilson, David Bruce, Libby Larsen, and John Luther Adams. Two new commissions for the ensemble are currently in process from Clarice Assad and Niloufar Nourbakhsh. The chamber collective has also been lauded for its warm and engaging rapport with audiences, bringing context and immediacy to the music it performs. Based in Santa Barbara, California, the ensemble enjoys a busy performance schedule throughout Southern California and beyond. Camerata Pacifica’s flagship annual series showcases its exceptional musicians as well as a range of distinguished guest artists. Each program is structured as a week-long residency with the ensemble performing in four Southern California locales: The Huntington’s Rothenberg Hall in San Marino; Colburn School’s Zipper Hall in downtown Los Angeles;Janet and Ray Scherr Forum in Thousand Oaks; and Santa Barbara’s Music Academy of the West. The chamber ensemble has previously toured to Hong Kong and appeared at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., Morgan Library & Museum in New York City, and major concert halls in London, Dublin and Belfast. Camerata Pacifica was founded by Artistic Director Adrian Spence, an acclaimed “high-flying flautist” (The Irish Times) applauded for his “unstoppable energy, his organizational genius, his taste in music and musicians” (Noozhawk). A native of Northern Ireland, Spence’s keen artistic sensibilities are evident in every aspect of Camerata Pacifica, from the ensemble’s stellar roster of international chamber artists and thoughtfully curated musical offerings to its authentic connection with audiences. He also sets the tone for the deep comradery among the collective’s musicians, which is evident both on and off stage.
In addition to its busy performance schedule, Camerata Pacifica is committed to serving the community. In 2021, Camerata Pacifica, in collaboration with UCLA Health, developed The Nightingale Channel, a landmark resource for hospitals providing programming drawn from the ensemble’s extensive video library of its performances delivered via iPads to patient bedsides and care teams. Based on the well-documented positive effects of music in healing, The Nightingale Channel has been adopted by UCLA Health, UC Davis Health, Keck Medicine at USC, Loma Linda University Medical Center, City of Hope National Medical Center, and Augusta University Health, and is being introduced to other hospitals across the country.
