Paul Anthony
McRae

“A real surprise: superlative conducting and utterly beautiful sound – it’s hard to imagine a more perfect Pulcinella Suite.

The English Chamber Orchestra is a really marvelous group: beguiling solos and precision ensemble are normal for them. And here’s a conductor who puts them to use in the service of sheer sensual delight.

Long life to the conductor and many happy recordings!”

American Record Guide

“There is not a reckless bone in Paul Anthony McRae’s body. At least he didn’t display any random abandonment on the podium when he conducted Lake Forest Symphony on Friday night.

He led his skilled musicians through the murky waters of the French repertoire with the precision of a sea captain who knew the shipping channels and wasn’t going to put his crew in danger for a minute.

Opening the concert was the Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun by Claude Debussy. Instead of letting the instrumental voices blur together, McRae layered them, one upon the other, creating clean, clear sonorities and offering a fresh, fluid performance.

The concluding work on the program was Debussy's "La Mer" - Three Symphonic Sketches which provided the Maestro to showcase the score's lush, full string passages, brilliant woodwind soloists, and the orchestra's majestic brass section. Most definitely a night to remember!

Chicago Tribune

“The minute Paul Anthony McRae walked on Friday night, you could hear the difference. For one thing, he had the orchestra playing extraordinarily well, with a virtuosity in the strings to make you sit up and take notice.

You heard it in the authority of the Faure, in the sculpted frame in which he set the concerto and in his surging performance of the Beethoven Fifth, which brought down the house. It was a stirring performance in the big classic style.

The strings had assurance, strength and beauty, and McRae, taking a brisk, almost brusque approach, made an often hackneyed score sound fresh. No mean feat where the Beethoven Fifth is concerned.”

Miami Herald

“Paul Anthony McRae’s conducting of the combined forces of the Pacific Symphony and the Pacific Chorale in Handel’s “Messiah” proved an eminently balanced and frequently moving performance at the Orange County Performing Arts Center on Saturday.

McRae established the quality of his leadership with the first strains of the overture – clean and energetic, crisp and compelling. Throughout the entire oratorio, he drew ever-polished, dramatically attentive readings from the musicians.

Los Angeles Times