The program for the tour includes selections from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, Shostakovich's Concerto No. 1, Strauss's Ein Heldenleben, and Zhou Long's Two Poems from T'ang. Cellist Lynn Harrell will join the orchestra for the Shostakovich concerto.

Music director Carl St. Clair said, "This is a great opportunity for our musicians to play together in the great concert halls of the world and perform for demanding critics in major European cities."

The Pacific Symphony, founded in 1978, is the third-largest orchestra in California. This is the orchestra's last season performing in the Orange County Performing Arts Center's Segerstrom Hall; a new concert hall, the $200 million Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, designed by Cesar Pelli, opens in fall 2006.