Runner
8:00PM Concert
7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & Guests
Soloist friends of Esprit and outstanding soloists drawn from within Esprit are spotlighted in this program performing three exceptional concertos from different cultures. Reich’s minimalist, energized and infectious Runner sets the pace for this concert and leads to the contrasting, intense and distilled poetic moments of Abrahamsen’s Double Concerto with individual soloists relating to each other separately then alternatively playing in unison. Full attention will be on Erica Goodman in her performance of Music Director Pauk’s Harp Concerto, a work of virtuosity bringing the wide-ranging musical experiences of the composer’s background into play in a kind of musical self-portrait.
Gorecki’s concerto won’t let you go. From the work’s first flurry of notes the piece takes you on an electrifying wild ride. Breathtaking!
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Mark Fewer Violin
Kevin Ahfat Piano
Erica Goodman Harp
Wesley Shen Harpsichord
PROGRAMME
Steve Reich (USA)
Runner * (2016)
Hans Abrahamsen (DNK)
Double Concerto (2011)
Alex Pauk (CAN)
Harp Concerto (2005)
Henryk Gorecki (POL)
Harpsichord Concerto (1980)
* Canadian Premiere
Chasing Vito
8:00PM Concert
7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & Guests
From the blast of percussive exuberance in Abe’s The Wave to the immense force of windpower summoned up in Žuraj’s Anemoi, audiences will be on the edge of their seats as the reverberations from these pieces wash over them. While The Wave features percussion only, a large battery of percussive forces forms part of a gigantic orchestra conveying the powers of Žuraj’s winds of antiquity.
Prepare to be swept away. In keeping with the meaning of its title, Shaw’s Entr’acte, for strings alone, is a refreshing diversion between these pieces as it riffs on classical form and ”takes you to the other side of Alice’s looking glass in a kind of absurd, subtle, technicolour transition.”
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Ryan Scott (CAN) Marimba
Vito Žuraj (SVN) Guest Composer
PROGRAMME
Keiko Abe (JPN)
The Wave (2000)
for marimba & 4 percussionists
Caroline Shaw (USA)
Entr'acte (2011)
for string orchestra
Vito Žuraj (SVN)
Anemoi * (2024)
* North American Premiere, commissioned by the Berliner Philharmoniker & Esprit Orchestra
Icefire, Do-Re-Mi & Caring for the Earth
8:00PM Concert
7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & Guests
In Streich’s ISHJÄRTA distinctive chordal characteristics emerge in a soundspace of contrasting layers—mists, shimmering veils, a capped, shielded world. This is a piece about heart and intensifying expression.
Eötvös’ DoReMi Concerto reconfigures the notes of various well-known nursery rhymes and childhood songs to create tensions and conflicts as in real life. Dramatic situations can evolve—and in this work they do!
A question for audiences of 2118 about how notions of time, space, sound and history have shaped their world guided Norman in writing Sustain as a continuous spiral contemplating the rise and fall of species, the movement of tectonic plates, the birth and death of stars and the question of how the Earth will fare over long periods into the future.
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Akiko Suwanai (JPN) Violin
Lisa Streich (SWE) Guest Composer
Andrew Norman (USA) Guest Composer
PROGRAMME
Lisa Streich (SWE)
ISHJÄRTA * (2024)
Peter Eötvös (HUN)
Violin Concerto #2 "DoReMi" ** (2011-12)
Andrew Norman (USA)
Sustain (2018)
* North American Premiere
** Canadian Premiere
Carrot Revolution
8:00PM Concert
7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & Guests
Along with World Premieres of two chamber orchestra works (Mermelstein & Tse), this program reprises a work with Brazilian inflections that Esprit previously commissioned from our percussionist Mark Duggan. Percussion has a strong presence on this concert with Ryan Scott performing Abe’s Michi, a marimba solo in contrast to the composer’s The Wave performed earlier in the season. A spectacular percussion duo by Trevino heightens the concert’s percussive element. Two superb string quartets, radically different from one another, highlight the styles of Smith and Rea. Gabriella Smith has a unique sensibility when it comes to naming her pieces. Experience a Carrot Revolution.
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Ryan Scott Percussion
Michael Murphy Percussion
Aline Morales Vocalist
Thalea String Quartet
PROGRAMME
Gabriella Smith (USA)
Carrot Revolution (2015)
for string quartet
Keiko Abe (JPN)
Michi (1979)
for solo marimba
Mark Duggan (CAN)
Maracatu Imaginário (2017)
for vocalist & ensemble
Julia Mermelstein (CAN)
Floral Reef * (2024)
Roydon Tse (CAN)
Stepwise * (2023)
Ivan Trevino (MEX)
Wildlings (2014)
for two percussionists
John Rea (CAN)
Objets perçus (2023)
for string quartet
*World Premiere & Esprit Orchestra Commission
Imaginary Pancake
8:00PM Concert
7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & Guests
Did you ever think that “serious” new music could make you laugh? Seriously? It’s not usual for a piece of new music to get an audience to at least chuckle but it’s likely that the work by Bernard Lang on this concert will do just that—and do it with a highly exuberant take on some of the most important elements found in the music of today. Also, in this program Esprit again gives World Premieres of new works for chamber orchestra and contrasts a solo work for piano with larger works by the same composer (Gabriella Smith) performed earlier in the season. A reprise of Harman’s Partita provides listeners the chance to hear Mark Fewer perform this immensely virtuosic piece in the fine acoustic environment of Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre. Another highlight will be the appearance of Wallace Halladay on saxophone as featured soloist in the Lang. And can you imagine what an Imaginary Pancake sounds like?
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Wesley Shen Piano
Mark Fewer Violin
Wallace Halladay Saxophone
PROGRAMME
Quinn Jacobs (CAN)
New Work * (2025)
Bernhard Lang (AUT)
D/W 24 ‘Loops for Al Jourgensen’ (2013)
for saxophone & ensemble
Ben Nobuto (GBR)
Serenity 2.0 (2021)
for string quartet, percussion & electronics
Gabriella Smith (USA)
Imaginary Pancake (2020)
for solo piano
Chris Paul Harman (CAN)
Partita #2 for Solo Violin (2019)
*World Premiere & Esprit Orchestra Commission
Cosmic Heartbeats
8:00PM Concert
7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & Guests
Alluding to ritual Korean court music as well as lively traditional Korean folkloric music, Chin’s depiction of “heartbeat stars” in Alaraph blends a large array of percussion instruments with massive orchestral forces to create a work of tremendous energy and physicality. Esprit’s premiere of Ma’s Hijinks launches not only an exciting new work but also a young composer’s early career in the manner Esprit has done for young composers through its history.
The world premiere of O’Callaghan’s new work provides the composer with the opportunity to drop his usual blend of acoustic and electronic instruments and focus intensely on writing for the orchestra alone.
Vivier’s “long song of solitude”, in both French and the invented language from the composer’s extraordinary imagination, is autobiographical and subconsciously self-revelatory in nature. Lonely Child conveys child-like innocence as well as a profound reaching out to the heavens and the solace of eternity.
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Sophia Burgos (USA) Soprano
PROGRAMME
Nicholas Ma (CAN)
Hijinks * (2024)
James O'Callaghan (CAN)
New Work * (2025)
Claude Vivier (CAN)
Lonely Child (1980)
for soprano & orchestra
Unsuk Chin (KOR)
Alaraph 'Ritus des Herschlagz' (2023)
* World Premiere & Esprit Orchestra Commission
F(X)=
8:00PM Concert
7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & Guests
Sound forms of immense power or poetic, delicate beauty are the musical essences for experiencing this concert. Flowing, pulsing, riveting energies arise in time-transcendent creations. f(x)=sin2x-1/x is a mathematical formula conveying the shape of Smith’s “in the groove” piece which moves with exhilarating rhythmic drive to end with a cascade of brass flourishes serving as our season’s opening fanfare. Sørensen’s intimate, captivating work, in slow motion, creates an intoxicating sensual atmosphere. Ishii’s massive sound-space continuum is imbued with surprise and its East/West cross-cultural fabric provides it with tremendous imaginative power. Such illusive descriptions of varied inspirations only begin to hint at the varied richness and grand scope of the three amazing works on this concert.
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Michael Bridge Accordion
Programme
Gabriella Smith (USA)
f(x)=sin²x-1/x * (2019)
Bent Sørensen (DNK)
It is pain flowing down slowly on a white wall ** (2010)
for accordion & string orchestra
Maki Ishii (JPN)
Fu-Shi ("Shape of the Wind") (1989)
* Canadian Premiere
** North American Premiere
SONIC UNIVERSE
8:00PM Concert
7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & Guests
Two master composers provide inspiration for this concert. Schafer’s work is concerned with the last days of Robert Schumann, from the time of his first hallucinations until his death in the Endenich asylum in 1856. Adapted selections from Clara Schumann’s diaries form the monodrama in Schafer’s work. The piece incorporates fragments of Schumann’s own vocal and piano compositions including the melody he wrote down the night of his first hallucination which he claimed was dictated to him by the angels. Harmonielehre is a musical tour-de-force. In Adams’ words, his piece, “postmodern in spirit”, is “a large, three-movement work for orchestra that marries the developmental techniques of Minimalism with the harmonic and expressive world of fin de siècle late Romanticism”.
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Krisztina Szabo Mezzo-Soprano
Programme
R. Murray Schafer (Canada)
Adieu Robert Schumann (1976)
John Adams (United States)
Harmonielehre (1985)
I. First Movement
II. The Anfortas Wound
III. Meister Eckhardt & Quackie
SEASON Sponsor
VIOLINISSIMO II
8:00PM Concert
7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & Guests
Mark Fewer returns to our stage to perform the entire The Four Seasons Recomposed by Richter whose re-writing of Vivaldi’s work moves it away from being the omnipresent piece of muzak that it has become. In contrast, Ligeti’s violin concerto, creating unexpected new sounds combined in novel ways, even uses mistuned string instruments, ocarinas and slide whistles to suggest Hungarian folksong. Shimmering harmonies, slow-moving, soaring melodies and rhythmic complexities and the “mad virtuosity” of the soloist’s role all contribute to the high level of excitement in this piece. Forming a bridge between the “baroque” harpsichord material in the Richter and the modern nature of Ligeti’s work, a solo harpsichord piece by Ligeti appears as a musical amuse-bouche.
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Mark Fewer Sheng/Suona
Wesley Shen Harpsichord
Programme
Max Richter (United Kingdom)
The Four Seasons Recomposed (2012)
I. Spring
II. Summer
III. Autumn
IV. Winter
György Ligeti (Hungary)
Continuum (1968)
for solo harpsichord
György Ligeti (Hungary)
Concerto for Violin & Orchestra (1990-92)
I. Vivace luminoso
II. Aria, Hoquetus, Chorale, Andante
III. Intermezzo, Presto
IV. Passacaglia. Lento Intenso
V. Appassionato. Agitato molto
SEASON Sponsor
THREE
8:00PM Concert
7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & Guests
Collaborating with some of the world’s great orchestras, Esprit has co-commissioned Operascope for orchestra by Unsuk Chin and will give the work’s North American Premiere on this program. Operascope traces the history of operatic music – with references to Verdi, Puccini, Messiaen, Berg and Shostakovich. Azrieli Music Prize-winner Rita Ueda’s double concerto, with musicians positioned throughout Koerner Hall, blends Japanese, Chinese and Western influences with the Canadian landscape (especially bird calls) and pursues a new transcultural musical identity by asking what it means to migrate and settle on land already rich in history. Mochizuki’s musical collage intimates deep psychological transformations as described by Carl G. Jung and almost subliminally incorporates an homage to Robert Schumann.
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Zhongxi Wu Sheng/Suona
Naomi Sato Shō
Programme
Misato Mochizuki (Japan)
Nigredo* (2009 rev. 2018)
Unsuk Chin (South Korea)
Operascope** (2023)
Rita Ueda (Canada)
Birds Calling…From the Canada in You*** (2022)
*nORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
**NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE, CO-COMMISSIONED BY THE BAYERISCHE STAATSORCHESTER, ESPRIT ORCHESTRA, ORCHESTRE DE PARIS, SAO PAULO STATE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA & TONGYEONG FESTIVAL
***TORONTO PREMIERE, ORIGINALLY COMMISSIONED BY THE AZRIELI FOUNDATION AS RECEPIENT OF THE 2022 AZRIELI MUSIC PRIZE FOR NEW CANADIAN MUSIC
SEASON Sponsor
CIRCLE MAPS
8:00PM Concert
7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & Guests
Traversing rich and varied musical landscapes, this concert laments the dramatic ecological loss of bees and the associated acoustic loss (referencing its musical predecessor Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee), presents a tapestry of a thousand flowers in the constantly shimmering gestures of Martinaityte’s sonic garden, and delivers harp virtuosity in our Music Director’s harp concerto, specially written for Erica Goodman. Silvestrov’s Postludium, rippling with nostalgia and swirling memories, belies Vladimir Putin’s contention that Ukraine doesn’t exist as a country with its own cultural identity. In memoriam, we honour the late Kaija Saariaho performing her fabulous musical voyage through evocative sound worlds guided by texts of the great Persian poet Rumi.
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Kevin Ahfat Piano
Programme
Vito Žuraj (Slovenia)
Api-danza macabra* (2021)
Žibuoklė Martinaitytė (Lithuania)
Millefleur** (2018)
Valentin Silvestrov (Ukraine)
Postludium (1984)
Kaija Saariaho (Finland)
Circle Map (2012)
*nORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE **CANADIAN PREMIERE
SEASON Sponsor
X MARKS THE SPOT
8:00PM Concert
7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & Guests
Exploring varied musical, physical and psychological environments, any one of which could be marked with an X as a destination worth visiting, this program moves from Anna Meredith’s bold, highly energized Nautilus, derived from a stomp along a beach in Scotland, to R. Murray Schafer’s depiction of the rain and mist shrouded Neuschwanstein, King Ludwig’s castle in the Bavarian mountains. As in Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, Ligeti’s Atmosphères will transfix listeners in the timelessness and outer limits of Cosmic sound and silence. Using advanced mathematical calculations to generate forms and textures in music, Iannis Xenakis changed the direction of composition in the 20th century forever as can be experienced in the poetic expressions in two of his astounding works on this program.
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Programme
Anna Meredith (United Kingdom)
Nautilus (2011/21)
Iannis Xenakis (Greece)
Pour les baleines (1986)
R. Murray Schafer (Canada)
Dream Rainbow Dream Thunder (1986)
György Ligeti (Hungary)
Atmosphères (1961)
Iannis Xenakis (Greece)
Jonchaies (1977)
SEASON Sponsor
Season Finale
8:00PM Concert
7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & Guests
This final concert of Esprit’s 40th Anniversary Season will commence with an evocation of Spring, with Esprit joined by violinist Aaron Schwebel to perform Max Richter’s ingeniously re-imagined Spring movements from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. In contrast, selections from Winter add atmospheric and haunting variety. Chris Paul Harman continues in the vein of reflecting on music from the past with a whirling, topsy-turvy glance at Clementi. A World Premiere by Eugene Astapov offers a poignant mosaic of memories in tribute to a late, cherished, highly talented teenage piano student of his. John Corigliano’s profoundly powerful Symphony No. 1 honours and memorializes three lifelong musician-friends of his during the apex of the AIDS crisis.
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Eugene Astapov RBC Associate Composer/Conductor
Aaron Schewebel Violin
Programme
Max Richter (Germany/United Kingdom)
The Four Seasons Recomposed (2012) Spring
Aaron Schwebel, violin
Eugene Astapov (Canada)
Burial Rites: In Memoriam Marcus Gibbons ** (2023)
Max Richter (Germany/United Kingdom)
The Four Seasons Recomposed (2012) Winter
Aaron Schwebel, violin
Chris Paul Harman (Canada)
Clementi sottosopra *
John Corigliano (United States)
Symphony No. 1 (1988)
1. Apologue: Of Rage and Remembrance
2. Tarantella
3. Chaconne: Giulio's Song
4. Epilogue
*World Premiere
**World Premiere commissioned by Esprit with generous support from the RBC Foundation, SOCAN Foundation and Sofia Gomez GibbonsConcert Sponsor
New Wave 2
8:00PM Concert
7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & Guests
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Ryan Scott Snare drum
Julia Mermelstein Composer
Stephanie Orlando Composer
Programme
Misato Mochizuki (Japan)
Chimera (2000)
for 11 players
Julius Eastman (United States)
Gay Guerrilla *** (1979)
arr. Jessie Montgomery for string septet (2018)
Andrew Staniland (Canada)
Orion Constellation Theory (2014)
for snare drum and electronics
Ryan Scott, snare drum
Julia Mermelstein (Canada)
between walls **
for orchestra and fixed electronics
Stephanie Orlando (Canada)
4-7-8 **
for chamber orchestra
Steve Reich (United States)
Sextet
for percussion and keyboards
*World Premiere
***Canadian Premiere
**World Premiere commissioned by Esprit with the generous support of the Ontario Arts Council
New Wave 1
8:00PM Concert
7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & Guests
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Mark Fewer Violin
Sophie Dupuis Composer
Roydon Tse Composer
Programme
Sophie Dupuis (Canada)
L'histoire que les vague racontent ** (2021-2022)
for 14 musicians and live electroacoustics
Roydon Tse (Canada)
Mobilize ** (2022)
for sinfonietta
Salvatore Sciarrino (Italy)
Brazil (1988)
based on music by Ary Barroso
Claude Vivier (Canada)
Pulau Dewata (1977)
arr. John Rea (Canada)
Chris Paul Harman (Canada)
Partita No. 2 for solo violin * (2019)
Mark Fewer, Violin
Akira Nishimura (Japan)
Kecak (1979)
for percussion sextet
*World Premiere
***Canadian Premiere
**World Premiere commissioned by Esprit with the generous support of the Ontario Arts Council
TAIKO LIVE!
8:00PM Concert
7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & Guests
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Cameron Crozman Cello
Nagata Shachu Taiko drummers
Programme
Colin McPhee (Canada)
Tabuh-tabuhan (1936)
for two pianos and orchestra
James O'Callaghan (Canada)
Overbound (2022)*
concerto for amplified cello, electronics and orchestra
Maki Ishii (Japan)
Mono-prism (1976)
for taiko drummers and orchestra
*World Premiere Commissioned by Esprit OrchestraProgramming subject to change without notice.
Violinissimo
8:00PM Concert
7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & Guests
featuring
Aaron Schwebel Violin
Stephen Sitarski Violin
Marie Bérard Violin
Programme
José Evangelista (Canada)
Violinissimo (1992)
concerto for violin and orchestra
Andrew Staniland (Canada)
Six Enigmas (2022)*
concerto for violin and orchestra
John Rea (Canada)
Figures hâtives (2006)
concerto for violin and orchestra
Alexina Louie (Canada)
Triple Concerto for Three Violins and Orchestra (2017)
**World Premiere Commissioned by Esprit OrchestraProgramming subject to change without notice.
Spira
8:00PM Concert
7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & Guests
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Programme
Christopher Goddard (Canada)
Les tringles des sistres tintaient (2018)**
Unsuk Chin (S. Korea/Germany)
Spira (2019)*
Thomas Adès (United Kingdom)
Asyla (1997)
*Canadian Premiere
**Originally commissioned and premiered by EspritProgramming subject to change without notice.
Act 4
8:00PM Concert
7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & Guests
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Michael Bridge Accordion
Programme
Sophia Gubaidulina (Russia)
Fachwerk (Scaffolding) (2009)
for accordion and orchestra
Alison Yun-Fei Jiang (Canada)
Sanctuary (2020)*
Thomas Adès (United Kingdom)
Polaris (2010)
*World Premiere commissioned by Esprit Orchestra
Act 3
8:00PM Concert
7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & Guests
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Moira Ness Video Projections
Programme
Claude Vivier (Canada)
Orion (1979)
Stephanie Orlando (Canada)
riptide (2021)**
Julia Mermelstein (Canada)
in water suspended (2021)*
Christina Volpini (Canada)
waves, breaking, reflecting light (2020)**
*World Premiere commissioned by Esprit Orchestra
**World Premiere commissioned by Esprit Orchestra with generous assistance from the Ontario Arts Council
Act 2
8:00PM Concert
7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & Guests
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Eugene Astapov Guest Conductor
Shannon Mercer Mezzo-Soprano
Programme
Eugene Astapov (Canada)
A Still Life (2020)**
Keiko Devaux (Canada)
Excavated Sound *
Unsuk Chin (Korea)
Mannequin (2014)
Žibuoklė Martinaitytė (Lithuania)
Saudade (2019)
*World Premiere commissioned by Esprit Orchestra
**World Premiere commissioned by Esprit Orchestra with financial support from the Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation
Act 1
8:00PM Concert
7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & Guests
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Christopher Goddard Piano
Programme
Alexina Louie (Canada)
The Void, River of Stars (1990)
Christopher Goddard (Canada)
Piano Concerto (2020)*
Andrew Norman (U.S.A.)
Sustain (2018)
*World Premiere comissioned by Esprit Orchestra with financial support from Chantal Perrot
Electric Waves
8:00PM Concert
7:00PM Keynote address by renowned composer, John Rea
This concert has been postponed due to COVID-19 considerations.
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
John Rea Keynote Speaker
Eugene Astapov Conductor
VC2 Cello Duo
Michael Bridge Accordion
Cameron Crozman Cello
Shannon Mercer Soprano
James O'Callaghan Electronics
Alison Yun-Fei Jiang Conductor
Jennifer Nichols Choreographer/Dancer
Programme
James O'Callaghan (Canada)
Not non-other (2020)
for orchestra and octophonic electronics
Alison Yun-Fei Jiang (Canada)
Snow Music (2020)*****
Maurizio Azzan (France)
Where the here and now of nowhere is (2018)
for cello, resonators, live electronics, and dancer
Christina Volpini (Canada)
waves, breaking, reflecting light (2020)***
Eugene Astapov (Canada)
A Still Life (2020)
for soprano and orchestra (poetry by Russian poet Polina Barskova)
***World Premiere commissioned by Esprit Orchestra with generous support from the Ontario Arts Council
*****World Premiere: revision/expansion of “Temporal”, originally commissioned by Esprit OrchestraFestival Sponsors
Season Sponsor
Sonic Waves
3:00PM Concert
This concert has been postponed due to COVID-19 considerations.
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
John Rea Keynote Speaker
Eugene Astapov Conductor
VC2 Cello Duo
Michael Bridge Accordion
Cameron Crozman Cello
Shannon Mercer Soprano
James O'Callaghan Electronics
Alison Yun-Fei Jiang Conductor
Jennifer Nichols Choreographer/Dancer
Programme
John Rea (Canada)
Accident (Tombeau de Grisey) (2004)
Misato Mochizuki (Japan)
Chimera (2000)
Žibuoklė Martinaitytė (Lithuania)
Completely Embraced by the Beauty of Emptiness (2006)
Jamie Li (Canada)
New Work (2020)**
Kaija Saariaho (Finland)
Sept Papillons (2000)
for solo cello
Various Composers
Mystery Variations (2010)
From a set of variations by 31 composers on the Chiacona by Giuseppe Colombi (1635 -1694) for solo cello
Colombi - Chiacona
Pascal Dusapin - 50 notes en 3 variations
Pablo Ortiz - Paloma
Magnus Lindberg - Duello
**World Premiere commissioned by Esprit OrchestraFestival Sponsors
Season Sponsor
Tidal Waves
8:00PM Concert
7:00PM Pre-Concert Artist Panel
This concert has been postponed due to COVID-19 considerations.
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
John Rea Keynote Speaker
Eugene Astapov Conductor
VC2 Cello Duo
Michael Bridge Accordion
Cameron Crozman Cello
Shannon Mercer Soprano
James O'Callaghan Electronics
Alison Yun-Fei Jiang Conductor
Jennifer Nichols Choreographer/Dancer
Programme
Keiko Devaux (Canada)
Ebb (2018)
Quinn Jacobs (Canada)
Action Gallery (2020)**
Julia Mermelstein (Canada)
in turn (2017)
Chris Paul Harman (Canada)
Suite for Two Cellos (2019)****
Tze Yeung Oh (Norway)
Utrolig Varmt Vann (“extremely hot water”) (2016)
for solo accordion
Edson Zampronha (Brazil)
Trazo (“stroke” as in brush stroke) (2014)
for solo accordion
Stephanie Orlando (Canada)
phases of the moon (2019)
for string orchestra
**World Premiere commissioned by Esprit Orchestra
****World Premiere commissioned by VC2Festival Sponsors
Season Sponsor
Taiko Returns
8:00PM Concert
7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & Guests
This concert has been postponed due to COVID-19 considerations.
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Barbara Croall Anishinaabekwe Performer
Christopher Goddard Piano
Eugene Astapov Guest Conductor
Shannon Mercer Mezzo-soprano
Nagata Shachu Taiko Drumming Group
Programme
Barbara Croall (Canada)
Mijidwewinan (Messages) (2008)
for Anishinaabekwe soloist and orchestra
Christopher Goddard (Canada)
Piano Concerto (2020)**
concerto for piano and orchestra
Eugene Astapov (Canada)
A Still Life (2020)***
for mezzo-soprano and orchestra (poetry by Russian poet Polina Barskova)
Maki Ishii (Japan)
Mono-Prism (1976)
for taiko drumming group and orchestra
**World Premiere commissioned by Esprit Orchestra with generous support from Chantal Perrot
***World Premiere commissioned by Esprit Orchestra with generous support from The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable FoundationPerformance Sponsor of Mijidwewinan: The Max Clarkson Family Foundation
Program Sponsor: Japan Foundation
Season Sponsor
Electric & Eclectic
8:00PM Concert
7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & Guests
Electronic treatment of orchestral sound in concerts is rare so O’Callaghan’s multi-speaker, surround-sound blending of transformed orchestral sound with computer sound files radiates new sonic dimensions. Changing meters rapidly and scurrying all over the place, Adams’ score is riveting and full of surprises. Schnittke looms large in recent music history and his remarkable Concerto Grosso No.1 reveals the astounding vision and creative force of one of the greatest composers of the past century.
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Marie Bérard Violin
Stephen Sitarski Violin
Stephen Clarke Harpsichord/Prepared Piano
James O'Callaghan Electronics
Programme
John Adams (U.S.A.)
Son of Chamber Symphony (2007)
for chamber orchestra
James O'Callaghan (Canada)
Not non-other (2020)**
for orchestra and octophonic electronics
Alfred Schnittke (Russia)
Concerto Grosso No. 1 (1977)
for 2 solo violins, harpsichord, prepared piano and string orchestra
**World Premiere commissioned by Esprit Orchestra with generous support from The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable FoundationSeason Sponsor
Sustain
8:00PM Concert
7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & Guests
Afterglow is the third panel of an orchestral triptych commissioned from Scime by Esprit. In composing Sustain, Norman, America’s most celebrated young composer, considered how audiences one hundred years from now might perceive and be affected by orchestral music. He then set out in a major new creative direction to produce what some have labeled a masterpiece. With inexorable force, Evangelista’s piece draws listeners in and excites heartbeats in the same way his score affects the orchestra’s playing.
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Véronique Mathieu Violin
Programme
Andrew Norman (U.S.A.)
Sustain (2018)*
for orchestra
Adam Scime (Canada)
Afterglow (2019)**
a fantasy in one movement for violin and orchestra
José Evangelista (Canada)
Accelerando (2016)
for orchestra
*Canadian Premiere
**World Premiere commissioned by Esprit Orchestra with generous support from The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable FoundationSeason Sponsor
I Hit My Head and Everything Changed
8:00PM Concert
7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & Guests
A blast of powerful orchestral sound, Adès’ opera overture provides for the dramatic launch of Esprit’s season. Harman’s integration of video art projections inspired by his collaboration with artist Moira Ness, brings new treasure to multimedia orchestral life. One of Louie’s most expressive choral works embellishes her receiving the Molson Prize in the Arts and Abrahamsen’s compelling concerto for the left hand showcases Avan Yu as one of Canada’s hottest young pianists.
Presentation of 2019 Canada Council Molson Prize in the Arts to Alexina Louie will take place during the concert.
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Avan Yu Piano
The Elmer Iseler Singers Chamber Choir
Moira Ness Artist
Programme
Thomas Adès (England)
Overture to "The Tempest" op.22a (2004)
for orchestra
Brian Harman (Canada)
I Hit My Head and Everything Changed (2019)**
for orchestra with video art projections by Moira Ness
Alexina Louie (Canada)
Love Songs for a Small Planet (1989)
for chamber choir, harp, percussion & string orchestra
Hans Abrahamsen (Denmark)
Left, alone (2015)*
for piano (left hand) and orchestra
*Canadian Premiere
**World Premiere commissioned by Esprit Orchestra with generous support from the Ontario Arts CouncilSeason Sponsor
New Wave Reprise
8:00pm Concert
7:15pm Pre-Concert Chat
More and more exceptional young Canadian composers are cropping up every day and our New Wave Festival aims to select the best of them and showcase their most up-to-date musical thoughts through Esprit-commissioned pieces. These works provide foundations for fresh, new creative directions or solidify concepts these rising-star composers are already working on. Not only does Esprit take pleasure in helping composers at the early stages of significant careers but looks forward to maintaining strong links with them over the years to come—links that have their beginnings in tonight’s concert.
We’re very pleased to welcome back John Rea as the festival’s keynote speaker. In earlier festivals his provocative, resonant thoughts gave audiences much to think about in terms of where we are in the world’s socio-cultural spectrum. We can anticipate nothing less on this occasion.
featuring
John Rea Keynote Speaker
Eugene Astapov Guest Conductor
Alison Yun-Fei Jiang Guest Conductor
Amahl Arulanandam Cello Soloist
Programme
Eugene Astapov (Canada)
Emblem (2019)*
Quinn Jacobs (Canada)
Music About Music (2019)**
Bekah Simms (Canada)
Foreverdark (2019)*
Christina Volpini (Canada)
as within, so without (2019)*
Alison Yun-Fei Jiang (Canada)
Temporal (2019)**
*World Premiere commissioned by Esprit with generous support from the Ontario Arts Council
**World Premiere commissioned by Esprit OrchestraConcert Sponsor
Reception Sponsor
Grand Slam!
8:00pm Concert
7:15pm Pre-Concert Chat
A powerful work for percussion and orchestra, Ishii’s Afro-Concerto, mixing cultural inflections, provides the impetus for this concert and is a spectacular musical blast for our season finale.
Thornborrow’s Trompe l’œil attests to Esprit’s promise of building strong relationships with composers resulting in impressive works for our stage.
Exploring the cello’s lyric qualities, in spite of its astounding technical difficulties, Chin’s concerto will cast a spell over everyone with its floating, dream-like sequences, flickering impulses of musical lightening, frenetic and at times motoric drive, long-spun melodies, as well as orchestral accompaniments be they aggressive explosions of colour or delicate accompanying auras. Ultimately the soloist takes us floating into the stratosphere at the end.
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Ryan Scott Percussion Soloist
Joseph Johnson Cello Soloist
Programme
Christopher Thornborrow (Canada)
Trompe l'œil (2019)**
Maki Ishii (Japan)
Afro-Concerto (1982)
Unsuk Chin (Korea)
Cello Concerto (2006; rev. 2013)*
*Canadian Premiere
**World Premiere commissioned by Esprit with generous support from Ontario Arts CouncilArtists and repertoire subject to change without notice.
Ticketing services provided by RCM TicketsProgram Sponsor
Concert Sponsor
Judy & Wilmot Matthews
Constellations
8:00pm Concert
7:15pm Pre-Concert Chat
Goddard’s beguiling new work re-imagines the spellbinding gypsy song that opens act two of Bizet’s Carmen with its fluidity, exoticism and perpetual forward energy. The astounding virtuosity of saxophonist Wallace Halladay reveals the full extent of visiting Japanese guest composer Hosokawa’s exquisite creativity. Orion, this concert’s touchstone, is perhaps the most vivid expression of Vivier’s musical state of “eternal homecoming”. In River Memory, Jiang, inspired by Niagara Falls, contemplates the transformation of her mixed cultural identity as an immigrant, through time, art making and the Canadian experience.
Part of The Royal Conservatory’s 21C Music Festival, as well as the University of Toronto New Music Festival.
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Wallace Halladay Saxophone Soloist
Programme
Toshio Hosokawa (Japan)
Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra (1999)*
Alison Yun-Fei Jiang (Canada)
River Memory (2018)
Claude Vivier (Canada)
Orion (1979)
Christopher Goddard (Canada)
Les tringles des sistres tintaient (2018)**
*Canadian Premiere
** World Premiere commissioned by Esprit with generous support from The Koerner FoundationArtists and repertoire subject to change without notice.
Ticketing services provided by RCM TicketsProgram Sponsor
Concert Sponsor
Timothy & Frances Price
North/White
8:00pm Concert
7:15pm Pre-Concert Chat
In North/White, a snowmobile in the percussion section is counterbalanced by Schafer’s sonic portrayal of the mythic, splendid, indestructible idea of North – spacious, pure, temptationless. Louie’s Take the Dog Sled captures the joy, tenderness and energy of life in the arctic, the mystical quality of the land and the humour of the Inuit through its embrace of original throat songs by a Western instrumental ensemble. Thorvaldsdottir’s Dreaming, a refined, meditative, richly detailed musical embroidery, is like a mysterious shifting landscape bringing time to a halt – like in dreams.
Participate in the performance on your smartphone!
On cue from the conductor, press play on one of the links below to hear one of the snowmobile sounds at the appropriate moment during the concert.
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Evie Mark and Akinisie Sivuarapik Inuit throat singers
Programme
Anna Thorvaldsdottir (Iceland)
Dreaming (2008)*
Alexina Louie (Canada)
Take the Dog Sled (2008)
R. Murray Schafer (Canada)
North/White (1973)
*Canadian PremiereSnowmobiles used in this concert’s performance are generously provided by: Arctic Cat
Artists and repertoire subject to change without notice.
Ticketing services provided by RCM Tickets.Snowmobiles used in this concert’s performance are generously provided by
For Orbiting Spheres
8:00pm Concert
7:15pm Pre-Concert Chat
Mazzoli’s Sinfonia, cast “in the shape of a solar system”, weaves and coils itself in pulsing loops that twist around each other within a larger orbit while the Sinfonia of Keuris is simply a work of utmost charm and pleasurable musical invention. Chin’s celestial “dance of the strings” extends to the full orchestra and offers musical reflections on natural phenomena and our physical relationship with the cosmos. Ives’ work remains one of the greatest ever pieces expressing awe and wonder about the cosmos.
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Programme
Missy Mazzoli (U.S.A.)
Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres) (2016)*
Unsuk Chin (Korea)
Chorós Chordón (2017)*
Charles Ives (U.S.A.)
The Unanswered Question (1908)
Tristan Keuris (The Netherlands)
Sinfonia (1974)
*Canadian PremiereArtists and repertoire subject to change without notice.
Ticketing services provided by RCM Tickets.
Taiko Plus!
8:00pm Concert
7:15pm Pre-Concert Chat
Ishii’s Mono-Prism brims with emotional, intoxicating energy. Seven Japanese taiko drummers provide the monochrome sounds which are set against the prismatic tone quality of the orchestra in an ever-changing tonal diversity and dynamism.
Wilson’s Dark Matter takes data from the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, the world’s largest particle accelerator, as raw material to be realized in poetic sound and vision. The groundbreaking search for elusive ‘new physics’ in the form of ‘dark matter’ provides inspiration for an exploration in image, electronic sound, and orchestral energy.
Fuhong Shi returns to Canada for the performance of her Concentric Circles. The world premiere of Chris Paul Harman’s new work for soprano and orchestra reinforces Esprit’s strong belief in and support for the composer’s exceptional creativity.
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Shannon Mercer Soprano
Nagata Shachu Japanese taiko drummers
Programme
Chris Paul Harman (Canada)
...with silver bells and cockle shells... (2018)**
Maki Ishii (Japan)
Mono-Prism (1976)*
Fuhong Shi (China)
Concentric Circles (2009)*
Scott Wilson (Canada)
Dark Matter (2018)**
*Canadian Premiere
**World Premiere commissioned with generous support from the Koerner FoundationArtists and repertoire subject to change without notice.Concert Sponsor
Judy & Wilmot
Matthews
Guest Artist Sponsor
Plug In
8:00PM Concert
7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & Guests
Astapov’s Hear My Voice has embedded in its musical texture an early recording of Alexander Graham Bell, shortly after his invention of the telephone. Paired with this piece is Tan Dun’s Passacaglia: Secret of Wind and Birds, which imaginatively uses modern cell phones “played” by the orchestra and audience members to create “a poetic forest of digital birds”.
Evangelista’s Symphonie minute, contrasting with most symphonies’ grand proportions in duration, instrumentation, and power of expression, is a work of great charm in four short movements with light textures and rapid tempos.
Chin’s glittering, rattling, whirring piece Mannequin and Ricketts’ new work Lilt have both been composed with “imaginary choreography” as a creative stimulus. Esprit has commissioned Jennifer Nichols to choreograph and perform a dance with the premiere of Lilt.
featuring
Alex Pauk Conductor
Jennifer Nichols Choreographer/ Dancer
Eugene Astapov Guest Conductor
Programme
José Evangelista (Canada)
Symphonie minute (1994)
Eugene Astapov (Canada)
Hear My Voice (2017)***
Matthew Ricketts (Canada)
Lilt (2018)**
Unsuk Chin (Korea)
Mannequin (2015)*
Tan Dun (China)
Passacaglia: Secret of Wind and Birds (2015)*
*Canadian Premiere
**World Premiere commissioned with generous support from Canada Council for the Arts
***Previously commissioned and premiered by EspritArtists and repertoire subject to change without notice.Concert Sponsor
Timothy & Frances Price