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Esprit Orchestra 11/11/24 Esprit Orchestra 11/11/24

ESPRIT ORCHESTRA PRESENTS F(X)=SEASON OPENING PRELUDE CONCERT AT KOERNER HALL

TORONTO, ON – On Wednesday, November 27th, 2024, Esprit Orchestra will kick-off the 2024/25 concert season with f(x)=, the first of two Prelude Concerts leading to the Edge of Your Seat International Festival in the spring. Music Director Alex Pauk will lead the orchestra, now in their 42nd season, through works by composers spanning three continents. This concert will be preceded by Musical Insights (formerly Pre-Concert Talks) with composer Alexina Louie and special guests at 7:15PM.

f(x)=sin2x-1/x, by the rising-star American composer Gabriella Smith, invites the listener to consider, “What would f(x)=sin2x-1/x sound like? The answer: It sounds like this piece! The equation produces a curved line that dictates and illustrates the form of the work, in the same way that traditional rondo and sonata forms are used. f(x)=sin2x-1/x musically follows the shape of the line below, beginning softly before building to a vigorous finale perfectly befitting the grand opening of Esprit’s season. Later this season, Esprit will revisit the music of Smith with performances of Imaginary Pancake and Carrot Revolution. This performance marks the Canadian Premiere of f(x)=sin2x-1/x.

Accordionist Michael Bridge, among the most compelling and exceptional musicians of his generation, joins Esprit to present the North American Premiere of the searingly beautiful It is pain flowing down slowly on a white wall by Danish composer Bent Sørensen. In the composer’s own words, “ It is music full of slow motion – full of sorrow – full of tangos with no dancers. Maybe I imagined the tears of an accordion player flowing down slowly on the bellow of the instrument.” The accordion is accompanied by the orchestra’s string section, who also double as a choir, employing their voices and, perhaps surprisingly, a chorus of melodicas! Following this performance, Michael Bridge will be presented with the Canada Council for the Arts Virginia Parker Prize.

Fū-Shi (“Shape of the Wind”) by Japan’s Maki Ishii comprises an East-West fusion of sweeping, epic proportions and rounds out the convergence of diverse cultures on this program. While Smith looked to mathematics for the form of her work, Ishii in this instance has found inspiration in the Far East, employing the three section form “jo-ha-kyū” (preparation-breaking/development-rushing/fast finale), inspired by Japanese “Noh” theatre. Employing large orchestral forces, Fū-Shi begins with a rumble, leading into a section of dynamic development before the frenetic, thrilling finale!

9/17/24 9/17/24

Esprit Orchestra announces 2024/25 season - Preludes & an International Festival!

For Immediate Release – Tuesday, September 17th, 2024

ESPRIT ORCHESTRA ANNOUNCES EDGE OF YOUR SEAT SEASON PRELUDE CONCERTS & AN INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

TORONTO, ON – Today, Esprit Orchestra announces its 42nd season – THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT – comprising two Prelude Concerts and an International Festival to take place at Koerner Hall and Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre. Founder, Music Director and Conductor Alex Pauk leads the orchestra through a season of bold, visionary programming; a daring sonic exploration of the very best in contemporary music from home and abroad. All concerts are preceded by Musical Insights (formerly Pre-Concert Talks) with composer Alexina Louie at 7:15PM.

On Wednesday, November 27th, 2024 the season commences with Prelude Concert #1: F(X)=; a program of immense power and delicate beauty from composers spanning three continents. A brisk, lively work by rising American composer Gabriella Smith invites listeners to consider, “What would f(x)=sin2x-1/x sound like?” Esprit’s audience will be enchanted by the return of virtuoso accordionist Michael Bridge in the North American Premiere of the poignant and dramatic It is pain flowing down slowly on a white wall by Danish composer Bent Sørensen. Fū-Shi (“Shape of the Wind”) by Japan’s Maki Ishii comprises an East-West fusion of sweeping, epic proportions and rounds out the convergence of diverse cultures on this program.

Prelude Concert #2: RUNNER, taking place on Sunday, February 23rd, 2025, spotlights the talent of exceptional local soloists and friends of Esprit; violinist Mark Fewer and pianist Kevin Ahfat will perform Hans Abrahamsen’s Double Concerto, while harpsichordist Wesley Shen and harpist Erica Goodman appear in concerti by Henryk Gorecki and our own maestro, Alex Pauk. Composed in 2016, Esprit is thrilled to be giving the Canadian Premiere performance of Runner, by the iconic American composer Steve Reich.

The Edge of Your Seat International Festival kicks-off on Tuesday, March 4th with CHASING VITO. Esprit is thrilled to be joined in Toronto by featured guest composer, Vito Žuraj, for the North American Premiere of Anemoi, co-commissioned by Esprit and the Berlin Philharmonic. Esprit’s dynamic string players will be spotlighted in a performance of Pulitzer Prize winning Caroline Shaw’s Entr’acte, a tremendously popular work being performed by Esprit for the first time. Virtuosity abounds when Ryan Scott and Esprit’s percussion section hit the stage to perform The Wave, composed by Japan’s maven of mallet percussion, Keiko Abe.

The world converges on Toronto on Thursday, March 27th as Esprit presents ICEFIRE, DO-RE-MI & CARING FOR THE EARTH, comprising works from three of the most vital voices in the contemporary music landscape. Last performed in 2019, Esprit will reprise Sustain and be joined by American composer Andrew Norman as a featured guest composer. Receiving its North American Premiere, Esprit will explore the warm, cold and nuanced in-between of ISHJÄRTA, by Swedish composer Lisa Streich, who will also join us in Toronto as featured guest composer. In tribute to the late composer, Esprit is honoured to be joined by 1990 Tchaikovsky Competition winner Akiko Suwanai to perform the Canadian Premiere of the Violin Concerto #2 “Do-Re-Mi” by Peter Eötvös.

Esprit moves to Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre for two festival concerts; CARROT REVOLUTION on Tuesday, April 2nd and IMAGINARY PANCAKE on Sunday, April 6th. These programs, consisting of solo, chamber and large ensemble works, offer an intimate environment for engaging with the diverse and dynamic repertoire. World Premieres will be heard of new works by emerging Canadian composers Roydon Tse, Julia Mermelstein & Quinn Jacobs. Highlights of these concerts include soloist appearances from violinist Mark Fewer, pianist Wesley Shen, saxophonist Wallace Halladay, vocalist Aline Morales and percussionists Ryan Scott and Michael Murphy. Programs include music by Gabriella Smith, Keiko Abe, Mark Duggan, Ivan Trevino, John Rea, Bernhard Lang & Chris Paul Harman. Attendees of concerts held at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre are invited to mingle and enjoy complimentary refreshments at a post-concert reception.

Returning to Koerner Hall, the 2024/25 season and the Edge of Your Seat International Festival will come to a close on Thursday, April 17th with COSMIC HEARTBEATS. Launching the careers of emerging Canadian composers and championing their music has long been a cornerstone of Esprit’s mission, and on this program two such works will be performed. Early in his career and composing for Esprit for the first time, Esprit will help launch the career of Nicholas Ma and give the World Premiere of his work, Hijinks, in addition to performing a new work by audience favourite, James O’Callaghan. Joined by the exceptional rising star soprano, Sophia Burgos, Esprit will perform the seminal 1980 work Lonely Child by Claude Vivier, long a touchstone of Esprit’s repertoire. Receiving its Canadian Premiere performance, Alaraph ‘Ritus des Herschlagz’ by Unsuk Chin closes out Esprit’s first International Festival and 2024/25 concert season. Among the most programmed composers in Esprit’s repertoire, this concert marks the 10th work by Chin to be performed by Esprit. Composed for large orchestral forces and depicting the phenomenon of “heartbeat stars”, this work will transport the audience to the cosmos in a bold sonic journey that is quintessentially Chin.

2024/2025 EDGE OF YOUR SEAT SEASON

Prelude Concert #1: f(x)=

Wednesday, November 27th / 2024 | Koerner Hall
8:00PM Concert | 7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & guests
Alex Pauk, Music Director & Conductor
Michael Bridge, accordion

Gabriella Smith (USA) – f(x)=sin2x-1/x* (2019)
Bent Sorensen (DNK) – It is pain flowing down slowly on a white wall** (2010)
Maki Ishii (JPN) – Fū Shi (“Shape of the Wind”) (1989)

*Canadian Premiere
**North American Premiere

Prelude Concert #2: RUNNER

Sunday, February 23rd / 2025 | Koerner Hall
8:00PM Concert | 7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & guests
Alex Pauk, Music Director & Conductor
Mark Fewer, violin
Kevin Ahfat, piano
Erica Goodman, harp
Wesley Shen, harpsichord

Steve Reich (USA) – Runner* (2016)
Hans Abrahamsen (DNK) – Double Concerto (2011)
Alex Pauk (CAN) – Concerto for Harp & Orchestra (2005)
Henryk Gorecki (POL) – Concerto for Harpsichord & Orchestra (1980)

*Canadian Premiere

EDGE OF YOUR SEAT INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

Festival #1: CHASING VITO

Tuesday, March 4th / 2025 | Koerner Hall
8:00PM Concert | 7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & guests
Alex Pauk, Music Director & Conductor
Ryan Scott (Canada), marimba
Guest Composer: Vito Žuraj (Slovenia)

Keiko Abe (JPN) – The Wave (2000)
Caroline Shaw (USA) – Entr’acte (2011)
Vito Žuraj (SVN) – Anemoi* (2024)
*North American Premiere, commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic & Esprit Orchestra

Festival #2: ICEFIRE, DO-RE-MI & CARING FOR THE EARTH

Thursday, March 27th / 2025 | Koerner Hall
8:00PM Concert | 7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie & guests
Alex Pauk, Music Director & Conductor
Akiko Suwanai (Japan), violin
Guest Composers: Lisa Streich (Sweden) & Andrew Norman (USA)

Lisa Streich (SWE) – ISHJÄRTA* (2024)
Peter Eötvös (HUN) – Violin Concerto #2 “DoReMi”** (2011-12)
Andrew Norman (USA) – Sustain (2018)

*North American Premiere **Canadian Premiere

Festival #3: CARROT REVOLUTION

Wednesday, April 2nd / 2025 | Trinity St. Paul’s Centre
8:00PM Concert | 7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie and guests
Alex Pauk, Music Director & Conductor
Ryan Scott, percussion
Michael Murphy, percussion
Aline Morales, vocalist

Gabriella Smith (USA) – Carrot Revolution (2015)
Keiko Abe (JPN) – Michi (1979)
Mark Duggan (CAN) – Maracatu Imaginário** (2017)
Julia Mermelstein (CAN) – Floral Reef* (2024)
Roydon Tse (CAN) – Stepwise* (2023)
Ivan Trevino (MEX) – Wildlings (2014)
John Rea (CAN) – Objets perçus (1992)

* World Premiere & Esprit Orchestra Commission ** previously commissioned by Esprit

Festival #4: IMAGINARY PANCAKE

Sunday, April 6th / 2025 | Trinity St. Paul’s Centre
8:00PM Concert | 7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie and guests
Alex Pauk, Music Director & Conductor
Wesley Shen, piano
Mark Fewer, violin
Wallace Halladay, saxophone

Quinn Jacobs (CAN) – New Work* (2020)
Bernhard Lang (AUT) – D/W 24 ‘Loops for Al Jourgensen’ (2013)
Gabriella Smith (USA) – Imaginary Pancake (2020)
Chris Paul Harman (CAN) – Partita for Solo Violin #2 (2019)

* World Premiere & Esprit Orchestra Commission

Festival #5: COSMIC HEARTBEATS

Thursday, April 17th / 2025 | Koerner Hall
8:00PM Concert | 7:15PM Musical Insights with Alexina Louie and guests
Alex Pauk, Music Director & Conductor
Sophia Burgos (USA), soprano

Nicholas Ma (CA) – Hijinks* (2024-25)
James O’Callaghan (CA) – New Work* (2025)
Claude Vivier (CA) – Lonely Child (1980)
Unsuk Chin (KR) – Alaraph ‘Ritus des Herschlagz’** (2023)

*World Premiere & Esprit Orchestra Commission
**Canadian Premiere

ESPRIT ORCHESTRA 2024-2025 KOERNER HALL SUBSCRIPTION SERIES

Royal Conservatory of Music

TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning
273 Bloor Street West
Individual concert tickets start at: Adult $45; Senior 65+ $40; Under 30 $20
Please call (416) 408 0208 or visit espritorchestra.com

Season Sponsor: BMO

Esprit Orchestra is Canada’s only full-sized orchestra devoted exclusively to performing and promoting new orchestral music.
Esprit Orchestra gratefully acknowledges Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Azrieli Foundation, SOCAN Foundation, Ontario Arts Foundation, Toronto Arts Foundation, Business/Arts, The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation, The Mary-Margaret Webb Foundation, Tim & Frances Price, Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne, The Hal Jackman Foundation, Power Corporation of Canada, The Max Clarkson Family Foundation, The Amphion Foundation and Anonymous for their generous support.

Media Contact:

Cameron Dubé
cameron@espritorchestra.com
(416) 815-7887

12/12/23 12/12/23

Esprit Orchestra presents: Three

For Immediate Release – Tuesday, 12 December, 2023

ESPRIT ORCHESTRA PRESENTS: THREE

JANUARY 24TH AT KOERNER HALL

TORONTO, ON—Esprit Orchestra’s 41st season continues with THREE, taking place on January 24th, 2024 at Koerner Hall. Comprising works from three of today’s most compelling composers, Music Director Alex Pauk will conduct Esprit in a program spanning diverse and vivid musical worlds; an exploration of Schumann and Carl Jung by Misato Mochizuki; the history of Western opera as observed through the singular lens of Unsuk Chin; and Rita Ueda’s musical portrait of the immigrant experience, as told through Canadian bird calls. Composer Alexina Louie will moderate a free pre-concert talk beginning at 7:15PM.

In collaboration with some of the great orchestras from around the globe, Esprit has co-commissioned and will present the North American Premiere of Operascope, a new orchestral work composed by Unsuk Chin. Tracing the history of opera from Verdi through Messiaen, Chin described the work in the following way, “The work refers to the history of opera. […] it plays with allusions to music history (although not with quotes that are true to the score). The idea of opera as a ‘powerhouse of emotions’ played a role in the writing of this work.” Long champions of Unsuk Chin’s music, this performance of Operascopemarks Esprit’s eighth performance of her work and the first co-commission.

In Nigredo, composer Misato Mochizuki depicts in music Carl Jung’s concepts of “nigredo”; symbolizing the soul’s profound despair before a transformative regeneration, and “albedo”; a transformation akin to the alchemical principle of converting base elements; mercury, lead or copper, into such precious ones as gold and silver. Permeating this work is the music of Robert Schumann in a near subliminal homage, with an offstage piano playing a movement from Carnaval and music boxes twinkling with the melody from Träumerei. Commissioned by the New Japan Philharmonic, this performance marks the North American Premiere.

The question, “what is Canadian music?”, prompted composer Rita Ueda to write her work, Birds Calling…From the Canada in You, as the recipient of the 2022 Azrieli Music Prize commission for New Canadian Music. Incorporating a solo shō (Japanese mouth organ), sheng (Chinese mouth organ) and suona (Chinese shawm), these represent the composer’s Japanese-Canadian heritage as well as the Chinese-Canadian community. Situated all around the audience in the balconies of Koerner Hall, the orchestra envelops the audience in a shimmering soundscape of Canadian bird sounds. Reflecting Canada’s diverse and multicultural society, Birds Calling… challenges audiences to consider what it means to settle on land already rich in history; what does it truly mean to be Canadian? Joined by shō player Naomi Sato and sheng/suona player Zhongxi Wu, the pair for whom this work was composed, Esprit will present the Toronto Premiere in a performance supported by the Azrieli Foundation’s Performance Fund.

Wednesday January 24th, 2024
Koerner Hall
8PM Concert
7:15PM Pre-concert talk

Alex Pauk | Conductor
Naomi Sato | Shō
Zhongxi Wu | Sheng & Suona

Misato Mochizuki (Japan) Nigredo * (2009/10/18)
Hommage à Robert Schumann

* North American Premiere

Unsuk Chin (South Korea/Germany) Operascope * (2023)

* North American Premiere, co-commissioned by the Bayerische Staatsorchester, Esprit Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Sao Paulo State Symphony Orchestra & Tongyeong Festival

Rita Ueda (Canada) Birds Calling…From the Canada in You ** (2022)
for shō, sheng/suona & orchestra
I. Phoenix Flies Over the Ocean of Dreams
II. Birds Canada
III. Danger!
IV. From the Canada in You

** Toronto Premiere, originally commissioned by the Azrieli Foundation recognizing Rita Ueda as the recipient of the 2022 Azrieli Music Prize for New Canadian Music

10/25/23 10/25/23

Esprit Orchestra presents: CIRCLE MAPS

Download PDF release

TORONTO, ON - Esprit Orchestra continues its 41st season with CIRCLE MAPS, taking place on November 30th, 2023 at Koerner Hall. In a kaleidoscopic musical journey comprising diverse music by composers from Eastern-European and Baltic countries, Music Director Alex Pauk will lead Esprit Orchestra through music by Vito Žuraj (Slovenia), Žibuoklė Martinaitytė (Lithuania), Valentin Silvestrov (Ukraine) and Kaija Saariaho (Finland). The outstanding Canadian pianist Kevin Ahfat will appear as a soloist in his debut performance with Esprit Orchestra. Composer Alexina Louie will moderate a free pre-concert talk beginning at 7:15PM.

Please be advised that the planned performance of Alex Pauk’s “Concerto for Harp and Orchestra” has unfortunately had to be postponed. Esprit Orchestra is working to present this work, with harpist Erica Goodman, during an upcoming season.

Api-danza macabra by Vito Žuraj, in recalling both Rimsky-Korsakov’s famed “Flight of the Bumblebee” and the liturgical Dies Irae, employs charming wit and audacious orchestral writing to lament the tragic, yet still reversible, looming extinction of bees – a devastating ecological loss. In imitating the sound of bees, Žuraj has expanded the expressive possibility of orchestra, utilizing the buzzing of reeds and mouthpieces, jarring multiphonics and pencils drawn over strings to transport the audience to a musical apiary. Api-danza macabra, by one of Europe’s most inventive musical voices, receives its North American Premiere on this program.

Žibuoklė Martinaitytė, a composer known for works of intense beauty and spirituality, creates a sonic garden in her work Millefleur, which receives its Canadian Premiere on this program. Depicting an ornate tapestry of one thousand intricate flowers, Martinaitytė’s music shimmers and unfurls with enchanting radiance, richly enveloping the listener in aural beauty and luminosity.

Ukraine’s most esteemed composer, Valentin Silvestrov, now living in exile in Germany due to war, is represented with a performance of Postludium, a “symphonic poem” for piano and orchestra. Esprit will be joined by Toronto-based pianist Kevin Ahfat, in his debut appearance with the orchestra. A transcendant work of sublime beauty and deep introspection, this performance is dedicated to all those in our world suffering under war and conflict.

The late Kaija Saariaho, a singular trailblazer in both acoustic and electronic music, features prominently in this program with a performance of Circle Map; a series of evocative settings of poetry by the Persian mystic Rumi, for large orchestra and electronics. Comprising six movements, in which each has a distinct colour, orchestration and electronic treatment of the vivid Persian text, Circle Map reflects the very best of Saariaho’s bold and exceptionally beautiful musical output. Esprit will present the Canadian Premiere performance of this modern masterwork in honour of the late composer.

Vito Žuraj (Slovenia)
Api-danza macabra (2021)

Žibuoklė Martinaitytė (Lithuania)
Millefleur (2018)

Valentin Silvestrov (Ukraine)
Postludium (1984)

Kaija Saariaho (Finland)
Circle Map (2012)

8/22/23 8/22/23

Esprit Orchestra announces 2023/2024 Concert Season

For Immediate Release – Wednesday August 22nd, 2023

ESPRIT ORCHESTRA ANNOUNCES 41ST CONCERT SEASON AT KOERNER HALL

TORONTO, ON – Today, Esprit Orchestra announced its 41st season - a series of five concerts performed from October 2023 to April 2024 at Koerner Hall. Founding Music Director and Conductor Alex Pauk, C.M., leads the orchestra through a season of bold, visionary programming; a sonic exploration traversing centuries, continents and beyond. Highlights of the season include the North American Premiere of Operascope,an Esprit Orchestra co-commission by Unsuk Chin, spotlights on György Ligeti, Iannis Xenakis and R. Murray Schafer, a tribute to the late Kaija Saariaho, and numerous Canadian and North American Premiere performances.

On Sunday, October 15th, 2023, the season commences with X MARKS THE SPOT; a musical voyage spanning the depths of the sea to the vast infinity of the cosmos. Born out of a stomp along a Scottish beach, Anna Meredith’s stirring fanfare Nautilus began life as an electronic track, a cult favourite often employed as a soundtrack to scenes of chaos in film and television. The version presented on this program, receiving its Canadian Premiere, is a dynamic new orchestral arrangement. An ancient castle shrouded in the mist of the Bavarian mountains and the looming spectre of Wagner form the wellspring of inspiration for R. Murray Schafer’sDream Rainbow Dream Thunder, a cherished work and among the very first recorded by Esprit. Best known to movie-goers as underscoring for the endless void of deep space in “2001: A Space Odyssey”, György Ligeti’s epochal Atmosphèresexplores the extreme limits of sound and silence, as though suspended in the cosmos. Iannis Xenakis, the brilliant architect, mathematician and music revolutionary, is spotlighted through performances of two seminal works. In Pour les Baleines (For the Whales), a colossal string orchestra protests the slaughter and abuse of whales, while the seismically innovative Jonchaies (“the place where rushes grow”), composed for a staggering 109 musicians, oscillates rapidly through dramatic, sweeping gestures in sound. Jonchaies marks the apex of Xenakis’ output and a pinnacle of modern orchestral music.

CIRCLE MAPS, taking place on Thursday, November 30th, presents a kaleidoscopic view of diverse musical worlds; the sublime and vividly imagined yet also the introspective and the tangible. In honour of the late Kaija Saariaho, Esprit will present the Canadian Premiere of Circle Map, a mystical setting of texts by the great Persian poet Rumi, for large orchestra and electronics. In Api-danza macabra (Macabre Bee Dance of Death), Slovenian composer Vito Žuraj recalls The Flight of the Bumblebee with charisma, wit, and urgent immediacy while lamenting the dramatic ecological loss that is bee extinction. Millefleur, the sonic garden adorned with a thousand flowers by the ingenious Žibuoklė Martinaitytė, unfurls with the radiance of an ornate tapestry. Composed especially for the eminent harpist Erica Goodman, the Concerto for Harp and Orchestra by Esprit Music Director, Alex Pauk, provides a showcase for the exceptional virtuosity of this singular figure in Canadian music. In his debut appearance with Esprit, pianist Kevin Ahfat will perform the transcendental Postludium, for piano and orchestra by Valentin Silvestrov, Ukraine’s foremost composer now displaced due to Putin’s war.

The season continues on Thursday, January 24th, 2024 with 三 / THREE. In collaboration with exceptional orchestras from around the world, Esprit Orchestra has co-commissioned and will present the North American Premiere of Operascope, a new work for orchestra by the remarkable Unsuk Chin. Tracing the history of opera from Verdi to Berg, Operascope marks the most recent of Chin’s numerous orchestral works to be championed and performed by Esprit. Vancouver-based Rita Ueda, winner of the 2022 Azrieli Music Prize Commission for New Canadian Music,illustrates the rich diversity and multiculturalism of Canadian society in Birds Calling…From the Canada in You, for shō, sheng/suona and orchestra. Surrounding the audience throughout the concert hall, a forest of swirling Canadian bird sounds mingle with Japanese and Chinese solo instruments for a deeply moving musical experience unlike any other. Through the lens of Jungian psychology, Misato Mochizuki’s Nigredo offers a nuanced homage to the great Robert Schumann while mirroring his mental decline.

Thursday, March 28th, 2024 sees Esprit Orchestra present VIOLINISSIMO II, a reprise of last season’s acclaimed celebration of the violin concerto. Off the heels of performing Spring and Winter from Max Richter’s Recomposed Four Seasons,violinist Aaron Schwebel returns to perform this fabulous work in its entirety. In sharp contrast to this modern and minimalist reimagining of Vivaldi, the program includes the diabolically virtuosic and astonishing Concerto for Violin and Orchestra by György Ligeti, performed by violinist Mark Fewer. In this ingenious synthesis of bold, experimental sounds and textures, Ligeti fearlessly employs unconventional tunings, choirs of ocarinas, recorders and slide whistles, with brash aggressive gestures juxtaposed with sumptuous folkloric melodies; a musical summit for the boldest of virtuosi with an indelible impact. Bridging these Baroque-inspired and hyper-modernist sound worlds will be a performance of Continuum, an amuse-bouche of sorts for solo harpsichordperformed by Toronto-based Wesley Shen.

SONIC UNIVERSE, the finale of Esprit Orchestra’s 41st season on Thursday, April 25th, 2024, contains two masterworks from two of the greatest composers of our time. Following a deeply moving recent performance for which the composer was present, mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabo returns to reprise the role of Clara Schumann in R. Murray Schafer’s poignant monodrama, Adieu Robert Schumann. Selections from Clara’s diaries, fragments of Schumann’s lieder and piano works, particularly “Dein Angesicht so lieb und schön”, written at the time of his earliest hallucinations, comprise the foundation for this dramatic setting of the composer’s final days. American composer John Adams is regarded as one of today’s foremost composers and perhaps the most prolific American musical voice. Named for Schoenberg’s sweeping treatise on musical harmony, Harmonielehre comprises a massively sophisticated, imaginative and referential symphonic experience that unfolds over three expansive movements. Incorporating minimalist development techniques, imitations of late-romanticism, references to Sibelius and Mahler and intimations of impressionism. In postmodernist fashion Adams looks to the past while charting a path into the future, as though the crux of contemporary music’s past and future is embodied in a single work.

Sunday October 15th, 2023 | Koerner Hall
Concert: 8PM | Pre-concert talk: 7:15PM
Alex Pauk |Conductor

X MARKS THE SPOT

Anna Meredith (Scotland) Nautilus*, 2011-21
arranged for orchestra by Jack Ross

* Canadian Premiere

Iannis Xenakis (Greece) Pour les Baleines, 1986
(For the Whales) for large string orchestra

György Ligeti (Hungary) Atmosphères, 1961
for large orchestra

R. Murray Schafer (Canada) Dream Rainbow Dream Thunder, 1986

Iannis Xenakis (Greece) Jonchaies, 1977
for 109 musicians

Thursday November 30th, 2023 | Koerner Hall
Concert: 8PM | Pre-concert talk: 7:15PM

Alex Pauk | Conductor
Erica Goodman | Harp
Kevin Ahfat | Piano

CIRCLE MAPS

Vito Žuraj (Slovenia) Api-danza macabra (Macabre Bee Dance)*, 2021

* North American Premiere

Žibuoklė Martinaitytė(Lithuania)
Millefleur**, 2018

** Canadian Premiere

Alex Pauk (Canada) Concerto for Harp & Orchestra, 2005
Originally commissioned by Erica Goodman with the support of the Ontario Arts Council
I. Floating World
II. Riffs
III. Embrace
IV. Cadenza
V. Salsalito

Valentin Silvestrov (Ukraine) Postludium, 1984
Symphonic Poem for Piano & Orchestra

Kaija Saariaho (Finland) Circle Map**, 2012
for orchestra and electronics

** Canadian Premiere

Wednesday January 24th, 2024 | Koerner Hall
Concert: 8PM | Pre-concert talk: 7:15PM

Alex Pauk |Conductor
Naomi Sato | Shō
Zhongxi Wu | Sheng/Suona

三 [ THREE ]

Misato Mochizuki(Japan) Nigredo*(2009/rev.2018)
Hommage à Robert Schumann

* North American Premiere

Unsuk Chin(South Korea) Operascope**, 2023

** North American Premiere, co-commissioned by the

Bayerische Staatsorchester (DE) Esprit Orchestra (CA), Orchestre de Paris (FR), Sao Paulo State Symphony Orchestra (BR) & Tongyeong Festival (KR)

Rita Ueda(Canada) Birds Calling…From the Canada in You***, 2022
for shō, sheng/suona & orchestra
I. Phoenix Flies Over the Ocean of Dreams
II. Birds Canada
III. Danger!
IV. From the Canada in You

*** Toronto Premiere, originally commissioned by the Azrieli

Foundation, recognizing Rita Ueda as the recipient of the 2022 Azrieli Music Prize for New Canadian Music.

Thursday March 28th, 2024 | Koerner Hall
Concert: 8PM | Pre-concert talk: 7:15PM

Alex Pauk | Conductor
Aaron Schwebel | Violin
Wesley Shen | Harpsichord
Mark Fewer | Violin

VIOLINISSIMO II

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

Thursday April 25th, 2024 | Koerner Hall
Concert: 8PM | Pre-concert talk: 7:15PM

Alex Pauk | Conductor
Krisztina Szabo | Mezzo Soprano

SONIC UNIVERSE

R. Murray Schafer(Canada) Adieu Robert Schumann, 1976
for mezzo soprano & orchestra

John Adams(United States) Harmonielehre, 1985
I. First Movement
II. The Anfortas Wound
III. Meister Eckhardt and Quackie

All programming is subject to change without notice

ESPRIT ORCHESTRA 2023-2024 KOERNER HALL SUBSCRIPTION SERIES

TICKETS ON SALE SEPTEMBER 5TH

Royal Conservatory of Music
TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning
273 Bloor Street West

Individual concert tickets start at: Adult $48; Senior 65+ $45; Under 30 $28; Student $28

Please call (416) 408 0208 or visit espritorchestra.com

Season Sponsor:

Esprit Orchestra is Canada’s only full-sized orchestra devoted exclusively to performing and promoting new orchestral music. Esprit Orchestra gratefully acknowledges Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Azrieli Foundation, SOCAN Foundation, Ontario Arts Foundation, Toronto Arts Foundation, Business/Arts, The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation, The Mary-Margaret Webb Foundation, Tim & Frances Price, Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne, The Hal Jackman Foundation, Power Corporation of Canada, The Max Clarkson Family Foundation, The Amphion Foundation and Anonymous for their generous support.

Media Contact:

Cameron Dubé
cameron@espritorchestra.com
(416) 815-7887

2/21/23 2/21/23

Esprit announces New Wave Festival at TD Music Hall & Season Finale at Koerner Hall

For Immediate Release – Tuesday, 21 February, 2023

Esprit announces New Wave Festival at TD Music Hall & Season Finale at Koerner Hall

Esprit Orchestra’s 40th Anniversary Season continues with the return of the New Wave Festival, a concert lounge experience with programs at 7:00PM on Wednesday, April 12th and Sunday, April 16th. Offering attendees stunning views of Toronto’s urban landscape through floor to ceiling windows, the 2023 New Wave Festival will be presented at the newly opened, state-of-the-art TD Music Hall, part of the Allied Music Centre connected to historic Massey Hall. A convergence of contemporary music and nightlife, the festival has an atmosphere more akin to a lounge than a traditional concert hall. The TD Music Hall is a casual and dynamic space equipped with a full-service bar in addition to top-of-the-line immersive audio, video and lightning capabilities which perfectly befit Esprit’s bold and experimental programmes.

Esprit’s annual New Wave Festival was established in 2002 to support the careers of emerging Canadian composers. Forgoing the formality of the concert hall in exchange for a relaxed and social space, composers, performers, artists and the public are invited to mingle and network while experiencing Esprit’s quintessentially innovative and audacious programming in a uniquely intimate setting. April 12th will include brief keynote commentary from esteemed Canadian composer John Rea, while April 16th will feature a short roundtable exploring the extraordinary creative lives of composer Julius Eastman and his contemporary, Claude Vivier.

With two distinct programs, the concerts comprise brand new commissioned pieces by young Canadian composers engaged in Esprit’s Three Year Creative Strategy, curated alongside works from new music’s most radical and influential figures. April 12th’s New Wave 1 will include World Premieres of two Esprit commissioned works, L’histoire que les vagues racontent for chamber orchestra and electronics by Sophie Dupuis and Roydon Tse’s Mobilize, for sinfonietta. The program also includes Akira Nishimura’s Kecak, Claude Vivier’s enchanting Pulau Dewata in an arrangement by John Rea, and the World Premiere of Chris Paul Harman’s Partita No. 2 for Solo Violin, performed by soloist Mark Fewer.

New Wave 2, on April 16th features Misato Mochizuki’s science and techno inspired Chimera, a stirring complement to World Premieres of new works for chamber orchestra by Canadians Julia Mermelstein and Stephanie Orlando. Among the first major performances of his work in this country, Esprit presents the Canadian Premiere of the fearless and trailblazing Julius Eastman’s Gay Guerrilla, in an arrangement for string septet by fellow American Jessie Montgomery. A true visionary, Eastman was unafraid of controversy, stating as his personal motto, “to be what I am to the fullest: Black to the fullest, a musician to the fullest, and a homosexual to the fullest.” Eastman’s staunch embrace of his race and sexuality often vexed his audiences, who were provoked by his controversial practice of using affronting, offensive language and slurs as the titles of his works. Rooted in improvisation and imbued with spirituality, Eastman’s music, including 1979’s Gay Guerrilla, is distinctly of its time yet still intensely relevant and radical today. Eastman’s friend, Mary-Jane Leach, once succinctly described him and his music as such, “Julius Eastman was a gay African-American composer of works that were minimal in form but maximal in effect.”

Sunday, April 23rd sees Esprit and Music Director Alex Pauk return to Koerner Hall with a big, bold and visionary program that serves as the finale of Esprit’s landmark 40th Anniversary concert season. World Premieres of works by Canadian composers Chris Paul Harman and Eugene Astapov will be accompanied by Esprit’s first performance of the groundbreaking 2012 work, The Four Seasons Recomposed, a reimagining of Vivaldi by Max Richter with violinist Aaron Schwebel appearing as soloist. The evening concludes with John Corigliano’s powerful and profoundly evocative Symphony No. 1, composed in memory of the composer’s dearest musician friends who were lost to the AIDS epidemic.

ESPRIT ORCHESTRA PRESENTS: NEW WAVE FESTIVAL 2023

TD Music Hall | 178 Victoria St. | $20 Tickets

Festival Sponsors: Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne, SOCAN Foundation and The Azrieli Foundation

NEW WAVE 1

Wednesday, April 12th, 2023 | 7:00PM

Alex Pauk, C.M. | Conductor
Mark Fewer | Violin

SOPHIE DUPUIS (Canada)| L'histoire que les vague racontent** (2021-2022)
for 14 musicians and live electronics

ROYDON TSE (Canada) |Mobilize**(2022)
for sinfonietta

SALVATORE SCIARRINO(Italy) |Brazil(1988)
(arrangement 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

NEW WAVE 2

Sunday, April 16th, 2023 | 7:00PM

Alex Pauk, C.M. | Conductor
Ryan Scott | Snare Drum

MISATO MOCHIZUKI (Japan) |Chimera (2000)
for 11 players

JULIUS EASTMAN (United States) |Gay Guerrilla*** (1979)
arr. JESSIE MONTGOMERY (United States)
for string septet

ANDREW STANILAND (Canada) |Orion Constellation Theory (2014)
for solo snare drum and electronics
Ryan Scott, snare drum

JULIA MERMELSTEIN (Canada) |between walls** (2023)
for chamber orchestra and electronics

STEPHANIE ORLANDO (Canada) | 4-7-8**(2023)
for chamber orchestra

STEVE REICH (United States) |Sextet (1984)
for percussion and keyboards

*World Premiere | ***Canadian Premiere
**World Premiere commissioned by Esprit with the generous support of the Ontario Arts Council

ESPRIT ORCHESTRA 2022/23 CONCERT SEASON

Sunday, April 23rd, 2023

Esprit Orchestra Presents: Season Finale
8:00 pm Concert | 7:15 pm Pre-Concert Talk
Pre-concert talk moderated by composer Alexina Louie, O.C.

Alex Pauk, C.M. | Conductor
Eugene Astapov | RBC Associate Composer/Conductor
Aaron Schwebel | 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* (2023)

JOHN CORIGLIANO(United States) | Symphony No. 1 (1988)

Apologue: Of Rage and Remembrance
Tarantella
Chaconne: Giulio’s Song
Epilogue

*World Premiere** World Premiere commissioned by Esprit with generous support from the RBC Foundation, SOCAN Foundation and Sofia Gomez Gibbons

ESPRIT ORCHESTRA 40TH ANNIVERSARY KOERNER HALL SERIES

Royal Conservatory of Music TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning

273 Bloor Street West

Individual concert tickets start at: Adult $45; Senior 65+ $45; Under 30 $27; Student $25

Please call (416) 408 0208 or visit rcmusic.com

Season Sponsor:

Esprit Orchestra is Canada’s only full-sized orchestra devoted exclusively to performing and promoting new orchestral music.

Esprit Orchestra gratefully acknowledges Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Azrieli Foundation, SOCAN Foundation, Ontario Arts Foundation, The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation, The Mary-Margaret Webb Foundation, Tim & Frances Price, Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne, Power Corporation of Canada, RBC Foundation, The Max Clarkson Family Foundation, The Charles H. Ivey Foundation, The Amphion Foundation and Anonymous for their generous support.

Media Contact:

Cameron Dubé
cameron@espritorchestra.com
(416) 815-7887

1/16/23 1/16/23

Our friend, José Evangelista (1943-2023)

For Immediate Release – January 16th, 2023

STATEMENT FROM THE ESPRIT ORCHESTRA AND MUSIC DIRECTOR ALEX PAUK ON THE DEATH OF COMPOSER JOSÉ EVANGELISTA

Our dear friend José Evangelista was the third composer to be commissioned in the early years of Esprit Orchestra’s existence. The commissioned work, titled Elephant in the Dark, revealed José’s penchant for bringing many diverse cultural influences into his music.

Over the past 40 years we’ve premiered and performed many more of his works making them part of Esprit’s musical fabric.

The brilliant title, Violinissimo that he gave to his violin concerto, became the title for an entire Esprit concert of violin concerti, including his, that we presented on November 27, 2022. Even though we knew he was ill, it wasn’t expected that within a few short weeks after our concert, José would pass away and Aaron Schwebel’s beautiful interpretation would contribute to Esprit’s last performance of his music while he was alive. We wish he could have been with us at the concert.

Alex Pauk, C.M.
Music Director

Violinissimo, the concerto, opened Violinissimo the concert. Click below to experience this virtuosic showpiece.

José Evangelisa- Violinissimo

12/14/22 12/14/22

Esprit Orchestra presents: TAIKO LIVE!

For Immediate Release – December 14th, 2022

ESPRIT ORCHESTRA PRESENTS: TAIKO LIVE!

Esprit Orchestra’s 40th Anniversary Season continues at Koerner Hall on Wednesday, January 25th at 8:00pm with TAIKO LIVE! as part of the Royal Conservatory of Music’s 21C Music Festival. In quintessential Esprit fashion, Music Director Alex Pauk’s bold programming sees the fusion of diverse cultures and traditions, first sweeping listeners away to the lush, vibrant shores of Bali in Colin McPhee’s Tabuh-tabuhan and then into the exhilarating, heart-thumping tradition of Japanese Taiko drumming in Maki Ishii’s Mono-prism with Esprit being joined by Toronto based taiko ensemble Nagata Shachu. The evening is highlighted by an appearance of the brilliant rising-star Canadian cellist Cameron Crozman as soloist in the World Premiere performance of the Esprit commissioned Overbound, for amplified solo cello, electronics and orchestra by the daring and wildly inventive composer James O’Callaghan. Composer Alexina Louie will moderate a Pre-Concert Chat at 7:15pm.

Esprit’s season will continue with a Spring/Summer subscription series and the return of the annual New Wave Festival. Details will be outlined in a forthcoming announcement.

An audience favourite back by popular demand, Colin McPhee’s Tabuh-tabuhan holds a treasured place on this program and in the history of Esprit. McPhee was inspired by the traditional techniques of Balinese gamelan and his years conducting musicological research in Bali. He was the first composer of Western music to visit the verdant Indonesian islands. Constructed around a “nuclear gamelan” comprised of two pianos, celeste, marimba, xylophone and glockenspiel that mimic the various gongs and chimes in which Bali’s musical tradition is rooted, each of Tabuh-tabuhan’s three movements are underscored by syncopation and shifting metre with a distinctly percussive quality. Esprit has long been linked to the music of McPhee, particularly thanks to a series of recordings in the 1990’s by Esprit of many works by McPhee including Tabuh-tabuhan.

Keeping in the spirit of fusion and experimentation, the World Premiere performance of Overbound by the Berlin-based Canadian composer and sound artist James O’Callaghan sees the acoustic orchestra meet electronic enhancement in the most dynamic, electric and theatrical of fashions. Set for solo cello with amplification, octophonic (surround-sound) electronics and orchestra, Overbound’s live electronic manipulation interacts sensitively with the solo cellist thanks to suspended microphones near the soloist’s head before sounding to the audience through eight loud-speakers situated throughout the hall. The exceptional young Canadian cellist Cameron Crozman, for whom this work was composed, will perform as soloist in his first appearance with Esprit.

The conclusion of the program sees another compelling convergence of East-meets-West, by way of Japanese composer Maki Ishii’s Mono-prism, for Japanese Taiko drums and orchestra. Toronto-based Taiko ensemble Nagata Shachu returns to perform this work with Esprit subsequent to last performing it with the orchestra in 2018. Informed by the composer’s experience and education in both Eastern and Western music, Mono-prism juxtaposes the “monochromatic” and homogenous character of the traditional Japanese drums against the “prismatic” and vibrant colours of the Western orchestra. Traditionally, taiko drums have been associated with religious festivals with the aim of awakening heavenly spirits. Mono-prism, in its reverential fusion of culture and tradition, illustrates an inspired, emotional portrait of the natural world and humanity and promises to leave a meaningful impression on all who experience the thrilling intensity of this music.

Esprit Orchestra Presents: TAIKO LIVE!

21C Music Festival Presented by the Royal Conservatory of Music

Wednesday, January 25th, 2023
8:00 pm Concert | 7:15 pm Pre-Concert Talk

Alex Pauk – Conductor
Cameron Crozman- Cello
James O’Callaghan- Electronics
Nagata Shachu- Japanese Taiko drumming ensemble

Pre-Concert Chat moderated by composer Alexina Louie

Programme:

Colin McPhee (Canada) Tabuh-tabuhan (1936)
for two pianos & orchestra
Wesley Shen, piano
Stephanie Chua, piano

James O’Callaghan (Canada) Overbound (2022)**
concerto for amplified cello, octophonic electronics & orchestra
Cameron Crozman, cello

Maki Ishii (Japan)Mono-prism (1976)

Nagata Shachu, Taiko drums
for Japanese Taiko drums & orchestra

**World Premiere & Esprit Commission

ESPRIT ORCHESTRA

Royal Conservatory of Music
TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning
273 Bloor Street West

Individual concert tickets start at: Adult $45; Senior 65+ $45; Under 30 $27; Student $25

Please call (416) 408 0208 or visit espritorchestra.com

Season Sponsor:

Esprit Orchestra is Canada’s only full-sized orchestra devoted exclusively to performing and promoting new orchestral music. Esprit Orchestra gratefully acknowledges Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Azrieli Foundation, SOCAN Foundation, Ontario Arts Foundation, The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation, The Mary-Margaret Webb Foundation, Tim & Frances Price, Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne, Power Corporation of Canada, RBC Foundation, The Max Clarkson Family Foundation, The Charles H. Ivey Foundation, The Amphion Foundation and Anonymous for their generous support.

Media Contact:

Cameron Dubé
cameron@espritorchestra.com
(416) 815-7887

11/7/22 11/7/22

Esprit Orchestra Presents: VIOLINISSIMO

For Immediate Release – November 7, 2022

ESPRIT ORCHESTRA PRESENTS: VIOLINISSIMO

Esprit Orchestra’s 40th Anniversary Season continues at Koerner Hall on Sunday, November 27th at 8:00pm with VIOLINISSIMO, a remarkable evening of Canadian violin concertos with three of Toronto’s finest concertmasters as soloists. José Evangelista’s Violinissimo and John Rea’s Figures hâtives, established works from Esprit’s history accompany the World Premiere performance of Andrew Staniland’s Six Enigmas featuring the concertmaster of Esprit, Stephen Sitarski as soloist. Concertmaster of the National Ballet of Canada Orchestra, Aaron Schwebel and Concertmaster of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, Marie Bérard appear as soloists in the Evangelista and Rea respectively, and all three will unite to conclude this novel evening with a celebratory first performance by Esprit of Triple Concerto for Three Violins and Orchestra written by composer Alexina Louie, O.C. who will also moderate a pre-concert talk featuring composers and soloists prior to the concert at 7:15pm.

Esprit’s fall/winter subscription series will continue with TAIKO LIVE! on January 25th, as part of the Royal Conservatory of Music’s 21C Music Festival with a spring/summer series to be announced.

Evangelista’s Violinissimo, composed in 1992 for the Orquestra de Valencia combines the familiarity of the traditional concerto structure with Evangelista’s trademark flare and intensity. Violinissimo, the title attributed to this work by Evangelista solely to sound more interesting than just “Concerto for Violin” reflects the composer’s intensity and passion, particularly in the outer movements Acrobatico and Vertiginoso. This performance marks the first appearance by violinist Aaron Schwebel as a soloist with Esprit. Violinissimo was last performed by Esprit in 2006.

Figures hâtives or “Hurried Figures” was born, at least in part, out of a child telling composer John Rea that being impatient is “when one waits fast” and Rea’s desire to illustrate this paradox musically. Cast in a single movement, Figures hâtives juxtaposes agitated rhythmic figures against soaring elegant lines rapidly and with haste; a relentless push and pull resulting in the feeling of a frenzied yet static state. Commissioned and premiered by the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal in 2006, Esprit and violinist Marie Bérard return to this work since last performing it together in 2009.

Composed for and in close collaboration with Esprit’s concertmaster Stephen Sitarski, Andrew Staniland’s Six Enigmas promises to thrill the audience with its brilliant virtuosity, challenge with Staniland’s trademark bold and visionary language and excite with a surprise… or six! This World Premiere Performance is possible with the generous support of The Michael & Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation.

Concluding this one-of-a-kind event is a must-hear performance of the jubilant and thrilling Triple Concerto for Three Violins and Orchestra by Alexina Louie. This truly unique work was commissioned for the Sesquicentennial of Canada by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal & the National Arts Centre Orchestra, with the concertmaster from each orchestra forming the trio of soloists in a joyous musical celebration of Canada. Esprit Orchestra, in their first performance of this work, with their own trio of concertmasters will direct the celebratory nature of this music to their home, Toronto, to these violinists who lead and represent the very best in this city’s music community, and to the 40th Anniversary of Esprit.

ESPRIT ORCHESTRA 2022/23 CONCERT SEASON

Sunday, November 27th, 2022
Esprit Orchestra Presents: VIOLINISSIMO

8:00 pm Concert | 7:15 pm Pre-Concert Talk
Pre-Concert Chat moderated by composer Alexina Louie, O.C.

Alex Pauk, C.M. – Conductor
Aaron Schwebel- Violin
Stephen Sitarski- Violin
Marie Bérard- Violin

Programme:

José Evangelista (Canada) Violinissimo (1992)
concerto for violin & orchestra
Aaron Schwebel, violin

Andrew Staniland (Canada) Six Enigmas (2022)**
concerto for violin & orchestra
Stephen Sitarski, violin

John Rea (Canada) Figures hâtives (2006)
concerto for violin & orchestra
Marie Bérard, violin

Alexina Louie (Canada) Triple Concerto for Three Violins & Orchestra (2017)
Aaron Schwebel, Stephen Sitarski
Marie Bérard, violins

**World Premiere & Esprit Commission

ESPRIT ORCHESTRA 40TH ANNIVERSARY KOERNER HALL SUBSCRIPTION SERIES

Royal Conservatory of Music
TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning
273 Bloor Street West

Individual concert tickets start at: Adult $45; Senior 65+ $45; Under 30 $27; Student $25

Please call (416) 408 0208 or visit espritorchestra.com

Season Sponsor:

Esprit Orchestra is Canada’s only full-sized orchestra devoted exclusively to performing and promoting new orchestral music. Esprit Orchestra gratefully acknowledges Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Azrieli Foundation, SOCAN Foundation, Ontario Arts Foundation, The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation, The Mary-Margaret Webb Foundation, Tim & Frances Price, Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne, Power Corporation of Canada, RBC Foundation, The Max Clarkson Family Foundation, The Charles H. Ivey Foundation, The Amphion Foundation and Anonymous for their generous support.

Media Contact:

Cameron Dubé
cameron@espritorchestra.com
(416) 815-7887

10/13/22 10/13/22

Esprit Orchestra Presents: SPIRA

For Immediate Release – October 13, 2022

ESPRIT ORCHESTRA PRESENTS: SPIRA

Esprit Orchestra will commence their 40th Anniversary Season with a fall/winter subscription concert series at Koerner Hall on Thursday, October 27th with SPIRA, a dynamic and exhilarating program. The series will continue on November 27th with VIOLINISSIMO, a must-see evening of Canadian violin concertos performed by three of Toronto’s finest concertmasters and TAIKO LIVE! on January 25th, a riveting fusion of technology and cultures as part of the Royal Conservatory of Music’s 21C Music Festival. These programs encompass the core values of Esprit: repeat performances of commissioned Canadian music, giving the Canadian premieres of exceptional International music and presenting the great masterworks of our time. Esprit Orchestra kicks off the celebration of its 40th anniversary with an evening of music by composers Christopher Goddard, Unsuk Chin & Thomas Adès.

Goddard’s Les tringles des sistres tintaient, first commissioned and premiered by Esprit in 2018 will captivate the audience through its bold reimagining of the fiery Bohemian song which opens the second act of Bizet’s iconic Carmen. Though deeply imbued with the opera’s spirit as many other “Carmen Fantasies” before it, Goddard’s work is distinct in it’s elaborate distortion and transformation of the “metallic lustre” of a “strange music” from a brief, charming moment to a complete and dynamic work driven by perpetual motion. The composer, on this work, said the following: “This is Carmen “through the looking glass”, where things are subjected to all manner of topsy-turvy distortions, through which their essence is not obscured, but amplified.”

Unsuk Chin, among the most daring and brilliant composers of our time, wrote Spira, A Concerto for Orchestra on a commission from the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Receiving its Canadian Premiere with Esprit in Toronto, Spira draws its name from the “spira-mirabilis”, the scientific concept of the “growth spiral” that appears throughout nature; a snail shell is a prime example. From silence, a pair of bowed vibraphones emerge, providing rich overtones that interact and interfere intimately with the orchestra, triggering sequences that are at once rhythmic and harmonic and then immediately frenzied and dissonant; as if one is peering through a microscope at the sound’s molecular level.

Asyla, the acclaimed work for large orchestra by UK composer Thomas Adès boldly concludes this program in an explicitly uncompromising and adventurously vivid manner. In four movements, Asyla resembles but subverts the traditional symphonic form, abandoning convention and tradition for limitless creative expression. Adès’ widely expanded orchestra is employed to tremendous effect; the percussion plays bags of assorted cutlery, a water gong and a washboard, the second movement unfolds with a haunting and unsettling melody by the seldom used bass oboe, and an upright piano tuned down a quarter tone clouds and distorts the sound world. The programmatic third movement, Ecstasio, evokes the frenzied energy of an edgy London nightclub through layers of repetitive dance-like figures that swell to a raving and thunderous cacophony.

ESPRIT ORCHESTRA 2022/23 CONCERT SEASON

Thursday, October 27th, 2022
Esprit Orchestra Presents: SPIRA

8:00pm Concert | 7:15pm Pre-Concert Chat
Pre-Concert Chat moderated by composer Alexina Louie, O.C.

Alex Pauk, C.M. – Conductor

Programme:

Christopher Goddard (Canada) Les tringles des sistres tintaient** (2018)
Concerto for Orchestra

Unsuk Chin (S.Korea/Germany) Spira (2019)*

Thomas Adès (United Kingdom) Asyla (1997)
for large orchestra

*Canadian Premiere by Esprit Orchestra
**Originally commissioned and premiered by Esprit Orchestra with generous support from The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation

ESPRIT ORCHESTRA KOERNER HALL SUBSCRIPTION SERIES

Royal Conservatory of Music
TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning
273 Bloor Street West

Individual concert tickets start at: Adult $45; Senior 65+ $45; Under 30 $27; Student $25

Please call (416) 408 0208 or visit espritorchestra.com

Season Sponsor:

Esprit Orchestra is Canada’s only full-sized orchestra devoted exclusively to performing and promoting new orchestral music. Esprit Orchestra gratefully acknowledges Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Azrieli Foundation, SOCAN Foundation, Ontario Arts Foundation, The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation, The Mary-Margaret Webb Foundation, Tim & Frances Price, Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne, Power Corporation of Canada, RBC Foundation, The Max Clarkson Family Foundation, The Charles H. Ivey Foundation, The Amphion Foundation and Anonymous for their generous support.

Media Contact:

Cameron Dube
Administration & Marketing Coordinator
cameron@espritorchestra.com
(416) 815-7887

9/7/22 9/7/22

Esprit at 40 – Astounding!

For Immediate Release – September 7, 2022

ESPRIT AT 40. ASTOUNDING!

Esprit Orchestra’s 40th Anniversary Season (2022-2023) begins with a fall-winter subscription concert series celebrating Maestro Alex Pauk’s founding of Canada’s foremost, unique, full-sized orchestra exclusively devoted to presenting the music of today. A 2023 spring series will be announced in November.The opening three concerts, on October 27, November 27 and January 25, all presented in Toronto’sstunning and acoustically superb Koerner Hall, exemplify Esprit’s programming of the best music by thegreatest living composers from around the world including Thomas Adès, and Unsuk Chin. Canada’s best composers such as John Rea, Colin McPhee, José Evangelista and Alexina Louie are also represented.Additionally, Esprit’s commitment to developing new repertoire continues with World Premieres ofcommissioned works by Canadians Andrew Staniland and James O’Callaghan, as well as a repeatperformance of an Esprit commission by Ottawa composer Christopher Goddard. Esprit’s Pre-concertTalks, hosted by esteemed Canadian composer Alexina Louie, are featured at 7:15pm prior to eachconcert.

Kicking off this special season is SPIRA (October 27th, 2022), a riveting program marked by the CanadianPremiere of the masterful Unsuk Chin’s Spira (Concerto for Orchestra), a fascinating work of virtuosity,unconventional textures and sonorities depicting growth and metamorphosis in the natural world. Openingthis program is Christopher Goddard’s Les tringles des sistres tintaient, a work that reimagines thefamous gypsy song from the second act of Bizet’s Carmen. Concluding this program is the iconic Asyla, byThomas Adès. Given its Canadian Premiere by Esprit Orchestra in 2004, the alternately violently raucousand deeply meditative Asyla has become one of the most well-known, frequently performed new orchestralworks of our time, thrilling audiences around the world through its expansive and dynamic sound world.

Esprit Orchestra’s 40-year commitment to highlighting superb Canadian music and performers continueswith VIOLINISSIMO (November 27th, 2022), a program featuring four astounding Canadian contributionsto the violin concerto repertory with soloists being concertmasters from three great Toronto orchestras.Aaron Schwebel (National Ballet of Canada Orchestra), Marie Bérard (Canadian Opera CompanyOrchestra) and Stephen Sitarski (Esprit Orchestra) will respectively perform the Violinissimo by JoséEvangelista, Figures hâtives by John Rea, and Six Enigmas (World Premiere) by Andrew Staniland.The concert’s special finale will feature all three soloists in a performance of Alexina Louie’s shimmering,electrifying Triple Concerto for Three Violins and Orchestra.

As part of the Royal Conservatory of Music’s 21C Music Festival, Esprit Orchestra will present TAIKOLIVE! (January 25, 2023), a trip to the fantastical soundworld of Japanese composer Maki Ishii’s Mono-prismfeaturing the return of the spectacular Toronto Taiko drumming group Nagata Shachu. EspritOrchestra is thrilled to have rising star Canadian cellist Cameron Crozman join Esprit for the WorldPremiere of James O’Callaghan’s Overbound. With eight loudspeakers surrounding the audience,Overbound blends solo cello, electronic and orchestral sound in a dynamic, immersive experience of soniccolours and textures. Rounding out this distinctive program is Tabuh-tabuhan for two pianos and orchestraby Colin McPhee. Influenced by the Balinese Gamelan tradition and the composer’s time living in Bali,McPhee’s lively work features upbeat and vibrant melodic and rhythmic motifs that transport listeners toanother time and place of an exotic nature.

ESPRIT ORCHESTRA KOERNER HALL SUBSCRIPTION SERIESRoyal Conservatory of Music TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning 273 Bloor Street WestIndividual concert tickets start at: Adult $45; Senior 65+ $45; Under 30 $27; Student $25 Pleasvisit espritorchestra.comConcerts: 8pm Pre-Concert Talks: 7:15pm

October 27th, 2022- SPIRA

November 27th, 2022- VIOLINISSIMO

January 25th, 2023- TAIKO LIVE!

*World Premiere Performance Commissioned by Esprit
** Canadian Premiere

Season Sponsor:

Esprit Orchestra is Canada’s only full-sized orchestra devoted exclusively to performing and promoting new orchestralmusic. Esprit Orchestra gratefully acknowledges Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council,Azrieli Foundation, SOCAN Foundation, Ontario Arts Foundation, The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation,The Mary-Margaret Webb Foundation, Timothy & Frances Price, Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne, Power Corporation ofCanada, RBC Foundation, The Max Clarkson Family Foundation, The Charles H. Ivey Foundation, The AmphionFoundation and Anonymous for their generous support.

Media Contact:

Cameron Dube
Administrative Coordinator
(416) 815-7887
cameron@espritorchestra.com

6/17/20 6/17/20

Esprit Orchestra Announces RBC Associate Composer/Conductor

For Immediate Release on June 17, 2020

Esprit Orchestra Announces First RBC Associate Composer/Conductor Program, Names Eugene Astapov to the Role

Esprit Orchestra is thrilled to announce the launch of its inaugural RBC Associate Composer/Conductor Program. This program will provide mentoring and practical, professional leadership training and experience for an emerging conductor who is also a composer. This two-year position includes opportunities to write a new work for the full orchestra, to conduct selected pieces at public concerts, to interact with Canadian and international composers, and to connect with stakeholders, audiences and the media.

Esprit has appointed Eugene Astapov, a Toronto-based composer, to take on the role of Esprit’s RBC Associate Composer/Conductor for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 seasons. Astapov has participated with the Esprit team over the past several seasons as a commissioned composer as well as a mentor to students enrolled in our Creative Sparks program; he was a participant of Creative Sparks himself as a young high school student before going on to study composition at the Julliard and Eastman schools of music. Astapov is the Grand Prize winner of the 2019 SOCAN Foundation’s Young Composer Awards, and holds a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from the University of Toronto.

“I am thrilled to have been appointed Esprit’s inaugural Composer/Conductor Associate,” said Astapov, of his new role. “One of my foremost artistic goals is to nurture and promote the music of living composers. With Esprit Orchestra’s platform as Canada’s premier institution for championing contemporary music, I will make it my mission to assist in presenting cutting edge performances of the highest caliber, inclusive of all styles and languages, ensuring great diversity and representation of artistic voices from every cultural background.”

Astapov brings a fresh perspective as an emerging composer and will be a valuable addition to the Esprit team under the mentorship of Founding Music Director and Conductor, Alex Pauk. Astapov will shadow the Music Director in every aspect of artistic leadership and score study, will conduct rehearsals and parts of main stage concerts and will play an important part in planning, programming and conducting Esprit’s New Wave Festival for young composers. Pauk states, “Eugene is an excellent match for this initiative and will help advance Esprit’s connection to the world of emerging composers. His well-crafted music has lasting value and he has proven potential to make a strong impact as a conductor of new music.”

Esprit’s RBC Associate Composer/Conductor Program is made possible with generous support from the RBC Foundation through the RBC Emerging Artists Project, enabling Esprit to establish this program as a significant component in the development of young artists.

Season Sponsor:

Esprit Orchestra is Canada’s only full-sized orchestra devoted exclusively to performing and promoting new orchestral music. Esprit Orchestra gratefully acknowledges Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Azrieli Foundation, Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne, SOCAN Foundation, Ontario Arts Foundation, The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation, The Mary-Margaret Webb Foundation, Timothy & Frances Price, Power Corporation of Canada, RBC Foundation, The Max Clarkson Family Foundation, The Charles H. Ivey Foundation, Hal Jackman Foundation, The Amphion Foundation, Inc., Japan Foundation, and Anonymous for their generous support.

Media Contact:

Amber Melhado / Marketing & Outreach Coordinator
amber@espritorchestra.com

3/19/20 3/19/20

Update on COVID-19: New Wave Festival Postponed

For Immediate Release March 19, 2020

Update on COVID-19
Esprit Orchestra Postpones New Wave Festival Until 2020-2021 Season

We have continued to monitor the conditions surrounding COVID-19, and have come to the difficult decision to postpone all three concerts in our New Wave Festival, which was set to take place at Trinity St. Paul’s Centre from April 17-18th. Our decision was made following the declaration of a State of Emergency by the Ontario Provincial Government, and in accordance with the mandate to cancel all events involving 50 or more people in an effort to reduce the spread of the virus. The safety of Esprit composers, musicians, guest artists, staff, volunteers, and patrons is of paramount importance.

This festival is intended to highlight the talent of emerging composers and performers, and is a unique opportunity to launch professional music careers and connect a new generation of audiences to contemporary classical music. Our intention is to reschedule the full festival program to a later date, during Esprit's 2020-2021 season. We are committed to promoting and supporting contemporary classical composers and performers, and we will ensure that the extraordinary emerging artists who are featured on the New Wave concerts will be given a chance to perform these works at a later date. More information about when the performances will be rescheduled will be announced with next season’s programming.

All tickets and festival passes will be fully refunded. Please allow up to 5 business days for refunds to be processed via Eventbrite.

All subscribers who had claimed their free festival pass using the promo code will receive a cancellation notification. Subscribers to the 2019-2020 season will still be granted access to the rescheduled New Wave Festival, and will be contacted with more information when the dates and location have been confirmed.

Patrons need not take any further steps with regard to New Wave Festival ticketing.

As a reminder, Esprit also announced on March 13, 2020 that the Taiko Returns concert at Koerner Hall has been postponed to the 2020-2021 season.

The following options are available for subscribers and single ticket holders for Taiko Returns (Sunday March 22, 2020):

Obtain a refund for the value of the ticket(s). The refundable amount is the value of the ticket purchased, less the Royal Conservatory of Music service charge of $8.00 CAD.
Donate the value of your ticket(s) for a charitable tax receipt. Your support during this challenging time is greatly valued and needed. Your generosity would help us mitigate the financial impact on Esprit and the artists we work with. The donation amount is for the value of the ticket purchased, less the $8.00 service fee.

In order to request a refund or donate the value of your ticket to Esprit, please email the Koerner Hall box office, at tickets@rcmusic.com. This offer is valid until March 31, 2020.

We would also like to note that Esprit’s administrative office will be closed indefinitely, with staff working remotely. For inquiries and concerns, please feel free to contact us at one of the following email addresses:

Rachel Loo, General Manager - rachelloo@espritorchestra.com.Amber Melhado, Marketing & Outreach Coordinator - amber@espritorchestra.com.General inquiries - info@espritorchestra.com.

We urge the wonderful community in which we operate to find comfort in their favourite music as we endure this troubling time. Music has a way of connecting, healing, and inspiring us no matter what situation we find ourselves in. Until we can meet again inside the concert hall, we wish you all happy and healthy listening.

Season Sponsor:

New Wave Festival Sponsors:

Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne | Azrieli Foundation | SOCAN Foundation | Annex Food Hall | Goose Island Brewhouse

Esprit Orchestra is Canada’s only full-sized orchestra devoted exclusively to performing and promoting new orchestral music. Esprit Orchestra gratefully acknowledges Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Azrieli Foundation, Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne, SOCAN Foundation, Ontario Arts Foundation, The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation, The Mary-Margaret Webb Foundation, Timothy & Frances Price, Power Corporation of Canada, RBC Foundation, The Max Clarkson Family Foundation, The Charles H. Ivey Foundation, The Amphion Foundation, Inc., Japan Foundation, and Anonymous for their generous support.

Media Contact:

Amber Melhado / Marketing & Outreach Coordinator
amber@espritorchestra.com

3/13/20 3/13/20

Update Regarding COVID-19: Taiko Returns Postponed

For Immediate Release March 13, 2020

Update on COVID-19
Esprit Orchestra Postponing Taiko Returns
Concert on Sunday March 22, 2020

We regret to announce to our patrons and the broader music community that due to the conditions created by COVID-19, we have come to the difficult decision to postpone our season finale concert, Taiko Returns which was set to take place on Sunday March 22, 2020. Our decision was made following an evaluation using Canada Public Health's risk assessment tool, and following the recommendation of Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, to cancel events involving 250+ people or more in an effort to reduce the spread of the virus.

This is a very unfortunate situation, and we are aware that Esprit is among many organizations who have come to a similar decision about their own events. The safety of Esprit composers, musicians, guest artists, staff, volunteers, and patrons is of paramount importance. Our intention is to reschedule the performances of these works to a later date, during Esprit's 2020-2021 season. We are committed to promoting and supporting contemporary classical composers and performers, and we will ensure that the extraordinary artists who are featured on the Taiko Returns program will be given a chance to perform these works at a later date. More information about when the performances will be rescheduled will be announced with next season’s programming.

The following options are available for subscribers and single ticket holders for Taiko Returns (Sunday March 22, 2020):

Obtain a refund for the value of the ticket(s). The refundable amount is the value of the ticket purchased, less the Royal Conservatory of Music service charge of $8.00 CAD.
Donate the value of your ticket(s) for a charitable tax receipt. Your support during this challenging time is greatly valued and needed. Your generosity would help us mitigate the financial impact on Esprit and the artists we work with. The donation amount is for the value of the ticket purchased, less the $8.00 service fee.

In order to request a refund or donate the value of your ticket to Esprit, please phone the Koerner Hall box office, at 416-408-0208. This offer is valid until March 31, 2020.

Esprit will reevaluate the situation in due course concerning concerts scheduled in April, in accordance with directives issued by government authorities.

We would like to note that Esprit’s administrative office will be closed indefinitely, with staff working remotely. For inquiries and concerns, please feel free to contact us at one of the following email addresses:

Rachel Loo, General Manager - rachelloo@espritorchestra.com.
Amber Melhado, Marketing & Outreach Coordinator - amber@espritorchestra.com.
General inquiries - info@espritorchestra.com.

Season Sponsor:

Esprit Orchestra is Canada’s only full-sized orchestra devoted exclusively to performing and promoting new orchestral music. Esprit Orchestra gratefully acknowledges Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Azrieli Foundation, Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne, SOCAN Foundation, Ontario Arts Foundation, The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation, The Mary-Margaret Webb Foundation, Timothy & Frances Price, Power Corporation of Canada, RBC Foundation, The Max Clarkson Family Foundation, The Charles H. Ivey Foundation, The Amphion Foundation, Inc., Japan Foundation, and Anonymous for their generous support.

Media Contact:

Amber Melhado / Marketing & Outreach Coordinator
amber@espritorchestra.com
(416) 815-7887

3/3/20 3/3/20

Taiko Returns

For Immediate Release March 3, 2020

Esprit Orchestra Presents: Taiko Returns
Composers Perform as Soloists, Nagata Shachu Returns

The finale concert of Esprit’s Koerner Hall series, Taiko Returns, will take place on Sunday March 22, 2020 in Koerner Hall. This exciting concert features a diverse and eclectic selection of music, with several works written by composers who will also be soloists performing in their own compositions: Anishinaabekwe composer and performer Barbara Croall will perform as vocalist and traditional flutist in her Mijidwewinan (Messages), Canadian composer and pianist Christopher Goddard will perform in the World Premiere of his new Piano Concerto, Canadian composer Eugene Astapov will conduct the World Premiere of his work, A Still Life. In addition, as the concert title suggests, the wildly popular taiko drumming group Nagata Shachu will return to the Esprit stage for another performance of Maki Ishii’s Mono-Prism.

In Mono-Prism, the orchestra is joined by seven players of Japanese drums performing on seven drums with drum heads attached to the drum bodies with cords (shime-daiko), one extra-large drum with riveted heads (Ō-daiko), and three medium-size drums with riveted heads of the type known as Chichibu-daiko. The title Mono-Prism is a compound word consisting of the elements "Mono", which refers here to the monochromatic tonal quality of Japanese drums, and "Prism", referring to the prismatic tonal quality of the Western orchestra. This thrilling work demands physical power, delicate precision, emotional strength and willpower from both the orchestra and the guest artists, Nagata Shachu.

Anishinaabekwe composer and performer Barbara Croall’s work Mijidwewinan (Messages) expresses a powerful plea for all humans to take care of our precious environment and listen to the messages given to us by the natural world around us. Croall herself will perform as vocalist and traditional flutist, personifying several spiritual beings as the piece takes listeners through a full day, from Morning Star to Evening Star, during a time when the earth experiences a crisis and shift. The composer writes, “just as every aspect of nature gives us ‘messages’ about the problems caused by human negligence and wastefulness, the shining stars in the sky above us – like the most ancient of spirit-beings – provide answers for our future”.

Christopher Goddard’s musical mastery extends to his performance as a pianist in what is, for the composer, a dream project that Esprit is thrilled to foster; his Piano Concerto will receive its World Premiere on the Taiko Returns program. Eugene Astapov will be featured as guest conductor in the World Premiere performance of his work A Still Life. Astapov’s work brings his Russian heritage to the fore, setting poetry by Polina Barskova, one of today’s most important under-forty Russian poets. Barskova will be in attendance at the concert, and will participate in the pre-concert talk. Mezzo-soprano Shannon Mercer will perform as Esprit’s guest artist in the World Premiere of A Still Life.

ESPRIT ORCHESTRA 2019/2020 CONCERT SEASON

Sunday March 22, 2020
Esprit Orchestra Presents: Taiko Returns
8:00pm Concert | 7:15pm Pre-Concert Chat
Pre-Concert Chat moderated by composer Alexina Louie

Programme:

Alex Pauk – Conductor
Barbara Croall, Anishinaabekwe Performer
Christopher Goddard, Piano
Eugene Astapov, Guest Conductor
Shannon Mercer, Mezzo-soprano
Nagata Shachu, Taiko Drumming Group

*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 Foundation

KOERNER HALL SUBSCRIPTION SERIES

Royal Conservatory of Music
TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning
273 Bloor Street West
Individual concert tickets start at: Adult $45; Senior 65+ $45; Under 30 $27; Student $25
Please call (416) 408 0208 or visit espritorchestra.com

Season Sponsor:

Performance Sponsor of Mijidwewinan: The Max Clarkson Family Foundation

Program Sponsor: Japan Foundation

Esprit Orchestra is Canada’s only full-sized orchestra devoted exclusively to performing and promoting new orchestral music. Esprit Orchestra gratefully acknowledges Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Azrieli Foundation, Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne, SOCAN Foundation, Ontario Arts Foundation, The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation, The Mary-Margaret Webb Foundation, Timothy & Frances Price, Power Corporation of Canada, RBC Foundation, The Max Clarkson Family Foundation, The Charles H. Ivey Foundation, The Amphion Foundation, Inc., Japan Foundation, and Anonymous for their generous support.

Media Contact:

Amber Melhado / Marketing & Outreach Coordinator
amber@espritorchestra.com
(416) 815-7887

2/4/20 2/4/20

Electric & Eclectic

For Immediate Release February 3, 2020

Esprit Orchestra Presents: Electric & Eclectic

Electric & Eclectic on Wednesday February 26, 2020 will include works by two renowned composers and an emerging Canadian composer, as well as solo performances. American composer John Adams’ work Son of Chamber Symphony is a riveting score that changes meters rapidly and scurries all over the place. Also on the program is the World Premiere of James O’Callaghan’s Not non-other, and Alfred Schnittke’s Concerto Grosso No. 1 for two violins, harpsichord, prepared piano and string orchestra with Marie Bérard and Stephen Sitarski as violin soloists and Stephen Clarke on harpsichord and prepared piano.

John Adams’ Son of Chamber Symphony, was premiered in 2007 and commissioned by Stanford University, Carnegie Hall, and the San Francisco Ballet. This invigorating, almost acrobatic work was composed with choreographic intent, for agile ballet dancers.

The World Premiere of Montreal-based composer James O’Callaghan’s Not non-other situates a single microphone in a concerto position in front of the orchestra, which is recorded, amplified, and manipulated electronically through a multi-channel sound system. The piece references the ‘orchestra hit’ synthesizer sample used extensively in pop music in the 1980s as its primary material, and is ultimately a personal and poetic reflection on being, the self, death, and disappearance.

Alfred Schnittke looms large in recent music history and his remarkable Concerto Grosso No.1, premiered in 1977, reveals the astounding vision and creative force of one of the greatest composers of the past century. The work, for two violins, prepared piano and string orchestra will be performed with Esprit’s Concertmaster Stephen Sitarski and Marie Bérard, Concertmaster of the Canadian Opera Company orchestra as violin soloists, and Stephen Clarke as soloist on harpsichord and prepared piano. The three soloists alternate and interweave with the string orchestra throughout the piece. The composer identified three musical spheres playing off of one another, which he defines as “formulas and forms of Baroque music, free chromaticism and micro-intervals, and banal popular music which enters as it were from the outside with disruptive effect.”

ESPRIT ORCHESTRA 2019/2020 CONCERT SEASON

Wednesday February 26, 2020
Esprit Orchestra Presents: Electric & Eclectic
8:00pm Concert | 7:15pm Pre-Concert Chat
Pre-Concert Chat moderated by composer Alexina LouieProgramme:

Alex Pauk – conductor
Marie Bérard, violin
Stephen Sitarski, violin
Stephen Clarke, harpsichord/prepared piano
James O’Callaghan, electronics

*World Premiere commissioned by Esprit Orchestra with generous support from The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation

KOERNER HALL SUBSCRIPTION SERIES

Royal Conservatory of Music
TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning
273 Bloor Street West

Individual concert tickets start at: Adult $45; Senior 65+ $45; Under 30 $27; Student $25

Please call (416) 408 0208 or visit espritorchestra.com

Season Sponsor:

Esprit Orchestra is Canada’s only full-sized orchestra devoted exclusively to performing and promoting new orchestral music. Esprit Orchestra gratefully acknowledges Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Azrieli Foundation, Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne, SOCAN Foundation, Ontario Arts Foundation, The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation, The Mary-Margaret Webb Foundation, Timothy & Frances Price, Power Corporation of Canada, RBC Foundation, The Max Clarkson Family Foundation, The Charles H. Ivey Foundation, The Amphion Foundation, Inc., Japan Foundation, and Anonymous for their generous support.

Media Contact:

Amber Melhado / Marketing & Outreach Coordinator
amber@espritorchestra.com
(416) 815-7887

1/23/20 1/23/20

Announcing New Wave Festival 2020

For Immediate Release – January 23, 2020

New Waves, Tidal Waves, Sonic Waves, Electric Waves
Esprit Orchestra Announces Programming for New Wave Festival 2020

Following the success of last year’s New Wave Reprise event, Esprit is delighted to announce an expanded New Wave Festival for emerging composers. This year, the three-day festival will run from April 16-18th, with all events taking place at Trinity St. Paul’s Centre. The festival is comprised of four concerts, an artist’s panel, and a finale reception. In addition, renowned Canadian composer John Rea will reprise his role as keynote speaker, providing captivating ideas about the vibrant world of contemporary classical music. 65% of festival programming is Canadian, ranging from hot-shot young solo performers, to mixed ensemble, to full orchestra. Single tickets and festival passes are available at both regular and student pricing. Esprit subscribers receive free admission to New Wave events & concerts.

“More waves of young composers are turning up in Canada every year,” says Esprit Music Director & Conductor, Alex Pauk. “They are well-trained, passionate, and have lots of exciting ideas for grabbing your attention. Esprit’s New Wave Festival aims to initiate and sustain relationships with these firebrands, as well as superb young performers, and provide a career-launching showcase for their creations. Our New Wave rendezvous also enables audiences to get to know these artists and their work in a deep, meaningful way.”

A festival highlight is a soloist initiative, showcasing young soloists who will appear performing concerti with Esprit next season. The festival opens on Thursday April 16th with New Waves, an afternoon concert for high school students, conducted by both Alex Pauk, and emerging composer Eugene Astapov.

On Friday April 17th, the first of the public concerts, Tidal Waves, will be performed. Preceding the concert and enhancing the experience will be an engaging panel discussion with the featured artists, moderated by John Rea. The concert itself will feature works by Keiko Devaux, Quinn Jacobs, Julia Mermelstein, Stephanie Orlando, Tze Yeung Oh and Edson Zampronha. In addition, composer Chris Paul Harman will be featured with a new work that was commissioned and will be premiered by Amahl Arulanandam & Bryan Holt of the cello duo, VC2. Accordionist Michael Bridge will also perform as a guest soloist on the Tidal Waves program.

The final day of the festival, Saturday April 18th, will feature two concerts as well as other exciting events. Sonic Waves, the matinee concert, features works by John Rea, Misato Mochizuki, Žibuoklė Martinaitytė, and Jamie Li. Cellist, Cameron Crozman, will perform as guest soloist in both Kaija Saariaho’s Sept Papillons, and in selections from Mystery Variations.

On Saturday evening, John Rea will give his much anticipated keynote address, offering thought-provoking insights about contemporary musical trends. The festival finale concert, Electric Waves follows the keynote with gripping music to end the festival. Electric Waves includes the reappearance of two works which were featured on Esprit’s Koerner Hall Series: James O’Callaghan’s Not non-other and Eugene Astapov’s A Still Life. Both pieces were commissioned by Esprit Orchestra and are set to receive their respective World Premieres in February and March. Soprano Shannon Mercer appears as guest artist in the Astapov work, which features poetry by Russian poet, Polina Barskova. Other features of the Electric Waves program are the premiere of a revised work by Alison Yun-Fei Jiang which she will conduct, the World Premiere of a new work by Christina Volpini, as well as works by Maurizio Azzan and Nicole Lizée. Cameron Crozman makes a second festival appearance in Azzan’s work for solo cello, dancer, and electronics alongside choreographer & dancer Jennifer Nichols.

ESPRIT ORCHESTRA 2019/2020 CONCERT SEASON
NEW WAVE FESTIVAL

Trinity St. Paul’s Centre | 427 Bloor Street West
2019/2020 Subscribers entitled to FREE ADMISSION
Single Tickets: Regular $15; Student $10 | Festival Pass: Regular $40; Student $25
Please call 416-815-7887 or visit espritorchestra.com

New Waves

Thursday April 16, 2020 | 1:00PM
Free Student Concert | Educators arrange bookings in advance through Esprit office

Programme:
Alex Pauk, conductor
Eugene Astapov, conductor

*World Preview commissioned by Esprit Orchestra
**World Preview commissioned by Esprit Orchestra with generous support from the Ontario Arts Council

Tidal Waves

Friday April 17, 2020 | 8:00PM
Pre-Concert Artist’s Panel, moderated by John Rea, begins at 7:00PM

Programme:
Alex Pauk, conductor
Eugene Astapov, conductor
VC2, cello duo (Amahl Arulanandam & Bryan Holt)
Michael Bridge, accordion

*World Premiere commissioned by Esprit Orchestra
**World Premiere commissioned by VC2

Sonic Waves

Saturday April 18, 2020 | 3:00PM

Programme:
Alex Pauk, conductor
Eugene Astapov, conductor
Cameron Crozman, cello

*World Premiere commissioned by Esprit Orchestra

Electric Waves

Saturday April 18, 2020 | 8:00PM
Keynote Address by John Rea begins at 7:00PM

Programme:
Alex Pauk, conductor
Shannon Mercer, soprano
James O’Callaghan, electronics
Eugene Astapov, conductor
Alison Yun-Fei Jiang, conductor
Jennifer Nichols, choreographer/dancer
Cameron Crozman, cello

*World Premiere: revision/expansion of "Temporal", originally commissioned by Esprit Orchestra
**World Premiere commissioned by Esprit Orchestra with generous support from the Ontario Arts Council

Season Sponsor:

New Wave Festival Sponsors:

Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne | Azrieli Foundation | SOCAN Foundation | Annex Food Hall | Goose Island Brewhouse

Esprit Orchestra is Canada’s only full-sized orchestra devoted exclusively to performing and promoting new orchestral music. Esprit Orchestra gratefully acknowledges Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Foundation, The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation, The Mary-Margaret Webb Foundation, Timothy & Frances Price, Power Corporation of Canada, RBC Foundation, The Max Clarkson Family Foundation, The Charles H. Ivey Foundation, The Amphion Foundation, Inc., Japan Foundation, and Anonymous for their generous support.

Media Contact:

Amber Melhado / Marketing & Outreach Coordinator
amber@espritorchestra.com
(416) 815-7887

10/31/19 10/31/19

Sustain

For Immediate Release – October 31, 2019

SUSTAIN
Esprit Orchestra to Perform Canadian Premiere of Andrew Norman’s Masterpiece for the Future

Ever wonder what orchestral music will be like one hundred years from now? American composer Andrew Norman considered just that when composing his recent work, Sustain, the title piece of Esprit Orchestra’s next concert. On Sunday December 1, 2019 in Koerner Hall, Esprit’s 37th concert season continues with Sustain. In addition to Norman’s work, the concert includes the World Premiere of Toronto composer Adam Scime’s new violin concerto, Afterglow, which will be performed by guest artist Véronique Mathieu. José Evangelista’s heart-quickening work Accelerando will receive a repeat performance on the program, after being well received by listeners during Esprit’s 2016-2017 concert season.

Esprit’s December 1st concert features America’s most celebrated young composer Andrew Norman, with the Canadian Premiere of his recent work, Sustain. While composing this work, Norman considered how audiences might perceive and be affected by orchestral music one hundred years from now. He then set out in a major new creative direction to produce what some have labeled a masterpiece. Norman writes: “I realized[…] that I was attempting to access and understand spans of time that were much bigger than my own[…] that I was trying to move from times with which I was familiar—that of a tweet, or a work day, or a year—to things I could never personally experience, like the rise and fall of species, the movement of tectonic plates, the birth and death of stars.” At the heart of the work lies a question about humanity’s place within the unfathomably large, diverse, and ancient natural world. Norman also points out a sense of sadness or loss that permeates the music, related to climate change: “we, at this critical moment in our history, are not doing enough to sustain the planet that sustains us.”

In keeping with Esprit’s pledge to foster ongoing relationships with emerging composers, Adam Scime’s new work, Afterglow, will receive its World Premiere. Afterglow, a violin concerto, is the third panel of an orchestral triptyque commissioned by Esprit and will feature the outstanding violinist, Véronique Mathieu, as soloist. An avid contemporary music performer, Mathieu has premiered many works by American and Canadian composers. She is currently serving as Associate Professor of Violin at the University of Saskatchewan.

With inexorable force, José Evangelista’s Accelerando draws listeners in and excites heartbeats in the same way his score affects the orchestra’s playing. Focused around movement, specifically forward motion, the work is built around a cyclical melody; the end is linked with the beginning. The work was commissioned and premiered by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra in November 2016 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Montreal subway system, and transports listeners in musical movement parallel to that of a metro train moving from station to station. Esprit has had a lasting relationship with Evangelista, and programming a repeat performance of this work is part of an ongoing commitment to build sustained musical relationships.

ESPRIT ORCHESTRA 2019/2020 CONCERT SEASON

Pre-Concert Chat moderated by composer Alexina Louie

Sunday December 1, 2019
Esprit Orchestra Presents: Sustain
8:00pm Concert | 7:15pm Pre-Concert Chat

Programme:
Alex Pauk, conductor
Véronique Mathieu, violin

*Canadian Premiere
** World Premiere commissioned by Esprit Orchestra with generous support from The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation

KOERNER HALL

Season Sponsor:

Esprit Orchestra is Canada’s only full-sized orchestra devoted exclusively to performing and promoting new orchestral music. Esprit Orchestra gratefully acknowledges Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Foundation, TELUS, SOCAN Foundation, The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation, The Mary-Margaret Webb Foundation, Timothy & Frances Price, The Charles H. Ivey Foundation, The Amphion Foundation, Inc., and Anonymous for their generous support.

Media Contact:

Amber Melhado / Marketing & Outreach Coordinator
amber@espritorchestra.com
(416) 815-7887

9/10/19 9/10/19

I Hit My Head and Everything Changed

For Immediate Release September 10, 2019

Esprit Orchestra Season Opener Will Leave the Audience Seeing Stars

Esprit’s opening concert, I Hit My Head and Everything Changed, an impactful evening of music, takes place on Sunday October 6, 2019 in Koerner Hall. The concert program features works by renowned composers Thomas Adès and Alexina Louie, as well as a World Premiere of a commissioned work by Brian Harman, and a compelling concerto for the left hand by Hans Abrahamsen. Artist Moira Ness, pianist Avan Yu, and the Elmer Iseler Singers will all be featured as guest artists.The concert begins with a blast of orchestral sound in Thomas Adès’Overture to “The Tempest”. With its spiraling lines, zigzagging melodic figures and head-spinning patterns, the overture signals the arrival of the unrelenting storm sending Prospero’s ship to a tumultuous wreck. Mimicking the violent throws of the ship against the waves, the orchestral lines rapidly rise into the stratospherically high notes of the piccolo to just as swiftly fall down into the rhythmically slower, contrapuntally juxtaposed figures of the low brass. The climax is marked by the chorus announcing the famous Shakespearean “Hell Is Empty”, thus marking the arrival of Act I of the opera and consecutively Esprit’s 37th season.The World Premiere of the title piece by Brian Harman, I Hit My Head and Everything Changed, is an artistic collaboration between Harman and artist Moira Ness. Harman, a Canadian composer, teacher, and writer, is based in Toronto. His compositions are frequently inspired by extra-musical ideas such as technology, architecture, dance, and concepts of ritual. Ness, an interdisciplinary visual artist, specializes in contemporary photo-based landscapes and algorithm generated text. Their collaborative work explores the distortion of borrowed original music and text/lyrics as a way of creating an artistic confessional. Ness has been commissioned to create both a minimalistic text-based video piece that will be projected in the concert hall while Harman’s piece is performed, as well as a large art installation which will be featured in the Koerner Hall lobby. Harman’s music combines and distorts musical quotations ranging from Bach and Chopin to Depeche Mode and Demi Lovato, playing with temporality and self-expression. The work was commissioned by Esprit Orchestra, with support from the Ontario Arts Council.The concert also includes a milestone award for renowned Canadian composer Alexina Louie, who was announced as the recipient of the prestigious Molson Prize in the Arts for 2019. The award will be officially presented to her following the performance of her piece, Love Songs for a Small Planet. The Elmer Iseler Singers will be featured as guest artists. The work was Louie’s first major choral composition; prior to composing the piece, Louie spent years collecting poems by Indigenous peoples around the globe, inspired by the vivid imagery and powerful love and respect for nature. In 1989, she set the poems to music, taking care to compose the music in a manner that would enhance the words, not detract from them. Louie expertly weaves them into this sensuous choral work for chamber choir, harp, percussion, and string orchestra.Also on the program is the Canadian Premiere of Hans Abrahamsen’s compelling concerto for the left hand, Left, alone. The composer writes, “I was born with a right hand that is not fully functional, and though it never prevented me from loving playing the piano as well as I could with this physical limitation, it has obviously given me an alternative focus on the whole piano literature and has given me a close relationship with the works written for the left hand by Ravel and others.” The title of the work, Left, alone, contains several references left up to the listener’s interpretation – not solely to do with the obvious fact that the left hand is playing alone. The work is divided into two large parts, each containing three smaller movements. The performance of this work will showcase guest artistAvan Yu as one of Canada’s hottest young pianists. Yu has been praised for his “glittering virtuosity” (West Australian) and his “astonishing sensitivity” (La Presse); he has performed over twenty-five different piano concertos with orchestras around the world.

ESPRIT ORCHESTRA 2019/2020 CONCERT SEASON

All Pre-Concert Chats moderated by composer Alexina Louie

Sunday October 6, 2019
Esprit Orchestra Presents: I Hit My Head and Everything Changed
8:00pm Concert | 7:15pm Pre-Concert Chat

Programme:

Presentation of 2019 Canada Council Molson Prize in the Arts to Alexina Louie will take place during the concert.

Alex Pauk – conductor
Moira Ness – artist
The Elmer Iseler Singers – chamber choir
Avan Yu – piano

*Canadian Premiere
**World Premiere commissioned by Esprit Orchestra with generous support from the Ontario Arts Council

KOERNER HALL SUBSCRIPTION SERIES

Royal Conservatory of Music
TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning
273 Bloor Street West

Individual concert tickets start at: Adult $45; Senior 65+ $45; Under 30 $27; Student $25Please call (416) 408 0208 or visit espritorchestra.com

Season Sponsor:

Esprit Orchestra is Canada’s only full-sized orchestra devoted exclusively to performing and promoting new orchestral music. Esprit Orchestra gratefully acknowledges Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Foundation, TELUS, SOCAN Foundation, The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation, The Mary-Margaret Webb Foundation, Timothy & Frances Price, The Charles H. Ivey Foundation, The Amphion Foundation, Inc., and Anonymous for their generous support.

Media Contact:

Amber Melhado / Marketing & Outreach Coordinator
amber@espritorchestra.com
(416) 815-7887

8/15/19 8/15/19

2019-2020 Season Announcement

For Immediate Release August 15, 2019

Esprit Orchestra Announces 2019-2020 Concert Season

Esprit Orchestra’s thirty-seventh concert season begins with a dizzying hit to the head! Founding Music Director & Conductor, Alex Pauk has programmed a captivating subscription concert series to be performed in the acoustically renowned Koerner Hall. The main concert series includes no less than four World Premieres by composers Brian Harman, Adam Scime, Christopher Goddard, and Eugene Astapov. Programming also features celebrated composers such as Thomas Adès, John Adams, Maki Ishii, Andrew Norman, Molson Prize winning Alexina Louie, and more. Among of the most exciting artists of the 2019-2020 season are the numerous extraordinary guests who will appear with the orchestra: artist Moira Ness, The Elmer Iseler Singers, Avan Yu, Véronique Mathieu, Marie Bérard, Stephen Sitarski, Stephen Clarke, James O’Callaghan, Shannon Mercer, Christopher Goddard, Eugene Astapov, and the return of the very popular taiko drumming group Nagata Shachu. In addition, Anishinaabekwe composer Barbara Croall will be featured in her own work, performing as vocalist and traditional flautist. In addition to the main concert series, audiences can look forward to an expanded New Wave Festival to end the 2019-2020 season. The festival will be held at Trinity St. Paul’s Centre from April 16-18th, and feature new works by emerging composers, as well as works by more established mentors and others.

Esprit’s opening concert, I Hit My Head and Everything Changed, an impactful evening of music, will leave the audience “seeing stars”. Taking place on Sunday October 6, 2019 in Koerner Hall, the concert begins with a blast of orchestral sound in Thomas Adès’ Overture to “The Tempest”. The World Premiere of the title piece by Brian Harman, I Hit My Head and Everything Changed, is an artistic collaboration between Harman and artist Moira Ness. The work explores the distortion of borrowed original music and text/lyrics as a way of creating an artistic confessional. Ness has been commissioned to create both a minimalistic text-based video piece that will be projected in the concert hall while Harman’s piece is performed, as well as a large art installation which will be featured in the Koerner Hall lobby. Harman’s music combines and distorts musical quotations ranging from Bach and Chopin to Depeche Mode and Demi Lovato, playing with temporality and self-expression. The concert also includes a milestone award for renowned Canadian composer Alexina Louie, who was announced as the recipient of the prestigious Molson Prize in the Arts for 2019; the award will be officially presented to her following the performance of her piece, Love Songs for a Small Planet. The work, for chamber choir, harp, percussion and string orchestra, will feature The Elmer Iseler Singers as guest artists. Also on the program is the Canadian Premiere of Hans Abrahamsen’s compelling concerto for the left hand, Left, alone, which will showcase guest artist Avan Yu as one of Canada’s hottest young pianists.

On Sunday December 1, 2019, Esprit’s second concert, Sustain, features America’s most celebrated young composer Andrew Norman, with the Canadian Premiere of his new work Sustain. While composing this work, Norman considered how audiences might perceive and be affected by orchestral music one hundred years from now. He then set out in a major new creative direction to produce what some have labeled a masterpiece. In keeping with Esprit’s commitment to foster ongoing relationships with emerging composers, Adam Scime’s new work Afterglow will receive its World Premiere. Afterglow, a violin concerto, is the third panel of an orchestral triptyque commissioned by Esprit and will feature as soloist the outstanding violinist Véronique Mathieu. With inexorable force, José Evangelista’s Accelerando draws listeners in and excites heartbeats in the same way his score affects the orchestra’s playing. The work was commissioned and premiered by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra in November 2016 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Montreal subway system, and transports listeners in musical movement parallel to that of a Metro train moving from station to station.

Electric & Eclectic on Wednesday February 26, 2020 will include works by both established and emerging composers, as well as solo performances by Esprit’s principal players. Renowned American composer John Adams’ work Son of Chamber Symphony is a riveting score that changes meters rapidly and scurries all over the place. Also on the program is the World Premiere of James O’Callaghan’s Not non-other. Electronic treatment of orchestral sound in the concert hall is rare, so O’Callaghan’s multi-speaker, surround sound blending of transformed orchestral sound with computer sound files radiates new sonic dimensions. Finally, a remarkable concerto by Alfred Schnittke reveals the astounding vision and creative force of one of the greatest composers of the past century. Esprit will perform Schnittke’s Concerto Grosso No. 1 for two violins, prepared piano and string orchestra with Marie Bérard and Stephen Sitarski as violin soloists and Stephen Clarke on keyboards.

The finale concert of Esprit’s Koerner Hall series, Taiko Returns, will take place on Sunday March 22, 2020. As the title suggests, the wildly popular taiko drumming group Nagata Shachu will return to the Esprit stage for another performance of Maki Ishii’s Mono-Prism. This thrilling work demands physical power, delicate precision, emotional strength and willpower from both the orchestra and the guest artists. The concert also features several works written by composers who will also be soloists performing in their own compositions. Christopher Goddard’s musical mastery extends to his performance as a pianist in what is, for the composer, a dream project that Esprit is thrilled to foster; his Piano Concerto will receive its World Premiere on the Taiko Returns program. Eugene Astapov will also be featured as guest conductor in the World Premiere performance of his work A Still Life. Astapov’s work brings his Russian heritage to the fore, setting poetry by Polina Barskova, one of today’s most important under-forty Russian poets. Soprano Shannon Mercer will perform as Esprit’s guest artist in the World Premiere of A Still Life. Anishinaabekwe composer and performer Barbara Croall’s work Mijidwewinan (Messages) brings a powerful plea for all humans to take care of our precious environment and listen to the messages given to us by the natural world around us. Croall herself will perform as vocalist and traditional flutist, personifying several spiritual beings as the piece takes listeners through a full day, from Morning Star to Evening Star, during a time when the earth experiences a crisis and shift. The composer writes, “just as every aspect of nature gives us ‘messages’ about the problems caused by human negligence and wastefulness, the shining stars in the sky above us – like the most ancient of spirit-beings – provide answers for our future”.

Following the success of last year’s New Wave Reprise event, Esprit is delighted to announce the continuation of the New Wave Festival for young composers. This year’s festival has been expanded from one event into a three-day festival running from April 16-18th at Trinity St. Paul’s Centre. The festival features concerts and events with music by young composers, mentors and others including: Stephanie Orlando, Žibuoklė Martinaitytė, Misato Mochizuki, Alison Yun-Fei Jiang, Chris Paul Harman, Christina Volpini, Quinn Jacobs, Nico Muhly. Renowned Canadian composer John Rea will reprise his role as keynote speaker, again providing captivating ideas about the vibrant world of contemporary classical music. All New Wave tickets will be available through the Esprit office; pricing and further details to come. All regular season subscribers receive free admission to the New Wave events & concerts.

ESPRIT ORCHESTRA 2019/2020 CONCERT SEASON

KOERNER HALL SUBSCRIPTION SERIES

Royal Conservatory of Music
TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning
273 Bloor Street West

Individual concert tickets start at: Adult $45; Senior 65+ $45; Under 30 $27; Student $25

Please call (416) 408 0208 or visit espritorchestra.com

All Pre-Concert Chats moderated by composer Alexina Louie

Sunday October 6, 2019
Esprit Orchestra Presents: I Hit My Head and Everything Changed
8:00pm Concert | 7:15pm Pre-Concert Chat

Programme:

Presentation of 2019 Canada Council Molson Prize in the Arts to Alexina Louie
Alex Pauk – conductor
Moira Ness – artist
The Elmer Iseler Singers – chamber choir
Avan Yu – piano

*Canadian Premiere
**World Premiere commissioned by Esprit Orchestra with generous support from the Ontario Arts Council

Sunday December 1, 2019
Esprit Orchestra Presents: Sustain
8:00pm Concert | 7:15pm Pre-Concert Chat

Programme:

Alex Pauk, conductor
Véronique Mathieu, violin

*Canadian Premiere
** World Premiere commissioned by Esprit Orchestra with generous support from The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation

Wednesday February 26, 2020
Esprit Orchestra Presents: Electric & Eclectic
8:00pm Concert | 7:15pm Pre-Concert Chat

Programme:

Alex Pauk – conductor
Marie Bérard, violin
Stephen Sitarski, violin
Stephen Clarke, harpsichord/prepared piano
James O’Callaghan, electronics

**World Premiere commissioned by Esprit Orchestra with generous support from The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation

Sunday March 22, 2020
Esprit Orchestra Presents: Taiko Returns
8:00pm Concert | 7:15pm Pre-Concert Chat

Programme:

Alex Pauk, conductor
Shannon Mercer, soprano
Nagata Shachu, taiko drumming group
Eugene Astapov, conductor
Christopher Goddard, piano
Barbara Croall, Anishinaabekwe Performer (vocals/traditional flute)

**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 Foundation

NEW WAVE FESTIVAL

Trinity St. Paul’s Centre
427 Bloor Street West

2019/2020 Subscribers entitled to FREE ADMISSION

Individual concert tickets go through Esprit office, more details to comePlease call 416-815-7887 or visit espritorchestra.com

April 16th- 18th 2020
Esprit Orchestra Presents: New Wave Festival

Featuring music by young composers, mentors and others, including:Stephanie Orlando (Canada)Misato Mochizuki (Japan)Christina Volpini (Canada)Žibuoklė Martinaitytė (Lithuania)Alison Yun-Fei Jiang (Canada)Quinn Jacobs (Canada)John Rea (Canada)Chris Paul Harman (Canada)Nico Muhly (U.S.A.)

Season Sponsor:

Esprit Orchestra is Canada’s only full-sized orchestra devoted exclusively to performing and promoting new orchestral music. Esprit Orchestra gratefully acknowledges Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Foundation, TELUS, SOCAN Foundation, The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation, The Mary-Margaret Webb Foundation, Timothy & Frances Price, The Charles H. Ivey Foundation, The Amphion Foundation, Inc., and Anonymous for their generous support.

Media Contact:

Amber Melhado / Marketing & Outreach Coordinator
amber@espritorchestra.com
(416) 815-7887