Esprit Orchestra will end their 40th Anniversary Season with a proverbial bang. The New Wave Festival, a combination of concert and casual music lounge experience, takes place April 12 and 16. Then, the orchestra returns to Koerner Hall for world premieres by Canadian composers, and Max Richter’s popular The Four Seasons Recomposed to close the season a week later.
New Wave Festival
The New Wave Festival will take place on a Wednesday and Sunday evening at Toronto’s newest live music venue, the TD Music Hall. Part of the Allied Music Centre, the new music venue features a dynamic view of downtown Toronto, and a full-service bar, with state-of-the-art audio and video tech that will complement the music on stage.
The New Wave Festival was created in 2002 to help support emerging Canadian composers. The atmosphere of the venue lends itself to a more casual dynamic, where performers and artists can mingle.
- On April 12, Canadian composer John Rea offers a keynote commentary;
- On April 16, there will be a short roundtable examining the lives of Canadian composer Claude Vivier and his contemporary, American composer Julius Eastman.
Both programs feature works that were commissioned by Esprit Orchestra from young Canadian composers, part of the orchestra’s Three Year Creative Strategy. Their works will be performed alongside that of established composers in the world of new music.
- On April 12, the program includes the World Premieres of L’histoire que les vagues racontent for chamber orchestra and electronics by Sophie Dupuis and Roydon Tse’s Mobilize, for sinfonietta.
- On April 16, the program includes the World Premieres of new works for chamber orchestra by Julia Mermelstein and Stephanie Orlando.
Alongside Canadian content, the festival will feature the Canadian Premiere of American composer Julius Eastman’s Gay Guerrilla. Eastman, an unapologetically gay Black man, has often stirred controversy with his works.
New Wave 1 (April 12)
- 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) with Mark Fewer, violin
- AKIRA NISHIMURA (Japan) | Kecak (1979) for percussion sextet
New Wave 2 (April 16)
- 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, with 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
Season finale
After the Festival is officially over, the Orchestra returns to Koerner Hall for the season finale. World premieres by Canadian composers Chris Paul Harman and Eugene Astapov will be featured, along with the orchestra’s first ever performance of Max Richter’s The Four Seasons Recomposed, with violinist Aaron Schwebel appearing as soloist. Also appearing on the program is John Corigliano’s Symphony No. 1, written to commemorate the composer’s musician friends who succumbed to the AIDS epidemic.
The program
- Max Richter (Germany/United Kingdom) | The Four Seasons Recomposed (2012) • Spring, with Aaron Schwebel, violin
- Eugene Astapov (Canada) | Burial Rites: In Memoriam Marcus Gibbons (2023)
- Max Richter (Germany/United Kingdom) | The Four Seasons Recomposed (2012) • Winter with Aaron Schwebel, violin
- Chris Paul Harman (Canada) | Clementi sottosopra (2023)
- John Corigliano (United States) | Symphony No. 1 (1988)
Tickets are on sale now [HERE].
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