Esprit Orchestra: Esprit’s Virtuosity Shines

An Incredible Line-Up for this Season’s Opening Concert, Con Brio

Our 2015-2016 series opens on October 4^th with a concert titled Con Brio, named after the work of German composer Jörg Widmann, whose piece sets the pace for the program.

Hurtling along at a speed set to create a sense of being “on the verge of the unplayable”, Widmann’s Con Brio produces a sense of daring and excitement as it transforms fast, furious characteristics from Beethoven’s 7^th and 8^th symphonies into an effervescent torrent of sound.

Inspired by Nordic mythology and adapting Estonian folk idioms, the World Premiere of Canadian Omar Daniel’s Sinfonia Concertante, subtitled The Husband Killer’s Dream, portrays a mysterious intrigue.

Canadian star Zosha Di Castri was the first young composer chosen for the New Voices project organized by conductor Michael Tilson Thomas with the New World Symphony (Miami) and San Francisco Symphony and music publisher Boosey & Hawkes. Esprit will perform her work Lineage, a major work alluding to an imagined culture from the past. The work was commissioned as the centrepiece for Zosha’s New Voices stint.

Two pieces by the prodigious British composer Thomas Adès appear in Esprit’s line-up this season, with the October concert, including the witty and surreal arrangement for large orchestra of Dances from Powder Her Face. Powder Her Face is the composer’s chamber opera depicting the sex scandal and gossip surrounding the Duchess of Argyll in mid-20^th century British aristocracy.

Con Brio, Sunday October 4, 2015, Koerner Hall
8:00PM Concert | 7:15PM Pre-Concert Chat
Royal Conservatory of Music TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, 273 Bloor Street West, Toronto
Individual concert tickets start at: Adult $45; Senior 65+ $40; Under 30 $25; Student $18 – Please call (416) 408 0208 or visit performance.rcmusic.ca
For more details: espritorchestra.com

Esprit Orchestra – Con Brio, Sunday October 4, 2015
Alex Pauk – Conductor Pre-concert chat moderated by composer Alexina Louie

Programme:
Zosha Di Castri (Canada) – Lineage (2013)
Jörg Widmann (Germany) – Con Brio (2008)
Omar Daniel (Canada) – Sinfonia Concertante* (2015) – Mehetapja Meeli Unistus (The Husband Killer’s Dream)
Thomas Adès (England) – Dances from Powder Her Face** (2007)
*World Premiere – commissioned by Esprit with funding from Ontario Arts Council
**Performance generously supported with funding from The Koerner 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, Ontario Arts Foundation, Business for the Arts, SOCAN Foundation, The Koerner Foundation, The Hal Jackman Foundation, The Mary Margaret Webb Foundation, and The Max Clarkson Family Foundation for the their generous support.