The Classical Music Minute

Esprit Orchestra & The Art Of The Living

February 28, 2022 Steven Hobé, Composer & Host Season 1 Episode 44
The Classical Music Minute
Esprit Orchestra & The Art Of The Living
Show Notes Transcript

Description
Esprit Orchestra is one of the few full-sized orchestras devoted to performing the work of living composers. Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
Conductor, Alex Pauk, is married to composer Alexina Louie. Over the years, both have collaborated on several film scores including Don McKellar's Last Night, which received a Genie nomination for Best Original Score in 1998, and The Five Senses, a film by Jeremy Podeswa that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival the following year. In conjunction with David Henry Hwang, Louie composed a full-length opera, The Scarlet Princess (1996–2002).

About Steven
Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more.

A Note To Music Students et al.
All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Got a topic? Pop me off an email at: TCMMPodcast@Gmail.com 

Support the Show.

Esprit Orchestra is Canada’s only full-sized orchestra devoted exclusively to the performance of new music. I’ve been a fan for years now, and it’s always a thrill to see them live at the acoustically acclaimed Koerner Hall in Toronto. 

Over thirty years ago, Canadian composer and conductor Alex Pauk created Esprit to commission and perform the work of Canadian and international composers. At the time, this was a pretty risky endeavour. To feature living composers! Who would have thought!

But no one can deny the thirst for new and innovative contemporary classical works. Audiences came from far and wide to experience the spectrum of what new music has to offer.

Esprit’s repertoire challenges and engages listeners and connects them to the music and performers in illuminating and entertaining ways translating the imagined musical impulses of today’s composers into real sounds.

Esprit Orchestra has an extensive discography and has recorded numerous soundtracks for feature films.

I’ve popped the link to their site in the show notes. And when you’re next in Toronto, swing by.