8:00 pm concert
7:15PM PRE-CONCERT MUSICAL INSIGHTS WITH ALEXINA LOUIE & GUESTS

Paired with the exuberance of Chris Goddard’s specially commissioned work showcasing “the fearless ethos of Esprit,” Adès’ powerful overture to The Tempest heralds our Edge of Your Seat International Festival. Gabriella Smith’s piece evokes ravens rolling, swooping, diving, soaring—an imagined ecstasy of wind, surf, sand, and sea beneath endless jet trails. Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s transfixing music alternates between loud orbits of sound with intensity and urgency, and calm, ethereal stillness. Back by popular demand is Ben Nobuto’s Serenity 2.0 for string quartet, percussion and electronics—a guided meditation that continually derails. Our festival bookends with another Nobuto work, the large-scale, humorous Hallelujah Sim., a playful game-like take on the Hallelujah Chorus, performed in April with 72 voices, orchestra and electronics.

FEATURING

Alex Pauk Conductor

PROGRAMME

Thomas Adès
Overture to the Tempest (2004)

Anna Thorvaldsdottir
ax (constellation from METAXIS)* (2024)

Christopher Goddard
a brace, a round, a bracing sound** (2025)

Ben Nobuto
Serenity 2.0 (2021)

Gabriella Smith
Tumblebird Contrails*** (2014)

* North American Premiere 
** World Premiere, commissioned by Esprit Orchestra with support from the Epstein Family Trust
*** Canadian Premiere

8:00PM CONCERT
7:15pm pre-concert musical insights with alexina louie

This program of works for string orchestra (with touches of percussion) celebrates artistic figures. To mark Arvo Pärt’s 90th year, we present two works: one, like a slow-motion sonorous waterfall in memory of Benjamin Britten; the other, short and light, inspired by the Eiffel Tower and Gustave Eiffel’s elegant designs. Louie’s fantasy reverie, with cosmic motifs and traces of classical repertoire, honours Glenn Gould. Eight solo violinists speed through Norman’s dazzling convergence of Italian Futurism, Baroque, and a racecar video game. Adding zest are Mark Fewer’s virtuosic improvisations in Hillborg’s tribute to Bach, and a full-throttle string version of Purple Haze evoking Jimi Hendrix.

featuring

Alex Pauk Conductor
Mark Fewer Violin

Programme

Arvo Pärt
Silhouette* (2009/15)

Arvo Pärt
Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten (1977)

Anders Hillborg
Bach Materia (2016/17)
Mark Fewer Violin

Andrew Norman
Gran Turismo (2004)
for 8 violins 

Jimi Hendrix
Purple Haze 
Arr. Steve Riffkin 

Alexina Louie
O Magnum Mysterium: In Memoriam Glenn Gould (1982, version for 34 strings by John Rea, 1999)

*Canadian Premiere

8:00PM CONCERT
7:15PM PRE-CONCERT MUSICAL INSIGHTS WITH ALEXINA LOUIE & GUESTS

Dieter Ammann’s No templates, as its title suggests, embraces freedom and adapts wide-ranging idioms. Esprit brings Toronto its first performance of Uzbekistani composer Aziza Sadikova’s music with Angelo di fuoco (Angel of Fire), reflecting her hope that the Angel will fight for justice amid global unrest. Aziza’s Heat Efficiency, commissioned for a climate project, evokes mechanical sounds, pipes, and waves of heat. Ma’s work reveals fresh explorations of technique, orchestration, and emotional impact. Vivier’s iconic Orion, reflecting his “eternal homecoming”, conjures enigmatic experiences like “sitting still on an airplane… remaining in the same place yet going from Cairo to Kuala Lumpur.” His advice for understanding: “Go and find out for yourself!”

featuring

Alex Pauk Conductor
Nils Mönkemeyer Viola

PROGRAMME

Nicholas Ma
Memory of a Breath* (2026)

Claude Vivier
Orion (1979)

Aziza Sadikova
Heat Efficiency** (2023)

Dieter Ammann
No templates (Viola Concerto)*** (2024)
Nils Mönkemeyer Viola

Aziza Sadikova
Angelo di fuoco** (2022)

*World Premiere, commissioned by Esprit Orchestra
**Canadian Premiere 
***North American Premiere, co-commissioned by Esprit Orchestra, Basel Symphony Orchestra, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Lucerne Festival & Tongeyeong International Festival