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- Esprit Contemporain
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Founded in 1983 by Music Director and Conductor, Alex Pauk, with financial assistance from Canada Council and Suncor Inc., Esprit Orchestra is Canada's only full-sized, professional orchestra devoted to performing and promoting new orchestral music. It was known as Esprit Contemporain from 1983 to 1986.
They gave their first concert on August 19, 1983 in Kingston, Ontario with the National Youth Orchestra, featuring works by Serge Garant and Alexina Louie, and premiering two commissioned works: Alchemies by John Burke and Vanishing Points by John Rea.
The orchestra, based in Toronto, commissions and premieres new Canadian works and ensures continued public access to this material via repeat performances, audio and film recordings, radio broadcasts, and national and international tours. Their concert programs also regularly feature Canadian premieres of music by leading international composers. As of 2023, the orchestra consists of 65 members. Esprit's annual subscription series consists of three to five concerts per season, held at Toronto's St. Lawrence Centre and at Koerner Hall, University of Toronto.
In addition to their commitment to new music, Esprit is dedicated to working with the next generation of new music professionals, with mentorship and outreach programs, lectures, open rehearsals, and the annual New Wave Composers Festival that celebrates young Canadian artists.
Esprit has received several awards, including three Lieutenant Governor’s Arts Awards (1996, 1998, 2000), the Jean A. Chalmers National Music Award (1995), the Vida Peene Award and the SOCAN Award for Imaginative Orchestral Programming (1990).
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Revised April 12, 2023
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Esprit Orchestra website
Betty Nygaard King, David Olds, Patricia Wardrop, "Esprit Orchestra," The Canadian Encyclopedia. Last edited July 17, 2015.