TORONTO, ON – Esprit Orchestra announces its 44th season – EDGE OF YOUR SEAT III – comprising an International Festival to take place at Koerner Hall. Founder, Music Director and Conductor Alex Pauk leads the orchestra through a season of visionary programming; a daring exploration of the boldest works in contemporary music from home and abroad. Al concerts are preceded by Musical Insights (formerly Pre-Concert Talks) with composer Alexina Louie & guests at 7:15PM.
On Sunday, November 29th, the season commences with FAST!; a program of immense power and delicate beauty launching the third edition of Esprit’s Edge of Your Seat International Festival. The concert comprises important music from around the world, including Short Ride in a Fast Machine by the great American composer John Adams, the beautiful and underperformed Lullaby by Andrzej Panufnik, and the North American Premieres of Christophe Bertrand’s Scales and of Anders Hillborg’s Viola Concerto, with Esprit being joined by our friend, the esteemed violist Teng Li, currently Principal Viola with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
On Wednesday, January 27th, Esprit will present BIG!, one of our largest scale projects yet with the North American Premiere of TRIO, for orchestra, choir, big band, electronics and projected video, by Danish composer Simon Steen-Andersen. Commissioned by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Donaueschinger Musiktage (SWR), TRIO explores the fascinating history of European music broadcasting, utilizing historical footage unearthed from the SWR archives that interacts brilliantly with the many musicians on stage. Esprit will be joined by the Elmer Iseler Singers and their conductor, Lydia Adams, a big band comprising Toronto’s best jazz musicians, and the composer will join us from Berlin.
The Edge of Your Seat International Festival III continues on Wednesday, February 24th with RICH!, a quintessential Esprit program comprising brand new works and audience favourites. A World Premiere of a new work by young Canadian composer Nicholas Ma features alongside music by Steve Reich and Vito Žuraj. In honour of the composer’s recent passing, accordionist Michael Bridge will join Esprit to perform Fachwerk, for
accordion, percussion and strings by the singular Sofia Gubaidulina.
Concluding the 2026/27 season & Edge of Your Seat Festival III, on Thursday, March 25th, Esprit will present BOLD! and music by three of today’s finest composers. Esprit will be joined by the exceptional Canadian cellist Cameron Crozman for a performance of Dzonot, the new cello concerto by Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz. The program will also feature the previously Esprit-performed Emergence, by Icelandic composer Daniel Bjarnason, and Frontispiece by the exceptional Unsuk Chin.
Tickets for the Edge of Your Seat Festival III will be available from August 24th, 10:00am onwards.
Esprit Orchestra 2026/27 EDGE OF YOUR SEAT FESTIVAL III
Sunday, November 29th, 2026
Koerner Hal
FAST!
Alex Pauk, conductor
Teng Li, viola
John Adams (United States): Short Ride in a Fast Machine (1986)
Christophe Bertrand (France): Scales* (2010)
Andrzej Panufnik (Poland): Lullaby (1947, rev. 1955)
Anders Hilborg (Sweden): Viola Concerto* (2021)
Teng Li, viola
* North American Premiere
Wednesday, January 27th, 2027
Koerner Hal
BIG!
Alex Pauk, conductor
Lydia Adams, conductor
Mark Camileri, conductor
Elmer Iseler Singers
Esprit Big Band
Simon Steen Andersen, guest composer
Simon Steen-Andersen (Denmark): TRIO* (2019)
For orchestra, choir, big band, electronics & projected video
*North American Premiere
Wednesday, February 24th, 2027
Koerner Hal
RICH!
Alex Pauk, conductor
Michael Bridge, accordion
Nicholas Ma (Canada): New Work* (2027)
Steve Reich (United States): Variations for Winds, Strings & Keyboards (1979)
Sofia Gubaidulina (Russia): Fachwerk (2009)
Michael Bridge, accordion
Vito Žuraj (Slovenia): Api-danza macabre (2021)
*World Premiere, commissioned by Esprit Orchestra
Thursday, March 25th, 2027
BOLD!
Alex Pauk, conductor
Cameron Crozman, cello
Daniel Bjarnason (Iceland): Emergence (2011, rev. 2014/16)
Gabriela Ortiz (Mexico): Dzonot (2024)
Cameron Crozman, celo
Unsuk Chin (South Korea/Germany): Frontispiece (2019)
ESPRIT ORCHESTRA 2026-27 KOERNER HALL SUBSCRIPTION SERIES
Royal Conservatory of Music TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning
273 Bloor Street West
Individual concert tickets start at: Adult $45; Senior 65+ $40; Under 30 $20
Please call (416) 408 0208 or visit espritorchestra.com
