+++
author = ["authors/jenna.md"]
categories = "News"
date = "2017-08-21T13:43:00-04:00"
lastmod = "2017-08-25T10:08:00-04:00"
primary_image = "https://res.cloudinary.com/schmopera/image/upload/v1545409169/media/webhook-uploads/1503611528625/2017-08-24---Nagata-Shachu-2---Copy.jpg.jpg"
publishDate = "2017-08-25T10:08:00-04:00"
related_companies = ["scene/companies/esprit-orchestra.md"]
short_description = "For a pre-season taste, you can hear artists of the Esprit Orchestra and Canadian mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó perform Luciano Berio&#039;s Folk Songs at the Free Concert Series in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, October 3, 12pm."
slug = "dont-miss-esprit-orchestras-35th-anniversary-season"
title = "Don&#039;t miss: Esprit Orchestra&#039;s 35th anniversary season"
+++

October 2017 will mark the start of the [Esprit Orchestra](/scene/companies/esprit-orchestra/)'s 35th anniversary season, which continues the ensemble's focus on Canadian content with three world-premiere performances, and five Canadian premieres of works by internationally-acclaimed composers. All four concerts feature pre-concert chats moderated by Canadian composer [Alexina Louie](/talking-with-singers-alexina-louie/).

For a pre-season taste, you can hear artists of the Esprit Orchestra and Canadian mezzo-soprano [Krisztina Szabó](/scene/people/krisztina-szabo/) perform Luciano Berio's *Folk Songs* at the [Free Concert Series](http://coc.ca/PerformancesAndTickets/FreeConcertSeries/October.aspx) in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, **October 3, 12pm**.

On **October 15, 2017**, Esprit begins its mainstage line-up with [*Eternal Light*](https://www.espritorchestra.com/concert-tickets/concert/eternal-light/), a programme of music by Canadians Christopher Goddard, Claude Vivier, and Colin McPhee. Music Director and conductor Alex Pauk leads the Orchestra through McPhee's Balinese gamelan-inspired *Tabuh-Tabuhan* (1936), Goddard's *Spacious Euphony* (2016), and the Toronto premiere of Vivier's *Siddhartha* (1976).

**November 19th**'s [*Emergence*](https://www.espritorchestra.com/concert-tickets/concert/emergence/) is named after the 2011 work by Icelandic composer Daniel Bjarnason, featured on the programme. You'll also hear Ana Sokolovic's merry-go-round-inspired *Ringelspiel* (2013), Doug Schmidt's *Just a stranger here myself...*, previously commissioned in 2014 by Esprit, and the Canadian premiere of French composer Marc-André Dalbavie's *Concerto for Violin and Orchestra* (1996), with violinist Véronique Mathieu. 

[*Plug In*](https://www.espritorchestra.com/concert-tickets/concert/plug-in/) happens on **February 11, 2018**, packing into the programme Canadian premieres, world premieres, and the technological advancement of the telephone. Canadian composer Eugene Astapov's *Hear My Voice*, commissioned and premiered in 2017 by Esprit, incorporates the first recorded sounds of Alexander Graham Bell's voice on the first telephone in Brantford, ON, 1976. Tan Dun's *Passacaglia: Secret of Wind and Birds* (2015) and Unsuk Chin's *Mannequin* (2015) get their Canadian premieres, and Esprit also gives the world-premiere performance of Matthew Ricketts' *Lilt*.

Finally, [*Taiko Plus!*](https://www.espritorchestra.com/concert-tickets/concert/taiko-plus/), on **April 15, 2018**, includes the Canadian premieres of Maki Ishii's *Mono-Prism* (1976) and Fuhong Shi's *Concentric Circles* (2009), and the world premieres of new works by Canadian composers Scott Wilson and Chris Paul Harman. The concert also features soprano [Shannon Mercer](/scene/people/shannon-mercer/), and Japanese taiko drumming ensemble Nagata Shachu.

<figure data-type="image">{{% md %}}![](https://res.cloudinary.com/schmopera/image/upload/v1545409169/media/webhook-uploads/1503611567649/shannon%20mercer%20edited.jpg.jpg)
<figcaption>Shannon Mercer, soprano. Photo courtesy of Esprit Orchestra.</figcaption>
</figure>

For full details about Esprit Orchestra's 2017/18 season, visit their [website](https://www.espritorchestra.com/), and follow them on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/espritorchestra), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/espritorchestra), and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/espritorchestra/).
