The Music of Maki Ishii: A Talk by Esprit Orchestra

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Join us for a lively event featuring performance, demonstration and discussion with composer Alexina Louie, percussionist Ryan Scott and Esprit Orchestra conductor Alex Pauk.

Date: Tuesday, November 22, 6:30 pm
Location: The Japan Foundation , Toronto , 131 Bloor St. W. , 2nd Floor of the Colonnade Building
Admission: Free
Reservation required: jftor.org/whatson/rsvp.php or (416) 966-1600 x103

On Wednesday, November 30, South–Fire–Summer, one of Ishii’s concertos, will be performed in an Esprit Orchestra concert at Koerner Hall. (Concert tickets: 416-408-0208 or performance.rcmusic.ca)

As a guide to the appreciation of this masterpiece, a conductor’s perspective will be provided by Alex Pauk, joined by collaborating soloist Ryan Scott.

Alexina Louie will lead a discussion on the music and Mr. Scott will perform, demonstrate and discuss music on the disc as Ishii was both a composer and conductor who divided his time between Berlin and Tokyo . His legacy is profound and exemplary in its bridge-building between cultures.

From left: Alex Pauk, Ryan Scott, Alexina Louie

The recently launched CD Maki Ishii Live is another focus of attention as Ryan Scott, Alexina Louie and Alex Pauk reveal the tremendous impact of Ishii, little known in North Ameri ca , on the world of contemporary music.

His powerful blend of Japanese musi ca l sensibilities and instruments with Western orchestral techniques creates a new sense of musi ca l order and harmony. This thrilling CD contains three percussion concertos by Ishii recorded in concert by Mr. Scott and Esprit Orchestra. The disc, sent in advance to broad ca sters and music journalists around the world, has been receiving rave reviews and a fantastic amount of airplay.

From a recent review: “… the composer's inventive use of layers of varying textures creates memorably mysterious webs of sound. Scott and Esprit Orchestra play with exceptional sensitivity to the music's subtlety and drama. The sound of the live performances is clear, detailed, and atmospheric.”

“This recording is another brilliant example of the truism that the work of a composer only lives through his artists. We commend Ryan Scott and the Esprit Orchestra for creating an amazing and beautiful performance in which the musi ca l universe of our late husband and father Maki Ishii lives on. This most certainly is an important contribution to the recorded repertoire of his works.” - the heirs of Maki Ishii

About the disc: http://makiishiilive.com/
About Esprit Orchestra: www.espritorchestra.com