Alex Pauk is a Canadian composer and conductor of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the founder of Esprit Orchestra . Three-time winner of the Ontario Lieutenant Governor's Prize with Esprit Orchestra, winner of the Louis Applebaum Composer Prize (2003) and the Molson Prize (2007).
| Alex Poke Alex pauk | |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | October 4, 1945 (73 years old) |
| Place of Birth | Toronto |
| A country |  Canada |
| Professions | composer , conductor |
| Awards | Molson Award (2007) |
Content
Biography
Born in 1945 in Toronto. In 1970, he received his first degree at the music department of the University of Toronto , and a year later a bachelor's degree in pedagogy. From 1970 to 1972 he attended composition courses organized by the Ontario Council of Art, taught by Karel Ancherl , Victor Feldbrill, and Boyd Neal , and from 1972-1973, the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo. Since 1973 lives in Vancouver. He participated in the creation of several composer organizations, until 1975 he taught at the Courtenay Youth Music Center and until 1978 at the Vancouver Community College. Conducted by the Vancouver Youth Orchestra (1974-1978) and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada (1974-1980). In 1975, the Vancouver Sun newspaper was named Musician of the Year in Vancouver.
In 1978-1979, Poke, receiving a grant from the Council of Canada for the Arts , went to study in Europe. Upon returning to Canada, he settled in Toronto. For several years, he has been mainly writing music for films and live performances. In 1983, he became the founder and first conductor of Esprit Orchestra , the only major Canadian symphony orchestra (65 in the main composition), performing exclusively new music [1] . From 1983 to 2008, the orchestra under the direction of So far performed more than 70 new works by Canadian composers of different generations. For the first time in Canada, the orchestra performed new works by foreign artists such as John Adams , Louis Andrissen , György Ligeti , Magnus Lindberg , Krzysztof Penderecki , Tora Takemitsu and Alfred Schnittke . Concerts by Esprit Orchestra were held as part of the Olympic Art Festival in Calgary in 1988, the International Gaudeamus Music Week in the Netherlands (1999) and the International New Music Festival in Montreal (2005). The orchestra recorded six CDs with CBC Records and soundtracks for Atom Egoyan ’s films and for Don McKellar ’s film “ Last Night ” (the latter was written by Poke himself and his wife Alexina Louis ). Three times (in 1996, 1998 and 2000), the orchestra received the Ontario Lieutenant Governor Award in the field of art.
In addition to the Esprit Orchestra, Pook performed with leading Canadian groups such as the Toronto , Montreal and Vancouver Symphony Orchestras , as well as the CBC Vancouver Orchestra . From 1983 to 1989, he was chairman of the Canadian League of Composers.
Creativity
| External audio files | |
|---|---|
| Excerpts from the works of Alex | |
| (on the site of the Center for Canadian Music) | |
| Echo spirit isle , 1983 | |
| Cosmos , 1986 | |
| Scan for flute solo, 1973 | |
By 2008, Alex Pook had created more than 60 concert works, not counting music for film and television. Most of his concert works were commissioned (among others, for the CBC , Quebec Symphony Orchestra , National Youth Orchestra, Vancouver Society for Contemporary Music and clarinetist James Campbell ). The constant contact with modern music as a conductor has left its mark on his own style, which combines jazz, pop music and ethnic music in an eclectic way. In various works, motifs of Balkan and Middle Eastern musical folklore and gamelan music have been used so far [2] . Later works So far, created in the 1990s and early 2000s, gravitate towards multidisciplinarity, combining symphonic music and dance (Farewell to Paradise, 1996) or orchestral music, 16-channel surround sound using several video screens and sculptures from matter (“A play of touches”, 2003).
Recognition
In addition to the awards won by Esprit Orchestra, Alex Pok has been awarded a number of personal awards and titles. In 1999, the Toronto Musicians Association recognized him as the musician of the year. In 2002, together with his wife, he received the prestigious Luis Applebaum Composer Prize, awarded for creating music for film and television, and in 2007, the Molson Prize , awarded annually for his great contribution to the field of art and social sciences. The jury, which awarded the Molson Prize, especially noted the merits of So far in introducing young people and fans of traditional symphonic music to new styles in music [2] .
Soundtracks So far twice nominated for national awards. In 1986, his music for the Blackberry Subway Jam animated film was nominated for the Association of Canadian Film, Television, and Radio Artists (ACTRA), and in 1999, his collaboration with Alexina Louis on the music for the film "Last Night" was nominated for a film award "Gini" [3] .
Notes
- ↑ Toronto's Esprit Orchestra Receives $ 10,000 Gift (link not available) . Ontario Arts Council (Oct. 17, 2005). Date of treatment May 10, 2012. Archived on September 20, 2012.
- ↑ 1 2 Alex Pauk (The Canadian Encyclopedia)
- ↑ Alex Pauk (Canadian Music Center)