Founded in 2002 by its musician members, the Turning Point Ensemble is a large chamber ensemble (core 19 instrumentalists) – with a mandate to increase the understanding and appreciation of music composed during the past hundred years, linking the music of earlier times to that of today with innovative programming and thoughtful performances. Uniquely and flexibly sized between a small chamber ensemble and a symphonic orchestra, Turning Point Ensemble presentations offer a symphonic palette with a chamber music sensibility.
Since 2005, the ensemble has presented a subscription series in Vancouver and developed an exciting educational program “Creating Composers: Nurturing Life-Long Musical Expression Through Composition” with partner schools in Burnaby, Vancouver, and North Vancouver.
TPE has toured in Ontario and Manitoba with special guest mezzo soprano Judith Forst and the ensemble has been presented locally by Music in the Morning, Early Music Vancouver, MusicFest Vancouver, Music on Main, the Canadian Broadcast Corporation, the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, the University of British Columbia’s Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, Vancouver Pro Musica, and the Taiwanese Economic and Cultural Bureau.
Audiences in Vancouver have been fortunate to hear premiere or once-in-a-generation presentations such as a fully staged presentation of Igor Stravinsky’s Soldier’s Tale; Bill Viola’s seminal video accompanying Edgard Varèse’s 20th century masterwork Déserts; Erik Satie’s Relâche! , Darius Milhaud’s La Creation du Monde, Alban Berg’s Chamber Concerto, John Adams’ Son of Chamber Symphony, Thomas Adès Living Toys; and the award-winning Firebird 2011 with music by Jocelyn Morlock and choreography by Simone Orlando
Turning Point Ensemble has recorded three commercially released CDs: Strange Sphere (the music of Rudolf Komorous) on the Artifact Label, Disasters of the Sun (the music of Barbara Pentland) on the Centrediscs label, and Liquid featuring music for clarinet and large chamber ensemble by François Houle, John Korsrud, Yannick Plamondon, and Giocinto Scelsi, that was released in January 2009 on the ATMA label.
Winners of the Rio Tinto Alcan Award in Performing Arts Music 2011, Turning Point will set its sights over the next five years in continuing to represent the best of Vancouver’s musical community and providing to audiences locally, nationally, and internationally programming that is special, inspiring, and transformative.
