Award-winning music creator and SOCAN member Emilie LeBel was selected as the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s new Affiliate Composer on Aug. 8, 2018.
The Affiliate Composer two-year residency is one of the most significant and prestigious opportunities for an emerging composer in Canada. It provides a chance to compose at least two works for one of the country’s finest orchestras, allows the composer to gain insights into the complexities of programming at the highest artistic level, and catapults them to national, and even international, prominence.
In the role of TSO Affiliate Composer, LeBel will be fully integrated into all areas of the organization, with access to its inner workings, and will also participate in educational work with young audiences as part of the orchestra’s community-engagement programs. She’ll work closely with TSO Interim Artistic Director Sir Andrew Davis, Composer Advisor Gary Kulesha, and the artistic staff. LeBel succeeds Jordan Pal, who held the Affiliate Composer position from September 2015 to August 2018.
Described as having a “deft compositional hand, unwilling to hurry ideas,” and a style that’s “impressively subtle and sensuous,” LeBel specializes in concert-music composition focusing on textural landscapes, resonance, and variances in colour. Her compositions have been performed and/or recorded across North and South America, Europe, and the U.K. Her honours include the Toronto Arts Foundation Emerging Artist Award, Canadian Music Centre Toronto Emerging Composer Award, and the Canadian Federation of University Women Elizabeth Massey Award. LeBel has completed a Doctorate in Composition at the University of Toronto, a BFA and MA in Music at York University, and an Honours Diploma in Audio Engineering at The Harris Institute for the Arts.
“Emilie is one of the most exciting young talents in the world of contemporary composition. Her music reflects her intelligence and audaciousness,” says Sir Andrew Davis. “Emilie brings to us her exceptional energy and versatility. Already known as an engaging communicator, and respected for her passionate advocacy work, she’ll be a brilliant ambassador for the TSO. I’m thrilled to welcome Emilie to the TSO’s artistic team.”