Record attendance and critical acclaim declare the inaugural
New Creations Festival a hit!

From March 30 – April 7, 2005, over 9000 patrons attended the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s three-program, five-concert New Creations Festival at Roy Thomson Hall – a record Toronto crowd for a repertoire consisting entirely of music from the 20^th and 21^st centuries. Created by Peter Oundjian in his first season as TSO Music Director, the New Creations Festival brought pre-eminent violinists Pinchas Zukerman and Joshua Bell, soprano Barbara Hannigan and the St. Lawrence String Quartet together with composers Oliver Knussen, Gary Kulesha, Raymond Luedeke, Jacques Hetu, Behzad Ranjbaran, Kelly-Marie Murphy and the 89 year-old French master Henri Dutilleux, who received a five-minute standing ovation for his extraordinary artistry. Invited on stage with the prior to their pieces being performed, the composers offered witty repartee, historical context and amusing anecdotes for audiences’ eager ears.

Upon hearing the first note of French composer Dutilleux’s miraculous work Correspondances while in Europe, Maestro Oundjian knew that he had to present it in Toronto. From that desire, spawned the idea of a larger festival celebrating the newest musical creations from Canada and abroad. Thus, the New Creations Festival was born and audiences and critics alike have declared it an overwhelming success!

"Crackerjack TSO hosts living composers. It’s not often one gets to go to a concert hall and see all of the evening’s composers sitting in the audience. But there they were, thanks to the New Creations Festival; launched by conductor Peter Oundjian and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra."
Toronto Star

"The TSO has seldom seemed healthier. The players sounded great, together and in their solo roles."
The Globe and Mail

"Correspondances is a miraculous work...Dutilleux is a modern master and the TSO’s luminous performance of this piece, with music director Peter Oundjian and the angelic, intelligent soprano of Barbara Hannigan may be the most important event of the orchestra’s season."
The Globe and Mail

Each concert featured the premiere of a new Canadian work commissioned by the TSO as well as the hottest new music on the international stage. In addition, the TSO integrated new creations in the visual and culinary arts with a weeklong exhibit of sound-inspired installations from the Ontario College of Art and Design and a post-show party featuring fine food and wine from The Intercontinental Hotel’s Azure Restaurant. The New Creations Festival – a veritable feast for all of the senses!