Luis Ramirez to Premiere with Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Music PhD Student to Premiere with Toronto Symphony Orchestra
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra has announced that Luis Ramirez, a York University PhD candidate in Music, has received a commission for an original composition in their 2022 season. His “Celebration Prelude” will be making its world premiere, and will be conducted by Gustavo Gimeno, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s Music Director, as part of their Gimeno + Dvořák’s “New World” concert running April 27-30, 2022.
This opportunity is a testament to Ramirez’s accomplishments as a music scholar, as he was previously named the inaugural recipient of York University’s Jacques Israelievitch Scholarship in Interdisciplinary Arts. Ramirez had earned the award as an advocate for music and as a dedicated educator, qualities that also animated Israelievitch’s life.
The Jacques Israelievitch Scholarship in Interdisciplinary Arts is granted to full-time graduate students enrolled in the School of Arts, Media, Performance & Design. Recipients of the award demonstrate outstanding academic merit, artistic excellence, and artistic practice of interdisciplinary and cross departmental nature. The award was designed to recognize students who are gifted musicians or have a musical component to their interdisciplinary artistic vision.
“It is fitting that Luis Ramirez has been asked to compose a new work for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra,” said Randolph Peters, Ramirez’ PhD supervisor in the Music Department, “…[since Mr. Israelievitch] was the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s longest tenured Concertmaster from 1988 to 2008.”
Peters also had kind words to share publicly with Luis:
“Luis I’m thrilled, but not surprised, that you have been asked to compose a new work for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Your previous music for orchestra has been enthusiastically received by audiences and musicians alike. The Toronto Symphony Orchestra joins Winnipeg, Hamilton and Calgary orchestras, amongst others, who have already programmed your music, with many more ensembles to come, I’m sure. It is not just these organizations’ artistic directors who have been attracted to your humorous, deft, and well-crafted music. Orchestral musicians themselves love your work so much that they have commissioned you independently. Do you know how often that happens? Never! Well, I guess, almost never.”
We applaud Luis Ramirez for his accomplishments as a composer and a scholar. It will be a pleasure to hear his work premiere on one of Canada’s largest stages for orchestral music. We look forward to seeing more from Ramirez in the coming years.
