Hallelujah Sim.

About

This concert explores the intersection of game logic and sacred tradition. The title work, Ben Nobuto’s Hallelujah Sim., is structured like a video game, giving the combined forces of the Elmer Iseler Singers and Concreamus Chamber Choir—72 voices in total—simple rules to progress through successive “levels.” The piece creates a dreamlike scenario where traditional symbols—hallelujahs, choirs, the Royal Albert Hall—are charged with a strange new intensity, looping and glitching as if the music were writing itself in real time. The program also highlights Esprit Orchestra’s international commissioning partnerships. It features the North American premiere of Misato Mochizuki’s Violin Concerto, co-commissioned with the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra and marking the return of violinist Akiko Suwanai as soloist. Chris Paul Harman’s Coyote Soul brings colourful orchestration and surprising humour, while Poul Ruders’ Tundra evokes the sonic power of the far North.