John Estacio (born April 8, 1966) is a contemporary Canadian composer of opera, orchestral and choral music. __TOC__

Life and career

Estacio was born in

Newmarket, Ontario Newmarket ( 2021 population: 87,942) is a town and regional seat of the Regional Municipality of York in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is part of Greater Toronto in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario. The name stems from the ...

. Raised in the farming community of the Holland Marsh, Ontario, Estacio took

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

and

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

lessons, and played church

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

every Sunday. As a teenager, he created soundtracks for short student films, played

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

, and performed in high school productions of

Broadway musicals Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

. He majored in composition at

Wilfrid Laurier University Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Brantford and Milton. The newer Brantford and Milton campuses are not considered satellite campuses ...

Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (formerly Waterloo County, Ontario, Waterloo County). Waterloo is situated about west-southwest of Toronto. Due to the c ...

studying with Glenn Buhr and Peter Hatch. He earned his post-graduate degree at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

where he studied composition with

Stephen Chatman Stephen Chatman (born 28 February 1950) is an American-born Canadian composer residing in Vancouver. His compositions have been performed across Canada and in the United States. Early life and education Chatman was born in Faribault, Minnesota ...

. In 1992, his first major orchestral work, ''Visoes da Noite'', won second-prize in the

Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Its primary concert venue is the Centennial Concert Hall, and the orchestra also performs throughout the province of Manitoba. The WSO presents an average ...

’s Canadian Composers Competition. ''Saudades'' for orchestra was premiered at the WSO's New Music Festival in 1993. From 1992 to 2000, Estacio was Composer in Residence of the

Edmonton Symphony Orchestra The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Edmonton, Alberta. As the professional orchestra of Alberta's creative capital city it presents over 85 concerts a year of symphonic music in all genres, from classical to co ...

. During his residency, Estacio created several orchestral works, participated in novel audience outreach programs, and created the Young Composers Project. ''A Farmer’s Symphony'' (1994), ''Borealis'' (1997), ''Flights of Fancy'' (1999), ''Frenergy'' (1998), ''Triple Concerto for Piano, Violin and Cello'' (1997), ''Variations on a Memory'' (1995), ''Victims of Us All'' (1996), ''Wondrous Light'' (1997) and ''The Twins and the Monster'' (2001) a children's tale for actress and orchestra with text by Tololwa M. Mollel, were all written for the ESO. From 2000 to 2003, Estacio was Composer in Residence with the

Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The orchestra gives the majority of its performances in the Jack Singer Concert Hall at Arts Commons. It is also the resident orchestra for the Calgary Opera, A ...

and the

Calgary Opera Calgary Opera is a Canadian opera company based in Calgary, Alberta. The company has its administrative base at the Mamdani Opera Centre, a facility in the Wesley United Church, since July 2005. The company gives its seasonal mainstage productio ...

. He composed ''Solaris'' (2000), ''Bootlegger’s Tarantella'' (2001) and ''Spring’s Promise'' (2004) for the orchestra, and between 2001 and 2003 he wrote the

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

''Filumena'' (based on the life of Filumena Lassandro) with librettist John Murrell. Premiered in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, the opera has been performed at the

Banff Centre Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, formerly known as The Banff Centre (and previously The Banff Centre for Continuing Education), located in Banff, Alberta, was established in 1933 as the Banff School of Drama. It was granted full autonomy as ...

, Ottawa's

National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) (french: Centre national des Arts) is a Arts centre, performing arts organisation in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre (building), National Arts Centre build ...

, and by the Edmonton Opera, where it was filmed for television broadcast on the CBC television network. Estacio has also been commissioned to write works for the

Toronto Symphony Orchestra The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toronto ...

, the

Montreal Symphony Orchestra The Montreal Symphony Orchestra (french: Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, or OSM) is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts. It is the only orche ...

, the

Manitoba Chamber Orchestra The Manitoba Chamber Orchestra (MCO) is a chamber orchestra based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It offers an annual subscription series at Westminster United Church, which regularly features Canada's leading soloists, such as James Ehnes and Meash ...

, the

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The VSO performs at the Orpheum, which has been the orchestra's permanent home since 1977. With an annual operating budget of $16 million, it is ...

, the

CBC Radio Orchestra The CBC Radio Orchestra was a Canadian orchestra based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that was operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Until the early 1980s CBC had a number of orchestras located in Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, and Hal ...

, the Banff International String Quartet Competition, and the

Penderecki String Quartet The Penderecki String Quartet is a string quartet, founded in 1986, now based in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. History The original members of the string quartet started in Poland as the New Szymanowski Quartet. In 1986 they won the Penderecki P ...

. His music has been performed by all the major Canadian orchestras, as well as internationally. In 2003 the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and conductor

Mario Bernardi Mario Bernardi, (20 August 1930 – 2 June 2013) was a Canadian conductor and pianist.Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

s. In 2004 the

Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra The Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra (TBSO) is a Canadian professional orchestra based in Thunder Bay, Ontario. History Founded on 29 November 1960, the Lakehead Symphony Orchestra made its debut at the Lakeview High School auditorium.Tronrud, Tho ...

and Music Director

Geoffrey Moull Geoffrey Moull is a Canadian professional conductor. He was principal conductor of the Bielefeld Philharmonic Orchestra and music director of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. Education Geoffrey Moull was born in London, Ontario, Canada and ...

recorded ''Variations on a Memory'' for a new CD that was also nominated for a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

and became the best-selling disc of the Canadian Music Centre in 2005. Estacio received

SOCAN The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 135,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collects ...

’s Jan V. Matejcek Concert Music Award in 2004, 2005, and 2007, as well as Young Composer Awards from SOCAN and PROCAN in 1989, 1990, 1992 and 1994. Recent works include orchestrations of ''Seven Songs'' by

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest com ...

for tenor

Ben Heppner Thomas Bernard Heppner (born January 14, 1956) is a Canadian tenor and broadcaster, now retired from singing, who specialized in opera and other classical works for voice. Early life and career Heppner, of Mennonite descent, was born in Mur ...

and the score of ''The Secret of The Nutcracker'' for a CBC television broadcast in December 2008. He currently resides in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, and recently completed his second opera, ''Frobisher'' (based on the life of

Martin Frobisher Sir Martin Frobisher (; c. 1535 – 22 November 1594) was an English seaman and privateer who made three voyages to the New World looking for the North-west Passage. He probably sighted Resolution Island near Labrador in north-eastern Canada ...

), premiered in

on January 27, 2007. ''The Houses Stand Not Far Apart'', a large-scale work for chorus and orchestra commissioned by the Canada Council for the Vancouver Bach Choir, Edmonton's

Richard Eaton Singers The Richard Eaton Singers is a symphonic chorus in Edmonton, Alberta. There are 150 members in the choir, which frequently performs with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, and is at home in the Francis Winspear Centre for Music. The choir has commi ...

, the Grand Philharmonic Choir, and Chorus Niagara, and set to poetry by

author John Murrell, was premiered in March 2008. Other upcoming commissions include a symphony for the

Victoria Symphony The Victoria Symphony is a Canadian orchestra based in Victoria, British Columbia. It is considered Vancouver Island's best-known active performing arts organization. Currently conducted by Danish conductor Christian Kluxen, the orchestra consists o ...

Orchestra, and an opera for the Vancouver Opera. He recently wrote a piece for the Calgary Stampede Showband, entitled ''Prairie Ride and Sunset'', which was commissioned by the band in 2012. His most recent work is a world premiere ballet based on King Arthur's Camelot with the Cincinnati Ballet, premiering in February 2014. The work was commissioned as part of the Cincinnati Ballet's 50th season.

Notes

External links

John Estacio’s websiteFilumena websiteCanadian Music Centre websiteReview of Estacio's opera ''Lillian Alling''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Estacio, John 1966 births 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers Canadian classical composers Canadian male classical composers Wilfrid Laurier University alumni Living people Members of the Order of Canada People from Newmarket, Ontario Musicians from Edmonton Musicians from Ontario Canadian opera composers Male opera composers Canadian people of Portuguese descent 20th-century Canadian composers 20th-century Canadian male musicians 21st-century Canadian male musicians