Organization Historical Bio
Established in 1971, NMC continues to introduce Canadian audiences to the most significant compositions of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Its storied legacy is fundamental to the ongoing story of Canadian art history. New Music Concerts is a vital and central part of Toronto’s new music scene and has been providing a leadership role in the community throughout its history. Founded by internationally acclaimed Canadian musicians Robert Aitken and Norma Beecroft, New Music Concerts presented its first concert in January 1972 with guest composer/conductor Luciano Berio. Since that time New Music Concerts has commissioned hundreds of new works, and has brought countless historically important compositions to thousands of listeners through meticulous performances by Toronto’s top musicians, most often with the participation of the composers (including Boulez, Lutosławski, Holliger and Takemitsu to name a few).
New Music Concerts’ long history of diverse presentation activity with particular emphasis on Canadian creations and the active participation of challenging compositional voices from around the globe makes it unique. Our strong support of Canadian composers through commissions and performances and by combining them with international artists has kept NMC at the top of our field.
Now entering an exciting new phase in the organization's history, New Music Concerts’ role as a community leader will evolve to embrace our magnificent multicultural Toronto. Current programs reflect our ongoing mandate to balance all aspects of our artistic profile. Encouraging creativity, innovative programming, and interesting ways of presenting contemporary music are all vital parts of our policy. An extensive commissioning program and support for inter-media ventures, sound sculptures, and performance art with a strong musical component continues to be of great interest to NMC. Artists, programs and projects are selected and developed on the basis of our mandate to provide interesting, thought-provoking programming for our audiences. Since its inception, New Music Concerts has presented more than 400 concerts, commissioned more than 200 Canadian and international works and performed some 800 Canadian and world premieres.
