The Esoterics
Seattle’s most innovative choir
Eric Banks, founding director
The Esoterics is a Seattle-based vocal ensemble that is dedicated to performing and perpetuating contemporary a cappella choral settings of poetry, philosophy, and spiritual writings from around the world. While cultivating artistic expression and cultural understanding among its singers and audience alike, The Esoterics aspires to reflect the beauty, power, and significance that are inherent in the music of our time. (The Esoterics is a registered non-profit organization under section 501(c)3 of the US Federal Tax Code.)
Vision
The Esoterics is recognized as the premier vocal ensemble in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, one which continually finds inspiration in music’s oldest and purest form: the gathering of unaccompanied voices in song.
The Esoterics strives to perpetuate this tradition of consummate human expression for all generations to enjoy, as it:
• promotes well-known masterpieces and lesser-known works of the contemporary a cappella repertoire with outstanding performances, excellent recordings, and accurate publications of new choral music;
• advances ongoing creativity in the choral art by commissioning world-premiere works from innovative composers, and producing imaginative programs that incorporate collaboration with the visual, theatrical, and literary arts;
• expands its presence in the arts community by engaging its current audience, educating future choral enthusiasts, and continuing to provide compelling choral experiences for persons of every age and socio-economic background;
• establishes itself as a financially sustainable non-profit corporation that realizes its artistic and organizational goals through increasingly substantial earned revenues and the support of diverse private and public sources; and
• cultivates a community of committed, enthusiastic singers, organized volunteers, and structured leadership that nurtures the artistic growth of each individual within an atmosphere of mutual respect.
History
Now in its fifteenth season with founding director Eric Banks, The Esoterics has drawn national and international praise for presenting the multitudinous styles of contemporary choral music, and for infusing elements of choreography and theatre into the otherwise "typical" concert experience.
In its first decade, The Esoterics has not only presented hundreds of local and international premieres; it has also mastered many of the most virtuosic choral compositions of the last century — including works by Berg, Britten, Carter, Copland, Fine, Finzi, Mäntyjärvi, Martin, Pizzetti, Poulenc, Sch--nberg, Stravinsky, Thompson, and Tormis.
This ensemble was originally brought together in early 1992 by Eric Banks, who needed a chorus to conduct for his Master’s and Doctoral recitals in Choral Studies at the University of Washington. After Banks’ recitals were completed, the singers still wanted to perform together, so Banks named the ensemble after the ancient Greek adjective es?te????? — which describes a close-knit community and the secret knowledge that its members share. The Esoterics incorporated with its new name as non-profit arts organization in early 1993.
Since that time, The Esoterics has commissioned dozens of world premiere compositions, including several by local Northwest composers—including David Asplin, Janice Giteck, Bern Herbolsheimer, John Muehleisen, Donald Skirvin, Diane Thome, and Linda Waterfall.
In 1997, the Seattle Weekly named The Esoterics' BEATA "the best choral concert of the year." In 1998, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer deemed the group's concert ANTIPHONIA a "triumph." In 1999, the ensemble's performance was called "first class stuff…a sumptuous sonic smorgasbord — sublime, pure, luxuriant, velvety — and of course, esoteric" in the national periodical 20th Century Music. In 2000, The Stranger Guide to Seattle claimed: "This superb chorus, probably the premier such ensemble in Seattle, has distinguished itself by its bold repertoire choices and fine voices … The Esoterics is what the phrase 'not to be missed' is all about."
The Esoterics was honored to be selected as the only North American chorus selected to compete at the 2000 International Choral Festival in Cork, Ireland, and the 2001 International Choral Festival in Tolosa, Spain.
The Esoterics has received numerous generous grants from the arts commissions of Washington State, King County, and the Seattle, as well as from the Allen Foundation for the Arts, ArtsFund, Meet the Composer, the Seattle Foundation, and most recently from the National Endowment for the Arts. In both 2001 and 2003, The Esoterics’ commitment to innovative concert repertoire was nationally recognized with the ASCAP and Chorus America's coveted Award for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music. The Esoterics is a proud member of the American Choral Director's Association, Chorus America, IFCM, the International Federation for Choral Music, and GALA, the Gay & Lesbian Association of Choruses.
Copyright © 2006 The Esoterics
