EUGENE ASTAPOV: Bio

Dr. Eugene Astapov is a Ukrainian-Canadian composer, conductor, educator and scholar whose music combines the “richness of harmony” (New York Times) with “masterful orchestration” (Winnipeg Free Press). The Grand Prize winner of the 2019 SOCAN Foundation’s Young Composer Awards and the recipient of the 2022 Blueprint Bridge Fellowship from the Juilliard School and the National Sawdust, Astapov has shared his music with audiences around the globe from Paris to Vienna, Hong Kong to Seoul, New York to Los Angeles and almost in every Canadian province. 

   As a prolific creator of music for large orchestral forces, Astapov’s music has been workshopped and performed by major orchestras and ensembles internationally, often under his own direction, including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Tonkünstler Orchester, Ottawa's National Arts Centre, Athens State Symphony, Moravian Philharmonic, National Philharmonic of Bulgaria, Victoria Symphony Orchestra, the Juilliard Orchestra, Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra and others. Mr. Astapov is also conductor specializing in the presentation of the music of contemporary composers. He has served as the RBC Associate Composer/Conductor to Esprit Orchestra – Canada’s only full-sized orchestra dedicated to the performance of music by living composers. Eugene has enjoyed a 15-year long relationship with Esprit and Music Director Alex Pauk, having composed six large scale commissions to date for the ensemble.

   In addition to his orchestral output, Astapov's catalogue includes solo, chamber, vocal and interdisciplinary works. He has collaborated with and created new chamber works for Dame Evelyn Glennie and Land’s End Ensemble, Jeff Zeigler and the National Sawdust, the Rolston String Quartet, the Gryphon Trio, the Penderecki String Quartet and many others. Additionally, he has worked with a number of prominent new music ensembles including Curtis 20/21, Ensemble Contemporaine du Montréal, New Juilliard Ensemble, Fifth House Ensemble, Latitude 49 among a number of others. Eugene’s music has been interpreted by some of the world’s leading conductors including Peter Oundjian, Tania Miller, Bramwell Tovey and Daniel Raiskin. 

    Eugene Astapov is a graduate of The Juilliard School in New York City and his artistic activity is supported in part by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the RBC Foundation, Toronto Arts Council and the SOCAN Foundation. Dr. Astapov is a prominent pedagogue and has served as Assistant Professor of Composition at Western University and Instructor of Musicology at Brandon University, Canada. He is also a faculty member and examiner of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Canada, in addition to making frequent guest appearances at festivals, competitions and clinics, such as the SOCAN Competition and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra Composers’ Institute.