October 27, 2014 – OTTAWA (Canada) — Canada’s National Arts Centre (NAC) Orchestra, featuring internationally acclaimed Music Director and violinist Pinchas Zukerman as conductor and soloist, will perform an inspiring concert under the soaring English Gothic arches of 794-year-old Salisbury Cathedral on Wednesday October 29 at 7:30 p.m.

Exactly one hundred years ago this October, the first contingent of 30,000 brave Canadians marched onto Salisbury Plain to muster and train for service in the First World War. Their sacrifices and the role that Canada played in that conflict are being commemorated by Pinchas Zukerman and Canada’s NAC Orchestra on this 5-concert, 10-day tour, which also celebrates the strong ties between Canada and the U.K. and underlines the expressive and enduring power of music.

In the spirit of compassion and remembrance, the National Arts Centre’s concert in Salisbury will be dedicated to two Canadian soldiers who were killed last week, Cpl. Nathan Cirillo and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent.

Hearing Pinchas Zukerman and the NAC Orchestra perform a live concert of such extraordinary beauty and musicality is pure joy for the soul and the senses. As Maestro Zukerman says, “A live concert experience brings you extraordinary energy. It can be a major life experience. That’s why people come, that’s why they want more. With music, you can reach the depths of human experience.”

A highlight of the orchestra’s UK Tour, the concert in Salisbury takes place just 10 miles from the original encampment of the first Canadian contingent to arrive in the U.K. The chalky soil and verdant rolling hills of Salisbury Plain still house the biggest military training ground in the United Kingdom, and many Canadians maintain personal links to the area to this day.

CBC Television and Radio is planning extensive coverage of the NAC’s concert at the Salisbury Cathedral. The concert will be broadcast on CBC Radio 2 on November 11th and on CBC Television as part of its Remembrance Day special coverage. An hour-long broadcast of the concert will presented during the holidays season on CBC Television.

OTHER UK TOUR PERFORMANCE/EDUCATION ACTIVITIES IN SALISBURY

October 29 at 10:30 a.m.: Lindsay Mattick, the great granddaughter of Canadian soldier Lt. Harry Colebourn, will read from her children’s book “Finding Winnie” at the Salisbury Cathedral in the East Side Trinity Chapel. Lt. Harry Colebourn brought a bear cub from Canada named “Winnie” as the regimental mascot for the Canadian army to the U.K. and raised the bear on the Salisbury Plain before donating it to the London Zoo. The bear became the literary inspiration for A.A. Milne’s famous character, “Winnie-the-Pooh”. At each session, Ms. Mattick will share photos, artifacts, and stories about her great-grandfather. The 20-minute readings take place in Salisbury Cathedral’s Trinity Chapel on Wednesday October 29 at 10:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m..

October 29 at 11:00 a.m.: Acclaimed author and historian, Margaret MacMillan, author of the The War that Ended Peace: The Road to 1914. In a lecture entitled “Canada and the First World War”, Ms, MacMillan will be speaking on the relationship between Britain and Canada in the years leading up to 1919—the year that many scholars regard as the moment Canada came of age as a nation. The 1 hour lecture takes place in the 15th century St. Thomas Becket Church (St. Thomas’s Square).

October 29 at 1:00 p.m.: The NAC Orchestra Rideau Lakes Brass Quintet will give a 20 minute chamber music recital at Stonehenge, one of the wonders of the world and the best-known prehistoric monument in Europe. Patrons are required to purchase admission to Stonehenge for this event.

October 29 at 5:30 p.m.: Choral Evensong with the Salisbury Cathedral Choir, Salisbury Cathedral.

October 29 at 6:30 p.m.: Pre-concert Choir Performance with Cloud Nine Choir, Salisbury Cathedral.

October 29 at 7:30 p.m.: Concert by the NAC Orchestra at the Salisbury Cathedral.

SALISBURY CONCERT REPERTOIRE

Maestro Zukerman – famous for that liquid Zukerman tone, the breathtaking molten gold that streams from his violin -- will perform one of his signature solo pieces, Bruch’s lyrical Violin Concerto No. 1, perhaps the most ardent and touching concerto in the repertoire. A rave review from The New York Times recently praised Zukerman’s performance of this work as “...sweet, soulful and vibrantly responsive … always present but never overpowering.” Other repertoire for the concert includes the inspiring and atmospheric Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis by Ralph Vaughan Williams and award-winning Canadian composer John Estacio’s Brio: Toccata and Fantasy for Orchestra, which beautifully conveys a sense of loss for those departed. The program concludes with Beethoven’s exhilarating Symphony No. 7, extraordinary in visceral impact, intoxicating and imbued with a powerful rhythmic energy that ensures an irresistible whirlwind finale. Regarded by the composer as one of his best works, it premiered in 1813 at a benefit concert for soldiers wounded in battle.  

ABOUT THE NAC ORCHESTRA’S UK TOUR

Under the patronage of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, the tour of the United Kingdom by Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra is presented by RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) with major support from The W. Garfield Weston Foundation. One of the most important Canadian artistic projects in the U.K. during the fall of 2014, the tour brings together artists, arts organizations, educators, and the worlds of diplomacy, business, and politics in a message of peace. The First World War is considered a pivotal, nation-building event in Canadian history. Marking the 100th anniversary of the beginning of that conflict commemorates the relentless bravery and deep devotion to country of British and Canadian military personnel and demonstrates the power of music as a force for remembrance and healing.

Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra brings power, precision, and extraordinary musicality to the concert stage. The NAC Orchestra has long played an international role with performances, teaching, and partnerships across Canada and around the world. The Orchestra has performed worldwide in the last four decades, including more than 135 concerts in cities across Canada. In addition to the performances in Edinburgh, Nottingham, London, Salisbury, and Bristol, there will be a robust education program with activities linking school-age children in Canada and the U.K., using music to underline themes of remembrance and reconciliation. These events are part of the NAC Orchestra’s fifth visit to the U.K. in its 45-year history.

NAC ORCHESTRA: COMMITMENT TO CREATION, PERFORMANCE, AND LEARNING

The National Arts Centre -- Canada’s only bilingual multi-disciplinary performing arts centre -- believes in nation building through the performing arts, by providing a home for the world’s most creative artists, by being artistically adventurous, and by acting as a catalyst for creation, performance, and learning. The NAC Orchestra’s commitment to contemporary composition is demonstrated on the UK Tour by four performances of Brio: Toccata and Fantasy for Orchestra by Canadian composer John Estacio (commissioned by the NAC Orchestra, premiered 2011) and a London performance of A Ballad for Canada by the late Canadian composer Malcolm Forsyth (co-commissioned by the NAC Orchestra, premiered 2011). Song of the Poets, a new choral piece by Canadian composer Abigail Richardson, is a powerful tribute to the soldiers of the First World War, featuring wartime poetry from Canada, the U.K. and Germany. This National Arts Centre-commissioned work will be performed by youth and community choirs throughout the U.K. during the NAC Orchestra’s tour. There will also be three international creation projects involving hundreds of youth in the U.K. and in Canada conceived as a result of this tour.

Pinchas Zukerman believes musicians should be great teachers as well as great performers and he has ensured the National Arts Centre Orchestra’s international reputation for performance and learning. With the support of Education Partner Dasha Shenkman, NAC Orchestra musicians will take part in over 50 educational activities during the U.K. Tour -- including school visits, composition and instrumental workshops, and masterclasses – inspiring youth, emphasizing the healing power of music, and demonstrating that the arts are accessible to all. The NAC will also partner with leading arts and educational organizations in the U.K. and Canada, including The World Remembers project, The Canadian War Museum, Britain’s Imperial War Museum, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Sistema Scotland, and The Prince’s Trust Young Ambassadors program; in Edinburgh, London, and Bristol, The Prince’s Trust Young Ambassadors are hosting and blogging about the NAC Orchestra's education activities and evening concerts.

The National Arts Centre’s commitment to the next generation of great musicians is also demonstrated by the inclusion on the U.K. Tour of five young musicians from the NAC’s Institute of Orchestral Studies. Also, in anticipation of this tour, three exceptional young artists studying at the Royal College of Music (RCM) in London were invited to participate in the National Arts Centre’s Summer Music Institute Young Artist Program in June 2014. The RCM students will perform with the NAC Orchestra during their joint concert in London with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, where Pinchas Zukerman is Principal Guest Conductor.

ABOUT PINCHAS ZUKERMAN and THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE ORCHESTRA

A phenomenon in the world of music for over four decades, Pinchas Zukerman is one of the world’s greatest violinists, violists, and conductors. Since 1999, he has been the Music Director of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, and, since 2009, he has served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London. Pinchas Zukerman has led many of the world’s top ensembles in a wide variety of orchestral repertoire. A devoted and innovative pedagogue, he chairs the Pinchas Zukerman Performance Program at the Manhattan School of Music, where he has pioneered the use of distance-learning technology in the arts. In Canada, he has established the NAC Institute for Orchestral Studies and the Summer Music Institute encompassing the Young Artists, Conductors, and Composers Programs. His extensive discography contains over 100 titles, and has earned him 21 GRAMMY® nominations and two awards.

Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra (founded 1969) gives over 100 performances a year in Ottawa. The Orchestra is also one of the country’s leading cultural ambassadors, visiting over 120 global communities on more than two dozen international tours. The Orchestra has also commissioned the creation of over 100 new Canadian works. Orchestra musicians and staff regularly teach students all over the world through the state-of-the-art broadband videolink at the NAC’s Hexagon Studio. The NAC Orchestra has recorded more than 40 discs, including six with Pinchas Zukerman; a new recording of Mozart with Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt was released in June 2014 on Hyperion Records.

ABOUT CONEXXIONS 2014 VIDEOLINK: OCTOBER 28

The National Arts Centre is an international leader in distance learning through videoconference technology. On Tuesday October 28, the NAC will host ConneXXions 2014, a free one-hour special performance using a state-of-the-art, high-definition broadband videolink between the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and the Royal College of Music (RCM) in London. In a live, real-time musical exchange, Scottish virtuoso percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie and RCM student Stefan Beckett will perform a new work for two snare drums composed by fellow RCM student Bertram Wee. Ms. Glennie will also speak on the power of music to encourage, heal and promote resilience. Musicians from London’s Brent Youth Concert Band and Ottawa’s Colonel By Secondary School Senior Concert Band will perform works by U.K. and Canadian composers of the First World War period, as well as new compositions they will create and perform for each other.

Watch the live broadcast (at 2 p.m. London time/10 a.m. Ottawa time) on October 28 on the NAC website.  

FOLLOW THE U.K. TOUR ONLINE

The NAC is a leader in new media outreach in the arts and has created a website at nacotour.ca where people from across Canada and around the world can follow this remarkable tour. Daily reports will also be posted on Facebook and Twitter @CanadasNAC.

PARTNERS IN MUSIC PERFORMANCE AND EDUCATION

An international tour of this calibre is only made possible through the generous support of the Government of Canada, as well as individuals and corporations from across Canada and the United Kingdom. The National Arts Centre and National Arts Centre Foundation gratefully acknowledge the tremendous support of Major Partner The W. Garfield Weston Foundation (Canada), Presenting Supporter RBC, Education Partner Dasha Shenkman, and Supporting Partners David Aisenstat, Margaret and David Fountain, Aimia and W1 Developments, and Major Media Partner The Globe and Mail. Benefactors of the U.K. Tour are Gail Asper, O.C., O.M., LL.D. and Michael Paterson, John and Bonnie Buhler, Adrian Burns and Gregory Kane, Q.C., Marg Campbell, Irene D’Souza, Barbara Crook and Dan Greenberg, Julia and Robert Foster, Elinor Gill Ratcliffe C.M., O.N.L., LL.D (hc), Susan Glass, C.M. and Arnie Thorsteinson, James and Emily Ho, D’Arcy Levesque, M. Ann McCaig, C.M., A.O.E., LL.D, John McCaig, Grant J. McDonald, FCPA, FCA and Carol Devenny, Gordon McGibbon, Wilson McLean, Janice and Earle O’Born, Gail and David O’Brien, and Jeanne d’Arc Sharp. Thank you also to members of the U.K. Tour’s International Advisory Council: The Honourable Hilary Weston, C.M., O.Ont and W. Galen Weston, O.C., O.Ont (Co-Chairs); The Honourable Gordon Campbell, Canadian High Commissioner to the U.K.; Diana Fox Carney; Phillip Crawley; His Excellency Howard Drake, OBE British High Commissioner to Canada; Rupert Duchesne; Margaret Fountain; Gay Mitchell ICD.D; and Janice O’Born. The National Arts Centre would also like to thank the Government of Canada for its support of the NAC Orchestra’s U.K. Tour.

TICKETS AND PERFORMANCE

Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra will perform in Salisbury Cathedral on Wednesday October 29 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are [PC1] [PC5] ‪£15, [PC4] ‪£20, [PC4] ‪£25, [PC4] ‪£30, and £40.

c/o Salisbury Playhouse Box Office, Malthouse Ln, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP2 7RA, United Kingdom
Telephone 0172 255 5120   

[PC3] ‪  

-30-
 

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

 

Carl Martin                                                 Rosemary Thompson (In the U.K. with the Orchestra)

Senior Advisor, Communications           Director of Communications and Public Affairs

National Arts Centre                                 National Arts Centre

613 947-7000 x 560                                 613 762-4118 (txt)

Carl.Martin@nac-cna.ca                          Rosemary.Thompson@nac-cna.ca