NAC Commissioned work Cobalt wins Classical Composition of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards
OTTAWA (Canada) – On September 20, the NAC and CBC co-commissioned work Colbalt by Jocelyn Morlock, received the Classical Composition of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards (WCMA) in Victoria, BC.
Cobalt first premiered at the NAC’s BC Scene festival in 2009, with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and conductor Alain Trudel, and featured British Columbian violinists Jonathan Crow (Concertmaster, Toronto Symphony) and Karl Stobbe (Associate Concertmaster, Winnipeg Symphony).
JUNO Award-nominated composer Jocelyn Morlock is one of Canada’s most distinctive voices, and she has a successful history of composing compelling commissions. This was her first commission for the National Arts Centre Orchestra. In September 2014, she became the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s newest Composer in Residence. Morlock’s music has received numerous accolades, including: Top 10 at the 2002 International Rostrum of Composers; Winner of the 2003 CMC Prairie Region Emerging Composers competition; winner of the Mayor’s Arts Awards in Vancouver (2008); three nominations for Best Classical Composition at the Western Canadian Music Awards (2006, 2010, 2014) and a JUNO Award Nomination for Classical Composition of the Year.
The inspiration behind “Cobalt” comes from the myriad contrasting emotional possibilities contained within the associations behind cobalt-the colour, the element and even the evil goblin found in German folklore. These varying interpretations fear, exhilaration, tranquility, beauty, and a melancholic sense of the passing of time are all contained in the score.
“Musically, the piece is something of a collection of variations, but rather than a specific theme, what is varied is the use of (primarily) tonal melodies which focus on the minor second. The minor second is ambiguous (like cobalt) in that it may sound ominous and fearful, or anticipatory, or highly resolved (as in a cadence),” says Morlock.
Morlock also launched an Indiegogo crowd funding campaign to support the creation of her first full length CD also titled Cobalt in 2014. Morlock is currently working on a NAC commission for a future premiere.
In September 2015 Alexander Shelley began his tenure as Music Director with the National Arts Centre’s Orchestra. Shelley has an unwavering reputation as one of Europe’s leading young conductors, notably as Chief conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra and most recently as the Principal Associate Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Formed in 1969 at the opening of Canada's National Arts Centre, the NAC Orchestra gives over 100 performances a year with renowned artists including Itzhak Perlman, Renée Fleming, James Ehnes, Emanuel Ax and Yo-Yo Ma. It is noted for the passion and clarity of its performances and recordings, its ground-breaking teaching and outreach programs, and nurturing of Canadian creativity.
Since its inception the Orchestra has commissioned 80 works, mostly from Canadian composers. In 2001 it inaugurated the National Arts Centre Awards for Canadian Composers and the recipients thus far have been Denys Bouliane, John Estacio, Peter Paul Koprowski, Gary Kulesha, Alexina Louie and Ana Sokolovic.
Previous NAC Orchestra Music Directors include Pinchas Zukerman, Mario Bernardi and Trevor Pinnock. The 2015-16 season features Principal Guest Conductor John Storgårds , Alain Trudel as Principal Youth and Family Conductor and Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly completing the strong artistic team.
In addition to a full series of subscription concerts at the National Arts Centre each season, tours are undertaken to regions throughout Canada and around the world, most recently to China (2013) and the UK (2014). The latter commemorated the start of the First World War and explored themes of remembrance and healing through music in over 50 education and performance events. Following the footsteps of Canadian troops 100 years ago, it showcased the brilliant work of Canadian composers and the NAC Orchestra's musicians, both as performers and as educators, and received standing ovations in packed halls throughout the UK.
In 1999, Pinchas Zukerman founded the NAC Young Artists Program, part of the wider NAC Summer Music Institute, which provides elite training to talented young musicians. Students all over the world are also taught via videoconferencing in the NAC's cutting-edge Hexagon Studio. The Orchestra also created and continues to pioneer education work locally and in indigenous communities in northern Canada.
The NAC Orchestra has made over 40 commercial recordings, including Angela Hewitt’s 2014 Juno Award-winning album of Mozart Piano Concertos conducted by Hannu Lintu. Many more concerts are freely available through NACmusicbox.ca on the NAC's performing arts education website ArtsAlive.ca. These include many of the 100 new Canadian works commissioned by the NAC Orchestra in its 45 year history.
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