What Makes SMI Unique? SMI faculty share their insight.
In preparation for SMI 2013, we’ve asked three faculty members – Patty Kopec (violin/viola), Grigory Kalinovsky (violin/viola), and Charles (Chip) Hamann (oboe) – to share some advice with students about preparing for the Young Artist Program (YAP), making the most of their time here, and what makes SMI unique. Here's part three of our Q&A:
There are many… Continue Reading
Students prepare for the 15th annual Summer Music Institute (SMI)—Part Two
We’ve asked three SMI faculty members – Patty Kopec (violin/viola), Grigory Kalinovsky (violin/viola), and Charles (Chip) Hamann (oboe) – to share some advice with students about preparing for the Young Artist Program (YAP), making the most of their time here, and what makes SMI unique. Here's part two:
How can students make the most of their… Continue Reading
Students prepare for the 15th annual Summer Music Institute (SMI)—Part One
We’re only a few months away from the 15th annual Summer Music Institute (SMI) at the National Arts Centre! In preparation, we’ve asked three SMI faculty members -- Patty Kopec (violin/viola), Grigory Kalinovsky (violin/viola), and Charles (Chip) Hamann (oboe) -- to share some advice with students about preparing for the Young Artist Program (YAP), making the most of their… Continue Reading
The Institute for Orchestral Studies: NAC’s “finishing-school” for young musicians
It may have been the most important lunch break Theodore Chan has ever taken.
Theodore was in the NAC’s Le Café with his mentor Joel Quarrington, principal double bass with the National Arts Centre Orchestra (NACO). At the next table, guest conductor Zubin Mehta was talking to Maestro Pinchas Zukerman about his need for a good bass player… Continue Reading
Getting to know you - an interview with Dina Gilbert, SMI Conductors Program
AW: A little about you: where are you from, and where is home right now?
DG: I grew up in Saint-Georges-de-Beauce, a little town about an hour from Québec City. My parents weren’t musicians, but they loved music, and my five sisters and I all took piano and singing lessons from a very young age. When I was…
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A great orchestra has its own pulse. The conductor initiates the pulse and the orchestra takes it and they can own it. So, the conductor must trust the orchestra and not constantly beating time.
Maestro Kenneth Keisler - Director of the SMI Conductors Program
Getting to know you - an interview with Kate Marland, SMI Pre-College Viola
Kate Marland began studying violin with Leslie Wade at the age of four and now studies viola with Rennie Regehr at the University of Ottawa. Encouraged by many wonderful summers spent at chamber music programs such as Music at Port Milford and the Tuckamore Festival, and three years as a member of the Ottawa Youth Orchestra, Kate has developed… Continue Reading
Getting to Know You: An Interview with Anna Pidgorna
Anna Pidgorna, one of five Composer Fellows at the 2012 Summer Music Institute (SMI) was born in Ukraine and immigrated to Canada with her family at the age of twelve. After studying at Simon Fraser University(SFU) in Vancouver, BC, Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, and the University of Calgary(UofC) in Calgary, AB; Anna is now living in… Continue Reading
Getting to know you – an interview with Anita Pari, Pre-College Piano
Born in San Diego, raised in Ottawa, and soon to begin a Bachelor of Music at the Frost School of Music in Miami with internationally renowned Cuban-American pianist Santiago Rodriguez, 14-year-old Anita Pari's dream of a life in music is becoming reality. A winner in international and national competitions in piano, cello and composition, and of four gold medals from… Continue Reading
Getting to Know You: an interview with Summer Music Institute Violist, John Kastelic
We've survived week one of the Summer Music Institute! I had a chance to quickly catch up with one of our students, Violist, John Kastelic.
John received a B.Mus degree in composition and music scholarship at UBC, studying viola with David Harding. As a violist and violinist, he plays a wide variety of music, ranging from classical music,… Continue Reading
Getting to Know You - An Interview with Lara Deutsch
Ottawa flutist Lara Deutsch will be performing in the upcoming My First NAC on Tuesday May 29th at 7:30pm in the National Arts Centre Studio. Lara also participated in the Summer Music Institute in 2010 as a member of l’Orchestre de la francophonie, and in 2011 as a member of the wind quintet. I had the opportunity… Continue Reading
2nd Annual “My First NAC” Showcase Concert Features Canada’s Star Musicians of Tomorrow
When Canadian music students come to the NAC to participate in programs like the “Manhattan on the Rideau” jazz broadband masterclasses or the Summer Music Institute, they don't expect to get called back, months or even years later, to be awarded a $1,000 prize and perform as part of a showcase concert, produced by the same incredible… Continue Reading
Summer Music Institute Donor Profile - Marg Campbell
The following is a conversation with Marg Campbell, a long-time NAC Foundation donor and dedicated supporter of the National Arts Centre’s Summer Music Institute (SMI). The Summer Music Institute offers the opportunity of a lifetime to promising young musicians from across Canada and around the globe. With access to world-class training given by an internationally renowned faculty and valuable… Continue Reading
An interview with SMI Conducting Program Alumnus Yaniv Dinur
We are excited to share with you the following interview with Summer Music Institute Conducting Program Alumnus Yaniv Dinur (YD) and blogger Pamela Hickman*(PH). Yaniv speaks quite thoroughly and complimentary about his experience at SMI in 2005-2006 and his studies with our Conductor’s program director Kenneth Kiesler at the University of Michigan.
PH: I understand you went to… Continue Reading
Getting to Know You: An interview with Paul Casey
Violist Paul Casey will be performing at the upcoming NAC Orchestra Bursary Benefit Concert this Sunday, March 4th, 2012. I had the opportunity to spend some time getting to know Paul a little better as we chatted about music, and about some outstanding memories from his experiences with us here at the National Arts Centre, including as an… Continue Reading
NAC Summer Music Institute!
The 2012 edition of the National Arts Centre’s Summer Music Institute is only a few short months away. The program consists of three divisions: the Young Artist Program, the Conductors Program and the Composers Program. It’s a time to study with world-class coaches and exceptional fellow students for a three-week period. Friendships that last a lifetime… Continue Reading