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Alexander Shelley
Alexander Shelley succeeded Pinchas Zukerman as Music Director of Canada’s NAC Orchestra in September 2015. The ensemble has since been praised as being “transformed... hungry, bold, and unleashed” (Ottawa Citizen) and Shelley’s programming credited for turning the orchestra into “one of the more audacious in North America” (Maclean’s).
Shelley is a champion of Canadian creation; recent hallmarks include the multimedia projects Life Reflected and UNDISRUPTED, and three major new ballets in partnership with NAC Dance for Encount3rs. He is passionate about arts education and nurturing the next generation of musicians. He is an Ambassador for Ottawa’s OrKidstra, a charitable social development program that teaches children life skills through making music together.
Alexander Shelley is also the Principal Associate Conductor of London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and, starting with the 2024–2025 season, Artistic and Music Director of Artis-Naples and the Naples Philharmonic in Florida, USA. In the spring of 2019, he led the NAC Orchestra on its critically acclaimed 50th Anniversary European tour, and in 2017, he led the Orchestra in a tour across Canada, celebrating Canada’s 150th anniversary. Most recently, he led the Orchestra in its first performance at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 30 years.
He has made seven recordings with the NAC Orchestra, including the JUNO-nominated New Worlds, Life Reflected, ENCOUNT3RS, The Bounds of Our Dreams, Darlings of the Muses, Lyrical Echoes, and Atmosphere and Mastery, all with Montreal label Analekta.
The Music Director role is supported by Elinor Gill Ratcliffe, C.M., O.N.L., LL.D. (hc)
Upcoming events
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NAC Gala
with Renée Fleming and the NAC OrchestraBegin November on a high note by supporting the next generation of performing artists with living legend Renée Fleming and the NAC Orchestra under the baton … read more
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Richard Strauss’s tone poems depict epic tales and ask life’s big questions . … read more
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Richard Strauss’s tone poems depict epic tales and ask life’s big questions . … read more
Projects & initiatives
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Romance and Counterpoint
The NAC Orchestra’s final album in a four-part recording cycle that explores the closely intertwined personal and artistic connections between three musical giants: Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms.
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NAC Orchestra Mentorship Program
Play it forward! A bold and innovative professional development initiative for talented emerging and early career professional orchestral creatives from around the world.
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UNDISRUPTED: A ground-breaking series
Four Canadian musical visionaries have created episodes with the NAC Orchestra that use the power of music and video to share their stories.