Storgårds Conducts Sibelius

Start: 2023-11-03T20:00-0400
End: 2023-11-03T23:00-0400
Location: Southam Hall

Featuring Niillas Holmberg

https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/33670

In-person event

Finnish music is filled with magic and mystery, from the traditional music and songs of the nomadic Sámi people to the brilliance of Finland’s national composer Jean Sibelius who was inspired by the same Finnish folktales as JRR Tolkien—and, later, Howard Shore. Yoik is traditional singing unique to the Sámi, the last nomadic peoples of Northern Europe, who live in Sápmi (formerly known as Lapland and comprising parts of Finland, Norway, Sweden, and...

November 2 - 3, 2023

Southam Hall 1 Elgin Street Ottawa Canada

This event has passed

Storgårds Conducts Sibelius

Nov 2 - 3, 2023

Southam Hall

Music Classical music Masterworks Vocal

EINOJUHANI RAUTAVAARA Cantus Arcticus: Concerto for Birds and Orchestra
- play
- pause
ROOPE MÄENPÄÄ Luovus: Symphony for Yoik and Chamber Orchestra
- play
- pause
JEAN SIBELIUS Symphony No. 3 in C major, Op. 52

Featured artists

In-person event

Finnish music is filled with magic and mystery, from the traditional music and songs of the nomadic Sámi people to the brilliance of Finland’s national composer Jean Sibelius who was inspired by the same Finnish folktales as JRR Tolkien—and, later, Howard Shore.

Yoik is traditional singing unique to the Sámi, the last nomadic peoples of Northern Europe, who live in Sápmi (formerly known as Lapland and comprising parts of Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Russia). Composer Roope Mäenpää’s “Luovus” Symphony for Yoik and Chamber Orchestra is built on poetry written by guest Yoik vocalist Niillas Holmberg, a genre-defying musician and advocate for the Sámi people. (Holmberg and Mäenpää often perform together, combining Niillas’s singer-songwriter style with Roope’s classical background to create unique Arctic folk music in which language is no barrier.)

Finnish composer Jean Sibelius’s Symphony No. 3 is deeply influenced by Finnish folk music and filled with the energy and enchantment of the ancient northern woods. In this symphony, listen for the passages that might have influenced Howard Shore as he composed the score for The Lord of the Rings.

Learn more in the program notes ›

Artists

Conductor John Storgårds
Conductor John Storgårds

Principal Guest Conductor of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa and Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, John Storgårds has a dual career as a conductor and violin virtuoso and is widely recognized for his creative flair for programming. As Artistic Director of the Lapland Chamber Orchestra, a title he has held for over 25 years, Storgårds earned global critical acclaim for the ensemble’s adventurous performances and award-winning recordings.

Internationally, Storgårds appears with such orchestras as the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Munich Philharmonic, Dresden Staatskapelle, WDR Symphony Orchestra in Cologne, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Vienna Radio Symphony, and the London Philharmonic, as well as all of the major Scandinavian orchestras, including the Helsinki Philharmonic where he was Chief Conductor from 2008 to 2015. In North America, he is a regular guest with the Boston and Chicago symphony orchestras, the orchestras of Toronto, Montreal, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Detroit, and Dallas, and the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C., as well as with the Cleveland Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic.

Storgårds’s award-winning discography includes not only recordings of works by Schumann, Mozart, Beethoven, and Haydn, but also rarities by Holmboe and Vask, which feature him as violin soloist. Cycles of the complete symphonies of Sibelius (2014) and Nielsen (2015) with the BBC Philharmonic were released to critical acclaim by Chandos. His most recent recordings feature works by Weinberg with the BBC Philharmonic on Chandos, and symphonies by Per Nørgård with the Bergen Philharmonic on BIS. Chandos has also recently released his recording of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 14 and Six Verses of Marina Tsvetayeva with the BBC Philharmonic, as part of a Shostakovich symphony cycle being recorded for the label. Additional recordings include discs of works by Nørgård, Korngold, Aho, and Rautavaara, the latter receiving a GRAMMY nomination and a Gramophone Award in 2012.
NAC media featuring John Storgårds
Close
Yoik Soloist Niillas Holmberg

Yoik Soloist Niillas Holmberg

Jalvvi Niillas Holmberg is a Sámi poet, novelist, scriptwriter, and musician from Utsjoki, Sápmi. He has published a novel and six books of poetry, and his works have been translated into more than ten languages. Niillas is a genre-defying musician who works as a vocalist, composer, and lyricist, and has produced six albums.

For many years Holmberg has been involved in several movements against the exploitation of nature, such as mining, in the traditional Sámi areas. Environmental and cultural aspects are the core of his artistic expression and he is known as an upfront spokesman for Sámi and Indigenous rights.

Close
Stage Manager Laurie Champagne

Stage Manager Laurie Champagne

Laurie began her stage management career with English Theatre and Jean Roberts’s company at the National Arts Centre. Since then she has been honoured to work with NAC English Theatre, NAC Indigenous Theatre, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, and NAC Presents (now Popular Music and Variety). Laurie has been Production Stage Manager for the Shaw Festival and Theatre Calgary, and Stage Manager for, amongst others, Arts Club Theatre Company, The Globe Theatre, Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Mirvish Productions, Stratford Festival, Great Canadian Theatre Company, Grand Theatre, Theatre New Brunswick, and Neptune Theatre.

Close
Featuring NAC Orchestra
Featuring NAC Orchestra

Since its debut in 1969, the National Arts Centre (NAC) Orchestra has been praised for the passion and clarity of its performances, its visionary educational programs, and its prominent role in nurturing Canadian creativity. Under the leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, reaching and representing the diverse communities we live in with daring programming, powerful storytelling, inspiring artistry, and innovative partnerships.

Alexander Shelley began his tenure as Music Director in 2015, following Pinchas Zukerman’s 16 seasons at the helm. Principal Associate Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and former Chief Conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra (2009–2017), he has been in demand around the world, conducting the Rotterdam Philharmonic, DSO Berlin, Leipzig Gewandhaus, and Stockholm Philharmonic, among others, and maintains a regular relationship with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie and the German National Youth Orchestra.

Each season, the NAC Orchestra features world-class artists such as the newly appointed Artist-in-Residence James Ehnes, Angela Hewitt, Joshua Bell, Xian Zhang, Gabriela Montero, Stewart Goodyear, Jan Lisiecki, and Principal Guest Conductor John Storgårds. As one of the most accessible, inclusive, and collaborative orchestras in the world, the NAC Orchestra uses music as a universal language to communicate the deepest of human emotions and connect people through shared experiences.
NAC media featuring NAC Orchestra
Close