≈ 45 minutes · No intermission
Last updated: February 12, 2019
Welcome to the BIG BANG Festival!
I’d like to know what that sounds like to you, and what springs to mind when you hear it. For me, it’s a shout – an explosion of joy. It’s like you’re never alone when you say it. In fact, I feel like it needs to be chanted by lots of people together. “BIIIIIIIIIIG BAAAAAANG!” Wow! That would blow anyone’s socks off! Maybe it’s because it hints at something huge and unpredictable that we know nothing about. And the Big Bang that created the universe was no doubt very loud. Today however, we’re talking about something completely different, but still thunderous in its own way: a sensational and colourful musical adventure. And it begins right here, right now…
The orchestra members and the conductor are about to go on stage. You’re on the edge of your seat and the excitement goes up another notch. But hold on… there’s someone else with them and she doesn’t have an instrument with her. Very peculiar. It’s Marcelle Hudon. She too is very talented, but believe me, she doesn’t need an instrument to bring to life the many characters and landscapes she created for this concert – her two hands will do the trick. And you’re about to see it all happen before your own eyes. Take a peak at what’s going on inside the artist’s head: What does Marcelle see when she listens to Morlock, Saint‑Saëns or Beethoven’s Fifth? What does she think you’re imagining as you listen to the music? What can she come up with to amaze you? Nothing is impossible here. ANYTHING can happen.
– Mélanie Dumont, Associate Artistic Director, Youth Programming, NAC French Theatre
National Youth and Education Trust
The National Youth and Education Trust is the primary resource for youth and education funding at the National Arts Centre. Supporters of the Trust help the National Arts Centre pursue priority initiatives through the performing arts that nurture and develop the creativity of young people in all regions across Canada and support the educators and artists who challenge and encourage them.
The National Youth and Education Trust is supported by the supporters and patrons of the annual NAC Gala and the donors of the NAC Foundation’s Corporate Circle and Donors’ Circle.
Contributions are welcome, please call the NAC Foundation at 613 947-7000, ext. 315.
Did you know?
Horsing around
The bows used to play the stringed instruments are made of wood and horsehair!
Wood to know
Reeds of woodwind instruments are made of bamboo.
Spit it out!
Most brass instruments have a special spit valve that allows water, condensation generated by blowing in the instrument, to be expelled!
Soup-er sound
A timpani looks like a big cauldron… but don’t try making soup in it!
Repertoire
Syrinx
Oiseaux bleus et sauvages
Hungarian Dance No. 1
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67: I. Allegro con brio
Hungarian Dance No. 6
Hungarian Dance No. 21
Danse macabre, Opus 40
Artists
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.
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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 eight recordings with the NAC Orchestra, including the JUNO-nominated New Worlds, Life Reflected, ENCOUNT3RS, The Bounds of Our Dreams, and the acclaimed Clara, Robert, Johannes four-album series, all with Canadian label Analekta.
The Music Director role is supported by Elinor Gill Ratcliffe, C.M., O.N.L., LL.D. (hc)
Choreographer of the Inanimate
There’s a colour called Marcelle Hudon! When you encounter one of her oversize puppets or discover one of her handcrafted or robotic creations dancing with light and shadow, you know you’re witnessing another magic trick by this unique and remarkable local artist. In her lush studio, she experiments with materials, objects and video; she then incorporates sound or live music, as in Le pavillon des Immortels heureux (2014). Thanks to her skill at bringing inanimate objects to life, she is also much in demand for television and film productions.
Praised by critics for the beauty, clarity, and fluidity of her sound, impeccable phrasing, and consummate musicality, Joanna G’froerer enjoys an exciting career as an orchestral player, chamber musician, soloist, and educator. Principal Flute of the National Arts Centre Orchestra since 1992, she was appointed to that position at the age of 20, one of the youngest musicians ever to be hired by the NAC Orchestra.
A native of Vancouver, Joanna G’froerer comes from a family of professional musicians. She performs regularly as a soloist with the NAC Orchestra, having appeared as soloist in over 30 different programs since joining the orchestra. She has also performed concertos with many of Canada’s other fine ensembles, including the symphony orchestras of Vancouver, Victoria, and Quebec City. Joanna G’froerer is a past first-prize winner of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal Competition.
Among her acclaimed recordings are a CBC disc of Mozart’s Flute Quartets with Pinchas Zukerman, Martin Beaver, and Amanda Forsyth, named Best Canadian Chamber Music Recording of 2002 by Opus Magazine. A recording of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, with Jens Lindemann, James Ehnes, Jon Kimura Parker, and Charles Hamann, was nominated for a Juno Award in 2021.
Joanna G’froerer has been featured in the chamber music festivals of Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, and Ottawa, Halifax’s Scotia Festival, the Campos do Jordao Festival in Brazil, and the Affinis Festival in Japan. As an educator, she has taught flute at the NAC Summer Music Institute, at Domaine Forget, and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. She is presently on faculty at the University of Ottawa and at McGill University in Montreal.
Joanna G’froerer is a Wm. S. Haynes Artist, playing a custom 19.5 K gold Haynes flute with lightweight silver mechanism and headjoints in 19.5K and 14K gold.
Mathieu Marcil has been creating lighting designs for various theatre companies since 1991. From Carbone 14 to Omnibus by way of the Groupe de la Veillée, the companies he works with reflect his affinity for physical theatre. His interest in young audiences has also led him to work regularly with the children’s theatre companies Bouches décousues and Le Clou. Always on the lookout for new lighting experiences, he has exported his skills to various disciplines, including circus, with Les Gens d’R (Échos, presented at the 2000 Venice Biennale). His research on the relationship between lighting and the physical body sparked his interest in the puppeteer’s craft. “Sensitive” is the word most often used to describe his lighting designs.
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.