Redirecting you to the event page
Nous vous dirigeons vers la page d’événement
Composer John Estacio is a recipient of the National Arts Centre Award for Composers (2009)– a major prize that includes the commissioning of three works for the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the first of which is Brio: Toccata and Fantasy for Orchestra. The NAC Orchestra premiered Mr. Estacio’s Brio in Ottawa and performed it on tour throughout Canada’s Atlantic provinces in 2011, during the China Tour in 2013, and the UK Tour in 2014. The UK Tour will also feature the world premiere of Mr. Estacio’s latest NAC commission, Wind Quintet.
Mr. Estacio has written three operas including Lillian Alling, which premiered in October 2010 by the Vancouver Opera. Filumena, his first opera, premiered in 2003 in Calgary and Banff, and went on to receive four Betty Mitchell Awards, including one for outstanding production. Filumena was filmed for television and broadcast on PBS and the CBC. As composer-in-residence for several orchestras, Mr. Estacio created several compositions and recorded some of them on the JUNO nominated CD “Frenergy, the Music of John Estacio,” released by CBC Records.
Mr. Estacio’s orchestral works have been performed at Carnegie Hall, by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet featured several of Mr. Estacio’s orchestral works in Wonderland – a ballet choreographed by Shawn Hounsell. He composed an orchestral score for the new ballet King Arthur’s Camelot by the Cincinnati Ballet which premiered in February 2014. The Los Angeles Philharmonic and acclaimed tenor Ben Heppner toured Europe with Mr. Estacio’s arrangement of Seven Songs by Jean Sibelius.
Robert Chafe is a writer, educator, actor and arts administrator based in St. John’s, Ktaqmkuk (Newfoundland). He has worked in theatre, dance, opera, radio, fiction and film. His stage plays have been seen in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and in the United States, and include Oil and Water, Tempting Providence, Afterimage, Under Wraps, Between Breaths, Everybody Just Calm the Fuck Down, and The Colony of Unrequited Dreams (adapted from the novel by Wayne Johnston.) He has been shortlisted twice for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama and he won the award for Afterimage in 2010. He has been guest instructor at Memorial University, Sir Wilfred Grenfell College, and The National Theatre School of Canada. In 2018 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Memorial University. He is the playwright and Artistic Director of Artistic Fraud.
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.