Since its debut in 1969, the National Arts Centre 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 Orchestra performs a full series of subscription concerts at the National Arts Centre each season, featuring world-class artists such as James Ehnes, Angela Hewitt, Joshua Bell, Xian Zhang, Gabriela Montero, Stewart Goodyear, Jan Lisiecki, and Principal Guest Conductor John Storgårds.
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.
National and international tours have been a hallmark of the National Arts Centre Orchestra from the very beginning. The Orchestra has toured 95 times since its inauguration in 1969, visiting 120 cities in Canada, as well as 20 countries and 138 cities internationally. In recent years, the orchestra has undertaken performance and education tours across Canada, as well as the U.K. and China. In 2019, the Orchestra marked its 50th anniversary with a seven-city European tour that included performances and education events in England, France, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden, and that showcased the work of six Canadian composers.
The NAC Orchestra has recorded many of the more than 80 new works commissioned since its inception, for radio and on over 40 commercial recordings. These include Angela Hewitt’s 2015 JUNO Award-winning album of Mozart Piano Concertos; the groundbreaking Life Reflected, which includes My Name is Amanda Todd by Jocelyn Morlock, winner of the 2018 JUNO for Classical Composition of the Year; and from the 2019 JUNO nominated New Worlds, Ana Sokolović’s Golden Slumbers Kiss Your Eyes, 2019 JUNO Winner for Classical Composition of the Year.
The NAC Orchestra reaches a national and international audience through touring, recordings, and extensive educational outreach. The Orchestra performed on Parliament Hill for the 2019 Canada Day noon concert in a live broadcast for CBC Television.
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)
Canadian violinist of German and Lebanese ancestry, Jessica Linnebach has established herself as an accomplished artist with a thriving multi-faceted career encompassing solo, chamber, and orchestral performances.
Known for her “burnt caramel sound, utterly fearless virtuosity...and romantic lyricism” (Artsfile), Jessica has performed as soloist with orchestras around the world. A passionate chamber musician, Jessica is a member of the Ironwood String Quartet along with her NAC Orchestra colleagues Emily Kruspe, Carissa Klopoushak, and Rachel Mercer. They are frequent performers at various chamber music series and festivals, including the WolfGANG and the NAC’s Music for a Sunday Afternoon series, as well as Ottawa ChamberFest, Pontiac Enchanté, Ritornello, and Classical Unbound festivals. As part of a commitment to reaching broader audiences, Jessica is one of the Artistic Directors of the Classical Unbound Festival, a chamber music festival in Prince Edward County, Ontario.
Accepted to the world-renowned Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia at age 10, Jessica remains one of the youngest-ever Bachelor of Music graduates in the history of the school. While there, Jessica’s primary teachers were Aaron Rosand, Jaime Laredo, and Ida Kavafian. At 18, she received her Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City where she studied with Pinchas Zukerman and Patinka Kopec.
Jessica resides in Ottawa where she has held the position of Associate Concertmaster with the NAC Orchestra since 2010. A natural leader, Jessica has performed numerous times as guest Concertmaster with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Jessica plays a circa 1840 Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume (Guarnerius del Gésu 1737) violin. Her bows are crafted by Ron Forrester and Michael Vann.
A 2004 graduate of the National Circus School, Claudel Doucet is an interdisciplinary artist with a background in the contemporary circus culture. After touring for several years as a performer with major companies such as Cirque du Soleil and Circus Monti (Switzerland), Claudel switched to creating circus work. She cofounded the Compagnie du Poivre Rose in 2014, presenting her eponymous show at the Circa festival in Auch before touring internationally. Claudel later founded her own company, LION LION in 2019. At the helm of LION LION, she creates various multidisciplinary projects that have received critical acclaim in several international festivals, including the Montreal Complètement Cirque festival. Her work explores new dramaturgical writing within the circus practice. Today, Claudel collaborates as a director and artistic advisor at the National Circus School.
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For Mélanie Dumont, the theatre is a fabulous playground! Since 2011 as associate artistic director of NAC French Theatre, Mélanie has focused on providing fantastic interdisciplinary spaces for audiences age 0 to 20 to flex their imaginations! A close associate of Brigitte Haentjens, she has acted as dramaturg for several of her productions, including Rome, Richard III and Dans la solitude des champs de coton, and also wrote Ce qui se trame, an overview of this important artist’s practice. Having developed close artistic links with Flemish creators over the years, Mélanie has collaborated on a number of Belgian projects, including Hush with the Zonzo company and the BIG BANG Festival.
For more than 30 years, the ENC, a school for higher education in arts, after the great schools of music, dance, and theatre, has trained hundreds of artists who have undertaken professional training. The placement rate for graduates averages 95 percent. On the strength of their great versatility and mastery of their chosen discipline, these artists continue to develop their crafts as they perform in the most prestigious venues on all continents.
Internationally renowned for the highest-quality training, the School opens its doors to more than 150 students from around the world. The School’s staff, a dedicated team comprised of more than 80 teachers, lecturers, and artistic advisors, provides students with exceptional resources. These passionate and experienced professionals have all made a mark in their respective fields, which encompass circus, education, sports, and the performing arts, in Canada and beyond. With new facilities that cater to all disciplines while promoting safety, the School provides a unique learning environment.