Last updated: May 29, 2024
Program
SERGEI PROKOFIEV Quintet in G minor, Op. 39 (22 min)
I. Tema con variazioni
II. Andante energico
III. Allegro sostenuto, ma con brio
IV. Adagio pesante
V. Allegro precipitato, ma non troppo presto
VI. Andantino
Anna Petersen, oboe
Kimball Sykes, clarinet
Jessica Linnebach, violin
Paul Casey, viola
Max Cardilli, double bass
BOHUSLAV MARTINŮ Suite from La revue de cuisine (15 min)
I. Prologue: Allegretto marcia
II. Tango: Lento – Andante – Lento
III. Charleston: Poco a poco allegro – Tempo di charleston
IV. Final: Tempo di marcia – Allegretto
Kimball Sykes, clarinet
Darren Hicks, bassoon
Karen Donnelly, trumpet
Emily Kruspe, violin
Marc-André Riberdy, cello
Vadim Serebryany, piano
INTERMISSION
IGOR STRAVINSKY Suite from Histoire du soldat (26 min)
I. Marche du soldat (Soldier’s March)
II. Musique de la première scène (Petits airs au bord du ruisseau / Song at River’s Bank)
III. Musique de la deuxième scène (Pastorale)
IV. Marche royale (Royal March)
V. Petit concert (Little Concert)
VI. Trois danses : tango, valse, ragtime (Three Dances: Tango, Waltz, Ragtime)
VII. Danse du diable (Devil’s Dance)
VIII. Grand choral (Grand Chorale)
IX. Marche triomphale du diable (Devil’s Triumphant March)
Kimball Sykes, clarinet
Darren Hicks, bassoon
Karen Donnelly, trumpet
Steven Dyer, trombone
Jonathan Wade, percussion
Jessica Linnebach, violin
Max Cardilli, double bass
Repertoire
Quintet in G minor, Op. 39
I. Tema con variazioni
II. Andante energico
III. Allegro sostenuto, ma con brio
Iv. Adagio pesante
V. Allegro precipitato, ma non troppo presto
VI. Andantino
In 1918, Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953) left Russia, then in the grips of revolutionary fervour, to seek professional opportunities as a composer and performer elsewhere. He went first to New York, then to Ettal, in southern Germany. Five years later, newly married and about to be a father, he decided to settle in Paris, then the epicentre of all things cultural and artistic. Although his ballet The Buffoon, which had been commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev of the famed Ballets Russes, had had a successful premiere there in 1921, Prokofiev’s first years in the “city of light” were challenging as he sought to make his mark as a composer. While he continued to perform to make ends meet, he hoped to create new works that would further establish his reputation.
One of these pieces was the Second Symphony, for the conductor Serge Koussevitsky, which Prokofiev began to compose during the summer of 1924. Around that time, he also accepted another commission of a different ilk—“a ballet for a roving dance troupe [Boris Romanov’s Romantic Theatre] which wished to present a program of several short pieces accompanied by five instruments,” he noted. “I proposed a quintet consisting of oboe, clarinet, violin, viola, and double bass. The simple plot, based on circus life, was titled Trapeze.” In conceiving his ballet this way, Prokofiev intended for the score to be played as a stand-alone concert piece—the Quintet, Op. 39—thus maximizing opportunities for performance. Romanov’s company premiered Trapeze in late 1925 in Berlin, while the Quintet was first performed in March 1927 in Moscow during Prokofiev’s tour of the USSR. The latter was soon after performed in Paris, where it earned the admiration of the French composer Francis Poulenc.
Among Prokofiev’s works, the Quintet, Op. 39, is considered one of his more radical creations. Its six movements feature melodies both spikey and smooth-lined, sharply juxtaposed for contrasting effect, as well as clashing harmonies, irregular rhythms, and complex polyphonic textures. Along with the Quintet’s distinctive instrumentation (likely influenced by Stravinsky’s Histoire du soldat), the piece is characterized by an energetic playfulness that evokes the circus-theme idea.
The oboe opens the first movement with a melody inflected with acerbic dissonances, which becomes the basis for two variations—one lyrical and the other lively—after which the theme is reprised. In the second movement, double bass alone introduces a robust tune that is subsequently taken up in turn by each of the instruments, which spin out different variants. The “circus-y” third movement is built on a fluctuating rhythmic pattern (it originally confounded the dancers of Romanov’s troupe) with rapid melodic flourishes suggesting high-flying acrobatics.
In the Adagio pesante, Prokofiev combines disparate sonorities of the quintet’s instruments to somewhat eerie effect, beginning with a winding melody in the oboe overtop tremolos played “near the bridge” of the violin, undulating figures in the clarinet and viola, and a pulsating drone in the double bass. As the movement progresses, the layers thicken and reach an impassioned peak, then subside to the close. The fifth movement has even greater circus energy than the third, filled with rough-and-tumble motives and elements—ferocious accents, pointillistic pizzicato, rushing scales.
A stately minuet starts off the final movement, with oboe and clarinet in dialogue, to which the violin then adds its own silvery counterpoint. Soon, the minuet morphs into a lilting trio, featuring rocking motives in the woodwinds that introduce a violin and double bass duet. Later, violin and viola punch out dissonant chords, which ultimately dissolve into a wandering bass line that leads us back to a shortened reprise of the minuet. After a raucous climax on the rocking figures from the trio, viola and double bass play a tumultuous passage to bring the quintet to a brusque finish.
Suite from La revue de cuisine
I. Prologue: Allegretto marcia
II. Tango: Lento – Andante – Lento
III. Charleston: Poco a poco allegro – Tempo di charleston
IV. Final: Tempo di marcia – Allegretto
Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů (1890–1959) first visited Paris in 1919 while on tour as a violinist with the Czech Philharmonic. He returned there four years later, on a scholarship from the ministry of education to study with the composer Albert Roussel; what was supposed to be a three-month stint turned into an 18-year stay. Like many musicians in his day (including his contemporary Sergei Prokofiev), he was drawn to Paris’s vibrant cultural life, then characterized by its openness to diversity and artistic experimentation. In his first years there, Martinů absorbed many of the new musical styles and influences the city had to offer, particularly jazz, which was being brought over from the United States by African American performers and had become all the rage with Parisians. Jazz became a formative influence on his music from the mid-1920s to the early 1930s; indeed, Martinů was one of several other Czech composers living in Paris at the time, who, according to his biographer James Rybka, “endeavoured to blend the rhythmic and instrumental freedom found in jazz with their Bohemian melodies.”
Martinů’s one-act ballet La revue de cuisine (The Kitchen Review) from 1927 is the first of his works to incorporate jazz elements. Commissioned by Jarmila Kröschlová, it was premiered by her Ballet Group in Prague in November that year. It received mixed reviews then (the composer reportedly said it was “chewed out” by the critics there), but it was later very well received in Paris. A concert suite adaptation of the score, which was performed at one of Alfred Cortot’s concerts, became a hit in 1930, and was also recorded and published. Martinů was particularly proud of the work, and it remained one his favourite compositions.
Based on Kröschlová’s scenario Pokušení svatouška hrnce (Temptation of the Saintly Pot), the ballet is about the romantic quandaries of a group of kitchen utensils. Pot and Lid are happily married but their union is threatened when the flirtatious Twirling Stick seduces Pot, stirring up such passion that Lid falls off it and rolls away. With Pot’s attentions thus engaged, Dishcloth tries to lure Lid but is stopped by Broom, who challenges Dishcloth to a duel. Pot wants Lid back, but Lid can’t be found until an enormous foot appears to kick it back on to the stage, and they are joyfully reunited.
Scored for clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, violin, cello, and piano (an instrumentation that basically replicates the sound of jazz bands of the period), four of the ballet’s ten movements are part of the suite you’ll hear today. The opening Prologue starts with a trumpet fanfare after which the ensuing march gets off to a humorously clumsy start in the piano with chords in off-kilter rhythms. The cello resets on a bustling theme with rapid scales and glissando effects, which the violin then picks up. The perky fanfare motive returns and is developed by the instruments, as swirling figures, suggesting the Twirling Stick, join the musical mix. Listen out for the jazzy syncopations that later come to fore, further animating the march to the end.
Martinů based the next two numbers on two popular dances of the time, both imported into Paris from elsewhere: the Latin American tango, and the Charleston, the American flapper dance from South Carolina. In the Tango (subtitled “Dance d’amour” in the ballet), cello, muted trumpet, and bassoon each take a turn with its languid melody. A sultry haze of impressionistic chordal harmonies then appears in the piano, after which the final melodic strain dissolves on the cello. From the tango’s dissolution, the bassoon emerges, musing on a turning figure that becomes a wandering chromatic line. Cello, then clarinet join in, picking up momentum and the rest of the instruments along the way to arrive at a lively Charleston, led by the trumpet.
The Final recalls the march fanfare and the piano’s jaunty chords from the Prologue, but then gives way to a succession of tunes referencing disparate popular musical styles (what Rybka describes as Martinů’s “multi-cultural punning”). First, clarinet, violin, and cello engage in a merry contrapuntal episode on the march theme; it’s followed by a cheerful tune on the violin, soon joined by the clarinet, with the piano accompanying in “reverse stride” style. The latter briefly introduces the Charleston, but the cheerful tune resumes, leading to a lyrical, folk-like melody sweetly sung by the violin with trumpet on a countermelody based on the march theme. Thereafter, these various materials return, gradually animated by the piano’s Charleston rhythms, and finally unite in joyous revelry.
Suite from Histoire du soldat
I. Marche du soldat (Soldier’s March)
II. Musique de la première scene (Petits airs au bord du ruisseau / Song at River’s Bank)
III. Musique de la deuxième scene (Pastorale)
IV. Marche royale (Royal March)
V. Petit concert (Little Concert)
VI. Trois danses : tango, valse, ragtime (Three Dances: Tango, Waltz, Ragtime)
VII. Danse du diable (Devil’s Dance)
VIII. Grand choral (Grand Chorale)
IX. Marche triomphale du diable (Devil’s Triumphant March)
Between 1914 and 1920, Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) was exiled in Switzerland, due to events of the First World War and the October Revolution. From 1915, he and his family settled in Morges, where he befriended a group of Swiss-French writers, including the novelist Charles Ferdinand Ramuz, to whom he was introduced by the conductor Ernest Ansermet. Ramuz became a frequent guest at Stravinsky’s “Villa Rogivue” and was invited by the composer to translate the Russian texts of Renard and Les Noces into French. With Ansermet’s encouragement, they soon decided to collaborate on a new work, not least because they were in financially precarious circumstances and needed to earn income.
The result was Histoire du soldat (Tale of the Soldier), a theatre piece to be “read, played, and danced.” By employing smaller forces of three actors (rather than singers), a dancer, and a chamber ensemble (instead of an orchestra) plus a simple stage design, they envisioned the work to be toured around the theatres of Switzerland, thus maximizing performance opportunities (and income) during austere times. The first production of Histoire, backed by Swiss philanthropist Werner Reinhart, was staged (with Ansermet conducting) in Lausanne on September 18, 1918, to mixed reception. Unfortunately, the Spanish flu epidemic prevented further presentations as all Swiss public halls were closed. However, Reinhart continued to support Stravinsky by funding a concert series featuring the composer’s chamber music that included a new suite of five numbers from Histoire, arranged for violin, clarinet and piano, which was first performed on November 8, 1919. The following year, Stravinsky created a longer “grande suite” using Histoire’s original instrumentation that premiered at London’s Wigmore Hall on July 20, 1920. You’ll hear the latter version in this afternoon’s concert.
Based on several Russian folk tales that were published by Alexander Afanasyev (1826–1871), the scenario of Histoire du soldat is a bitter story about a soldier who tussles with the Devil and is ultimately defeated. To underscore this bleak plot, Stravinsky brings together various forms of popular music, including a march, a waltz, a tango, a ragtime, and a Lutheran chorale, on which he creates inventively subtle modern parodies. Throughout, the composer’s writing highlights the disparate timbres of the ensemble, which consists of pairs of high- and low-voiced instruments from each instrumental family—violin and double bass, clarinet and bassoon, trumpet and trombone—plus a battery of percussion. Textures are spare and the overall soundscape has a rough and rustic quality.
To give context for the movements of this suite, a synopsis of the work is provided below:
Joseph Duprat, a soldier, has been granted leave and is on his way home (Soldierʼs March). Along the way, he rests by a stream and takes out his violin, one of his prized possessions, and fiddles around with a tune. As he’s playing (Song at River’s Bank), the Devil, disguised as an old man with a butterfly net, silently approaches him, and startles him from behind. The Devil offers to buy Joseph’s violin (read: his soul) in exchange for a magic book that can make the soldier rich beyond measure. Seeing that the book contains prophecies about the future, Joseph agrees to the exchange and the Devil invites him to spend three days with him, teaching him how to play the violin. When the soldier returns to his village, he feels things are strange. He goes to his fiancée’s house and discovers she’s already married with children. His friends and neighbours run away from him as if they’ve seen a ghost. He suddenly realizes that not three days, but three years have passed, and he’s lost what’s most dear to him. In his grief, he wonders what he should do (Pastorale).
The Devil reappears as a cattle merchant and encourages Joseph to use the magic book. The soldier becomes very wealthy, but he discovers he only wants what he had before. He attempts to buy back his violin from an old woman (the Devil in another disguise), only to find out he can’t play it since it makes no sound. He heads off to the tavern to soothe himself with drink. While there he hears that the king’s daughter is ill, and he has promised her hand to anyone who can cure her. Joseph decides to go to the king’s palace (Royal March—this is in the style of a Spanish pasodoble, spotlighting the trumpet.)
The Devil is already there disguised as a violin virtuoso. He tells Joseph that he will free him from his curse if he can lose all his money back to him in a game of cards. The soldier does this, and he is able to play his violin again. He performs a lively number (Little Concert); the princess is miraculously revived by Joseph’s playing and begins a series of dances (Three Dances: Tango, Waltz, Ragtime). As the princess and Joseph embrace, the Devil shows up, now undisguised. Joseph succeeds in defeating him by playing his violin (Devil’s Dance), leaving him contorted and exhausted. But the Devil is not done with the soldier: he warns Joseph that should he dare to leave the castle, he will regain control of him.
Over the Lutheran-style “Grand choral”, the narrator, in the original theatre piece, states the moral of the tale: “you must not seek to add to what you already have…no one can have it all.” Joseph, however, can’t resist bringing his new bride to his old home. Crossing the threshold of the castle, he turns back to find the princess gone and the Devil waiting for him. In the Devil’s Triumphant March, the music gets leaner as it proceeds, with the other instruments gradually dropping out until only the percussion is left to bring the work to its chilling close.
Program notes by Hannah Chan-Hartley, PhD
Artists
Canada’s National Arts Centre (NAC) Orchestra is praised for the passion and clarity of its performances, its visionary learning and engagement programs, and its unwavering support of Canadian creativity. The NAC Orchestra is based in Ottawa, Canada’s national capital, and has grown into one of the country’s most acclaimed and dynamic ensembles since its founding in 1969. Under the leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, engaging communities from coast to coast to coast through inclusive programming, compelling storytelling, and innovative partnerships.
Since taking the helm in 2015, Shelley has shaped the Orchestra’s artistic vision, building on the legacy of his predecessor, Pinchas Zukerman, who led the ensemble for 16 seasons. Shelley’s influence extends beyond the NAC. He serves as Principal Associate Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in the UK and Artistic and Music Director of Artis—Naples and the Naples Philharmonic in the United States. In addition to his other conducting roles, the Pacific Symphony in Los Angeles’s Orange County announced Shelley’s appointment as its next Artistic and Music Director. The initial five-year term begins in the 2026-2027 season, with Shelley serving as Music Director-Designate from September 2025. Principal Guest Conductor John Storgårds and Principal Youth Conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser complement Shelley’s leadership. In 2024, the Orchestra marked a new chapter with the appointment of Henry Kennedy as its first-ever Resident Conductor.
The Orchestra has a rich history of partnerships with renowned artists such as James Ehnes, Angela Hewitt, Renée Fleming, Hilary Hahn, Jeremy Dutcher, Jan Lisiecki, Ray Chen and Yeol Eum Son, underscoring its reputation as a destination for world-class talent. 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.
A hallmark of the NAC Orchestra is its national and international tours. The Orchestra has performed concerts in every Canadian province and territory and earned frequent invitations to perform abroad. These tours spotlight Canadian composers and artists, bringing their voices to stages across North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia.
Anna Petersen joined the NAC Orchestra as Second Oboe and English Horn in 2013. She has performed orchestral and chamber concerts throughout Canada and the United States and internationally in China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and Europe.
Before joining the NAC Orchestra, she held positions as Principal Oboe of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra and as a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. She has enjoyed guest appearances as Principal Oboe with the Pittsburgh, Detroit, Vancouver, and Wichita symphony orchestras, The Florida Orchestra, the Lake Placid Sinfonietta, and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, with whom she made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2013. She has also recently performed with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in Auckland, New Zealand.
In addition to her orchestral career, Anna is an active soloist and chamber musician. She has been a soloist with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, Symphoria, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra, the Lake Placid Sinfonietta, and the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, and has performed as a finalist in the Coleman Chamber Music Competition in Pasadena, California. Anna has been a featured performer at Ottawa Chamberfest, a fellow at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, a participant in the Masterclass Program at the Banff Centre for the Arts, and a performer at the Skaneateles and Bravo! Vail Valley Music festivals.
Also an experienced teacher, Anna is on faculty at the University of Ottawa and previously was the Adjunct Professor of Oboe at Syracuse University’s Setnor School of Music and SUNY Geneseo. In 2018, she was a guest member of the Prairie Winds at Madeline Island Chamber Music, and during the summers of 2012 and 2015, she was a coach at the Bennington Chamber Music Conference in Bennington, Vermont.
Anna earned her Bachelor of Music and Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music. Her primary teachers include Richard Killmer and Suzanne Geoffrey.
In addition to her musical life, Anna is an internationally certified yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance, having completed 300 hours of training in Bali, Indonesia.
Kimball Sykes joined the National Arts Centre Orchestra as Principal Clarinet in 1985.
Born in Vancouver, he received a Bachelor of Music from the University of British Columbia, where he studied with Ronald deKant. In 1982, Kimball was a member of the National Youth Orchestra and was awarded the first of two Canada Council grants to study with Robert Marcellus in Chicago. He has participated in the Banff School of Fine Arts Festival, the Scotia Festival, the Orford Festival, and Ottawa Chamberfest.
He has performed and toured with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and was a member of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra. While in Vancouver, he was a founding member of the Vancouver Wind Trio. From 1983 to 1985, he was the principal clarinet of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra.
Kimball has performed as a soloist with the NAC Orchestra numerous times. In May 2000, he gave the premiere performance of Vagues immobiles, a clarinet concerto by Alain Perron commissioned for him by the NAC, and in November 2002, he performed the Coplandʼs Clarinet Concerto, both conducted by Pinchas Zukerman. Other groups he has appeared with as a soloist include Thirteen Strings, the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, and the Auckland Philharmonia.
Kimball has performed numerous solo and chamber music programs for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He can be heard on the recent Chamber Players of Canada recording of Schubert’s Octet. He has also recorded the Mozart Clarinet Quintet with Pinchas Zukerman and former NAC Orchestra principal musicians Donnie Deacon, Jane Logan, and Amanda Forsyth, included in the NAC Orchestra’s double Mozart CD for CBC Records and nominated for a Juno Award in 2004.
Kimball is currently on faculty at the University of Ottawa.
Darren Hicks joined the National Arts Centre Orchestra as Principal Bassoon in September 2022 after four seasons with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as Associate Principal Bassoon. Hailing from Middleton, Nova Scotia, Darren pursued undergraduate studies at the University of Ottawa, studying under former NACO Principal Bassoon Christopher Millard. He then went on to study at the graduate level with Frank Morelli at the Yale School of Music in New Haven, Connecticut.
After graduation, Darren was chosen as a fellow for the Rebanks Family Fellowship at the Glenn Gould School of Music. After this, he moved to Miami Beach, Florida, to become a Bassoon Fellow at the New World Symphony. Darren is an alumnus of numerous summer festivals, including Domaine Forget, the Orchestre de la Francophonie, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, the Banff Festival, the Verbier Festival, and the Aspen Music Festival and School.
Formative influences in Darren’s musicianship include Joan Panetti (Yale), David Shifrin (Yale), Whitney Crockett, Daniel Matsukawa, Judith Leclair, and Nancy Goeres.
Darren feels very fortunate to have received several honours and awards, including winning the Aspen Music Festival and School’s Concerto Competition for bassoon (2019), the New World Symphony Concerto Competition (March 2018), the Dean’s Prize at the Yale School of Music (2014), and the National Arts Centre Orchestra Bursary (2012).
Darren plays on a bassoon made outside Peterborough by Bell Bassoons Ltd. When not hunched over his reed desk, he enjoys building his record collection, meandering walks in nature, numerous podcasts, and feeding his insatiable sweet tooth.
Karen Donnelly was unanimously appointed Principal Trumpet of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra in October 1999, following three successful seasons (1996-1999) as acting principal trumpet and continues to enjoy each year with this wonderful ensemble.
Before joining the NAC Orchestra, Karen was a freelancer in Montreal, where she performed with most ensembles in the area, including the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. Karen was the principal trumpet with Orchestra London (Canada) from 1994 to 1996. She has been guest principal trumpet with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Les Violons du Roy, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and currently enjoys playing Associate Principal Trumpet with the Sun Valley Music Festival Orchestra.
Karen has been a featured soloist with many professional and community-based groups. These include the NAC Orchestra, Thirteen Strings, the Kingston Symphony, the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra London, the McGill Symphony Orchestra, the Hannaford Silver Street Band, the National Honour Band of Canada, the Parkdale Orchestra, the University of Regina Wind Ensemble, and many high school bands in the region.
In 2019, Karen spearheaded a new initiative, the Canadian Women’s Brass Collective, to shine a light on female brass players and provide visibility and mentoring for all students.
Music education has always been very close to Karen’s heart. Her work with the True North Brass Quintet creates opportunities for educational concerts and workshops in schools. Through the NAC’s learning and engagement programs, Karen has given masterclasses in Switzerland, Mexico, China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Canada.
Karen joined the teaching staff at the University of Ottawa in 2002, and she is an honorary teaching artist and mentor for the OrKidstra program, providing music to kids in equity-deserving communities in Ottawa.
Karen studied at the University of Regina and McGill University, where she completed a Master of Music. She wouldn’t be a musician, however, without her school band program in her hometown of Regina, Saskatchewan.
Steven Dyer is Principal Trombone of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and a sessional instructor at the University of Manitoba. He is delighted to be residing in Ottawa for the 2023–2024 season as Guest Principal Trombone with the National Arts Centre Orchestra.
Prior to joining the WSO in 2001, Steven was Principal Trombone with the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra and a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago; he holds degrees from McGill and DePaul Universities.
Steven has presented recitals and masterclasses in both Canada and the United States, and has appeared as soloist with the orchestras of Thunder Bay and Winnipeg.
Fun fact: He spent two summers with the Band of the Ceremonial Guard during his student years, and can’t escape the nostalgia as his daily walks to the NAC fall along the familiar parade route!
A native of Ottawa, Jonathan Wade received a Bachelor of Music degree in percussion from the University of Ottawa, studying with Ian Bernard and Pierre Béluse. He went on to obtain a D.E.S.S in timpani repertoire from the University of Montreal with Louis Charbonneau.
Jonathan has been a percussionist with the National Arts Centre Orchestra since 1982. He also performs with many fine ensembles, including the Canadian National Brass Project, Capital Brassworks and the Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra.
He has performed at major festivals, including the Festival de Lanaudière, Festival of the Sound, the Toronto Summer Music Festival, Music and Beyond, and Ottawa Chamberfest.
Jonathan also enjoys teaching. From 2002 to 2023, he was an adjunct professor of timpani and percussion at the University of Ottawa. In addition to his private studio, he was the percussion instructor at the Ottawa Youth Orchestra Academy from 1986 to 2009.
Jonathan is very active with the NAC Orchestra’s learning and community engagement initiatives, having presented hundreds of concerts in schools with the percussion duo Bangers and Smash and as a drummer with Ragtime Brass.
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 a 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 chamber music series and festivals, including the NAC’s WolfGANG and Music for a Sunday Afternoon series and 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 ten, Jessica remains one of the youngest-ever Bachelor of Music graduates in the school’s history. While there, Jessica’s primary teachers were Aaron Rosand, Jaime Laredo, and Ida Kavafian. At age 18, she received her Master of Music 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 been Associate Concertmaster with the NAC Orchestra since 2010. A natural leader, Jessica has performed numerous times as guest concertmaster with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the 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.
Toronto-born violinist Emily Kruspe has a great love for musical collaborations, chamber music, harmony, and rhythmic groove. She has performed extensively throughout North America and Europe, most notably with the Rolston String Quartet from 2018 to 2020. Emily regularly performs with the Toronto-based ARC Ensemble and is featured on its newest CD, Chamber Works by Alberto Hemsi. Her love of chamber music stems from festivals she attended in her youth: Yellow Barn, the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, the Banff International String Quartet Festival, and the Domaine Forget Chamber Music Festival. As an orchestral musician, Emily has performed with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the National Ballet Orchestra of Canada, and the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra. She was a winner of the Glenn Gould School’s Concerto Competition and the University of Toronto Concerto Competition, a recipient of the Orford String Quartet Award, and was previously a CBC Young Artist. In 2018, she was named one of CBC Music’s 30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30.
Emily completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto under Erika Raum, received an Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School under Paul Kantor and Barry Shiffman, and studied at the Colburn School with Martin Beaver. She was a 2017–2018 fellow of the Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Performance Residency Program at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto and was subsequently awarded a violin from the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank. Emily has been a proud member of the National Arts Centre Orchestra since October 2022 and regularly plays with the Ironwood Quartet, composed of NACO colleagues Jessica Linnebach, Carissa Klopoushak, and Rachel Mercer. When she isn’t playing music, she can be found cycling, teaching, and walking her cats, Figaro and Rosie, around the perimeter of her house repeatedly.
Paul Casey was born and raised in Ottawa and is an avid orchestral, chamber, and solo musician and pedagogue.
Paul is one of the newest additions to the National Arts Centre Orchestra viola section as a soloist. Paul has performed with NACO as part of FanFair, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, and has given recitals in Canada and the United States. He was the 2011 recipient of the NACO Bursary Competition’s Crabtree Foundation Award.
Paul obtained a Master of Music and a Bachelor of Music from Indiana University and the University of Ottawa, respectively, and most recently studied at McGill University.
Paul is on faculty at the Leading Note Foundation’s OrKidstra program and was the string coach for the Ottawa Junior Youth Orchestra. He is also a member of the Silflay String Quartet with his wife, cellist Karen Kang, and violinists Leah Roseman and Mark Friedman.
Although Marc-André Riberdy’s musical education began with the violin, he later changed his allegiance to the cello. He first studied with Father Rolland Brunelle and Sophie Coderre at the École de musique de Lanaudière and then with Elizabeth Dolin at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal. He did further studies in Jean-Guihen Queyras’s class at the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg, Germany.
Marc-André made a name for himself in numerous music competitions, including the Lanaudière classical music festival and competition, the Canadian Music Competition, and the Hélène-Roberge Music Competition. He was also awarded a special prize at the 2016 Domnick cello competition in Stuttgart, Germany.
During his studies, Marc-André performed as a soloist with various orchestras, including the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal’s string orchestra, its symphony orchestra, and the Joliette Youth Orchestra. He became the Orchestre Métropolitain’s associate solo cello in 2016 before joining the NAC Orchestra’s cello section in 2018. He plays a Giovanni Gagliano 1790–1800 cello with a Karl Hans Schmidt bow, both generously made available to him by Canimex.
Max Cardilli joined the National Arts Centre Orchestra as Assistant Principal Bass in 2022. Formerly a member of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) from 2017-2022, he has performed and recorded with numerous orchestral ensembles and chamber groups and even as a soloist with the ESO in 2020. In 2017, he participated in the NAC Orchestra’s Institute for Orchestral Studies program, where he played with the orchestra and studied under Joel Quarrington. In 2015, he earned his bachelor’s in double bass performance from McGill University, having studied with the former associate principal double bass for the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Brian Robinson. Originally from Montreal’s West Island, Max was introduced to the double bass at Lindsay Place High School and went on to participate in local youth orchestras, eventually spending summers training with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and the National Academy Orchestra. When not in rehearsal or concert with the NAC Orchestra, you might find Max outside skiing or cycling in beautiful Gatineau Park.
Vadim Serebryany has been acclaimed by audiences and critics on five continents for his sensitive and intelligent music making.
Serebryany has been highly sought after as a recitalist, concerto soloist, and chamber musician. He has performed in Europe, South America, Australia, and throughout North America, and in 2008 completed his eighth consecutive recital tour of Japan. In recent seasons he has been a guest soloist with the NAC Orchestra, the Kingston Symphony, the Osaka Century Orchestra, and Montgomery Symphony Orchestra.
In 2005, Vadim founded Trio Ink, with violinist Yosuke Kawasaki and cellist Wolfram Koessel. The ensemble is known for its creative programs that explore a large portion of the chamber repertoire, including duos, trios, and larger ensembles in which they frequently collaborate with guest artists. The trio has performed to critical acclaim throughout North America and Japan.
An Honours graduate with Distinction from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, where he was a student of Marina Geringas, Vadim went on to complete his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at The Juilliard School in New York City, under the tutelages of the legendary Russian pianist Oxana Yablonskaya and the esteemed American pianist Jacob Lateiner. The final leg of Serebryany’s formal education took him to Yale University, where he completed his studies in the prestigious Doctor of Musical Arts program under the brilliant Russian pianist and teacher Boris Berman.
Vadim Serebryany joined the piano faculty at the renowned School of Music at Ithaca College in 2016.