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≈ 75 minutes · No intermission
Artists
Jodi Contin is a highly energetic Anishinaabe Kwe who hails from Wasauksing First Nation. Empowering and lifting up others is one of the ways she holds space to encourage people to find their path to healing.
Caregiving comes naturally to Jodi; she has worked in a variety of capacities in the social services industry from being employed as a Child Protection Worker and Family Support Worker and Prevention Services Supervisor. Currently Jodi is looking into completing her BSW, along with learning Anishinabemowin. Through those roles and her volunteer work, she has earned the trust of many.
Jodi’s Anishinabek roots and cultural ethical principles shine through in everything she does. Drumming and singing are activities close to her heart. Not only is Jodi a singer and drummer, she’s a renowned drum-maker as well. Previously, she worked as Cultural Coordinator, for the Shawanaga First Nation Healing Centre, and brought together Knowledge Keepers, Elders and grassroots communities to help reclaim culture and identity, which also is one of the many pathways to healing.
As a mother to three sons, and Nookomis to Little Joe, family and community are incredibly important to her. Jodi is a respected member of her home community, regional Anishinabek communities along with the Town of Parry Sound. Jodi was nominated for the Order of Parry Sound, in January 2021, and elected on to the Board of Directors for the Festival of The Sound in 2022. Jodi is singer, song writer, and co-narrator in the production “Sounding Thunder” and the co-writer, narrator, singer, song writer of the production “The Spirit Horse Returns.”
Her dedication to community does not go unnoticed. Local leadership has observed and commended the work she puts in towards community and cultural events. This Anishinaabe Kwe has a lot of stories to share about her own journey, many of which will also come with a great sense of humour.
Anishinabe artist Rhonda Snow is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from Rare Breeds Canada for her tireless work preserving the Ojibwe Horse breed. Her vivid Woodlands style canvases captivate viewers and share the knowledge she has gained from the Elders about the “small horses of the big woods”. She has personally cared for Ojibwe Horses, playing an important role in the comeback of the breed from near-extinction.
Rhonda is currently working intensively with breeders to help establish educational and equine assisted learning programs that feature the Ojibwe Horses. She is also actively researching the history of the breed, interviewing elders and knowledge keepers to collect and paint the stories (on hides, rock and canvas) of how Indigenous peoples related to horses both before and after contact with Europeans.
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Acclaimed as a “French horn master” by the Toronto Star, Ken MacDonald has performed in every province with a variety of Canada’s top ensembles. He is currently Associate Principal horn with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, having played principal horn with the Hamilton Philharmonic (for seventeen seasons), Symphony Nova Scotia, and the Vancouver Opera Orchestra. He has also performed as a guest artist with the Vancouver Symphony, the Canadian Opera Company, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Orchestra London, the Victoria Symphony, and the Regina Symphony, to name but a few.
As a chamber musician, Ken has enjoyed longstanding associations with the Festival of the Sound in Parry Sound, Ontario, and with the national touring ensemble Octagon, who were featured in Winnipeg’s Virtuosi Concerts last season. Solo appearances include the Winnipeg Symphony, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, and national CBC broadcasts of newly- commissioned works.
Ken is a National Arts Centre teaching artist and, in co-operation with the Winnipeg Symphony, has travelled to several of Manitoba’s northern communities for educational workshops with composer and conductor Andrew Balfour. He also teaches at the University of Manitoba. He lives just outside Winnipeg with his husband, two children, six goats, five horses, and a variable number of chickens and turkeys.
From Winnipeg Mb. Double the Trouble are composed of identical 19-year-old Cree and French Metis twin musicians Luc and Aidan Wrigley. Their blend of traditional Metis fiddling, contemporary and classic Country and Folk music has been uplifting audiences across the Prairies to the Pacific and into the United States and Mexico.
Luc and Aidan began fiddling at age three and by age six they performed at the Indigenous Peoples Music Awards. At age of seven they began regular performances at Festival du Voyageur, a gig they became crowd favorites at for years to come. By age 9 the duo recorded their first independent album “Keep Calm and Fiddle on” and a second full album entitled “Juniper Woods” when they were only 11.
Luc and Aidan began to write songs when they were 16, both on guitars that their dad passed down to them. With an a appreciation for artists like Passenger, Tyler Childers the twins have begun to venture into new and exciting territory. A third recording will be released in Summer of 2024.
Conductor Naomi Woo, named by CBC in 2019 as a “Top 30 Classical Musicians under 30”, is the Assistant Conductor of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and the first-ever Music Director of Sistema Winnipeg. Born in Newfoundland and raised in North Vancouver, Naomi conducts across Canada and is noted for her work as a socially-engaged artist and educator, with appearances at the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, Regina Symphony Orchestra, and the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra. An advocate for opera and new music, Naomi recently led the Canadian premiere of Du Yun’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Angel’s Bone (re:Naissance Opera) and the world premiere of Ellis Ludwig-Leone’s The Night Falls (BalletCollective, American Opera Projects). She holds degrees from Yale, Université de Montréal, and Cambridge.
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.
Violinist Marjolaine Lambert, a native of Joliette but self-proclaimed Montrealer, started her music studies at the age of four years old, following the footsteps of her brother, violist Frédéric Lambert. At a young age, her natural talent led her to join the studio of Johanne Arel and Raymond Dessaints at Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, which she graduated from in 2005. With a passion for learning and broadening her general knowledge, she went to McGill University in the class of Denise Lupien. Studying the rudiments of mandarin as a minor, it led her to tour through China as Principal Second violin of the Orchestre de la Francophonie Canadienne.
Upon completion of her Bachelor’s degree with honour, she went to Yale University for her Master’s degree to study with Ani Kavafian. There, she thrived as the concertmaster of the Yale Philharmonia and winner of the Woolsey Concerto Competition. Establishing strong collaborations with contemporary composers, maestro Julian Wachner and herself created Novus NYC, an orchestra devoted to new music, of which she acted as concertmaster. She had the opportunity to premiere works by David Lang, Bernard Rands and Christopher Theofanidis.
Her passion for new music led her to pursue a Doctorate of Music at McGill University, with the support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, which focused on the hyper-violin created by Pierre Boulez in his Anthèmes. Her work with live electronics has brought her interesting and different kinds of projects, including the world premiere of Les Gestes, a creation of dance choreographer Isabelle Van Grimde.
Marjolaine has performed as a soloist under many conductors such as Yuli Turovsky, Peter Oundjian, and Shinik Hahm. As a chambrist, she's been invited to perform often with Les Violons du Roy, I Musici, and Arcos Chamber Orchestra.
In her rare spare time, Marjolaine enjoys watching an impressive amount of TV shows, discovering the depths of performance practice on her Baroque violin, or rocking out stadiums with Céline Dion.
She is thrilled to be a member of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, as of September 2016.
- Script Jodi Contin, Ken MacDonald, and Rhonda Snow
- Music Kevin Lau
- Original songs Jodi Contin
- Music and consultation Andrew Balfour
- Original art and visual direction Rhonda Snow
- Consulting Elders and Knowledge Keepers Dan Thomas, Alison Cox, Anita Chechock, Stan Cuthand, Doug Cuthand, Norman Jordan, Skuya Fasthorse, Wabishki-anaang.
- Stage Manager Tobi Hunt McCoy
- NACOtron musical score and script assistant Todd Snelgrove
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Official Car of the NAC Orchestra
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Lead Donor - Indigenous Theatre
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Season Sponsor - Indigenous Theatre
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Presenting Partner #ReconcileThis
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Official Hotel Partner - Indigenous Theatre
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NTERNATIONAL ALLIANCE OF THEATRICAL STAGE EMPLOYEES
