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≈ 75 minutes · No intermission
Artists
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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 seven recordings with the NAC Orchestra, including the JUNO-nominated New Worlds, Life Reflected, ENCOUNT3RS, The Bounds of Our Dreams, Darlings of the Muses, Lyrical Echoes, and Atmosphere and Mastery, all with Montreal label Analekta.
The Music Director role is supported by Elinor Gill Ratcliffe, C.M., O.N.L., LL.D. (hc)
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.
Recently named one of CBC’s “30 hot classical musicians under 30,” mezzo-soprano Alex Hetherington is quickly establishing herself as a skilled interpreter of operatic and concert repertoire, with a specialty in contemporary music. She is in her second year of residency at the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio and has performed on major stages across Canada.
Operatic highlights include making her Canadian Opera Company (COC) debut as Mercédès in Carmen, singing the role of the Attendant in the COC’s production of Salome, and premiering the role of Riley in R.U.R. A Torrent of Light with Tapestry Opera, which won the 2022 Outstanding Ensemble Dora Mavor Moore Award. Other operatic credits include Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Carmen in La tragédie de Carmen (UofT Opera), and Nicklausse in Tales of Hoffmann (Toronto City Opera). Alex has also appeared in concert with the NAC Orchestra (Mozart’s Requiem; Golden Slumbers Kiss Your Eyes), the Victoria Symphony (Songs from the House of Death), the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra (Neruda Songs), and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (Tilly, in The Bear).
Alex holds a Master’s degree in Opera Performance from the University of Toronto, where she won the Jim and Charlotte Norcop Award in Art Song and completed a research-creation project examining art song performance practice through the lens of modern gender theory. Alex has a passion for contemporary music, composition, and innovative recital programming, and in her spare time she can be found reading, gardening, and admiring dogs.
iskwē | ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ is, among many other things, a Juno-award winning artist – a creator and communicator of music and of movement, of pictures, poetry and prose. And through it all, she’s a teller of stories that have impacted our past and will inform our future. Her music is a sonic exploration that not only blurs lines between sources and styles, but also between the actual and the ideal, the real and imagined. Her message is most impactful when delivered from the stage, where it’s not uncommon for people to leave in entranced contemplation or even in tears. Her music merges with dance, multimedia, and more in a completely engulfing and cathartic experience – meant to bring people together and celebrate that which unites over that which divides us.
iskwē is Cree Métis from Treaty One Territory. She was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She is an urban Indigenous two-spirited woman from the Red River Valley, the birthplace of the Métis Nation.
Pop, Groovy, Funk by moment and Soul as a whole, Yao, with his baritone voice, succeeds in charming us with the warm universe of his sweet poetry and his artistic audacity.
Faithful to his pictorial writing – casted in great sensitivity - Yao reminds us of the textual richness of French rap by MC Solaar or Oxmo Puccino. His singularity: his eclectic pop side; Where the musical universes succeed one another and intertwine through the textual escapades of this poet.
After greatly distinguishing himself in the French-Canadian scene with his album Perles et Paraboles, Yao, with his seven nominations at the Trille Or 2015 Awards Gala (by APCM – the Association of Professional Singers and Musicians), was awarded in October 2015, the Édith- Butler Prize of the SPACQ Foundation (Professional Society of Authors and Composers of Quebec.)
His latest project, Lapsus came in at 24th of the Top 200 New releases in Canada in French Pop. A simply personal and captivating creation, that awarded two nominations at the 2017 Trille Or Awards (“Best Author, Composer or Songwriter”, and “Export Ontario (Ontario Artist who Most Illustrated himself Outside of the Province)”.
In 2019, with seven nominations under his belt, he won the top three most coveted awards as “Artist of the year”, “Performer of the year”, as well as the “Media’s favorite” award.
Active on, and off the scene, he received in November 2018, the Commemorative Medal of the Senate, highlighting the 150th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada – a distinction to highlight his accomplishments as well as his involvement in the community, via his art and his work promoting diversity cultural, across the country. And through his work as an artist-educator was awarded in 2018: the Ontario Arts Foundation’s Artist-Educator Award.
Having performed nationally and internationally (France, Madagascar, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, Cape Verde), Yao, with his extraordinary musicians offer you a personal, vibrant and captivating show, that you will want to see more than once.
Formed in 1992 for a live broadcast marking 50 years of Radio Canada International, Ewashko Singers has developed into one of the most flexible vocal ensembles in the National Capital Region.
From Beethoven, Mahler, and Verdi to Richard Rodgers and Howard Shore, they skillfully perform music across a wide range of genres and languages. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Laurence Ewashko, Ewashko Singers regularly highlights Canadian composers and showcases young Canadian talent. In addition to their own concerts, they often collaborate with other local choirs and music ensembles. Recent highlights with the National Arts Centre Orchestra include the JUNO Award–winning live recording of Ana Sokolović’s Golden slumbers kiss your eyes, and Harry Somers’s opera Louis Riel as part of Canada 150 celebrations.
The Capital Chamber Choir is an auditioned ensemble of advanced singers from the National Capital Region. The choir and Artistic Director, Jamie Loback, are committed to bringing a diverse range of choral music—in particular, modern, Canadian, and local works—to audiences through high-caliber and engaging performances. Founded in 2009 by Dr. Sara Brooks, the choir is a true collaboration, emphasizing the importance of collegiality in generating an integrated choral sound.
For the past 10 years, Artistic Director Jamie Loback has guided the choir through increasingly ambitious seasons and projects. He holds a Master of Music degree from the University of Ottawa and is a sought-after conductor and music director for several organizations in the city. He is dedicated to fostering inspiration, enthusiasm, and creativity in the next generation of choral musicians, and is a passionate advocate for contemporary choral music.
Each season, CCC presents its own concert series in addition to undertaking collaborative projects with other musicians. The choir has collaborated with notable ensembles including the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra, Elmer Iseler Singers, and Canadian Chamber Choir and has hosted masterclasses or performances with composers including John Rutter, Morten Lauridsen, Ola Gjeilo, and Ēriks Ešenvalds.
CCC released its all-Canadian debut album, The Delight of Paradise, in April 2017. In 2018, the choir performed a Spotlight concert in St. John’s, Newfoundland as part of the Podium Choral Conference & Festival. CCC won second prize in the Mixed-Voice Adult Choirs category of the National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs in 2019 and was invited to perform at Rideau Hall for recipients of the Order of Canada.
Though the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to live performances in 2020 and 2021, CCC took advantage of the break to record two series of video sessions on YouTube. The choir re-emerged on stage in Fall 2021 looking forward to a full season programme including Canadian premieres of innovative international works and a return to the NAC stage.