Building community through music:
The National Arts Centre Orchestra begins its tour of Atlantic Canada with a homecoming for Sean Rice to Newfoundland and Labrador
OTTAWA—Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra will celebrate Atlantic Canada in a dynamic performance and education tour that will build community through music with nine concerts reaching 10,000 individuals in all four Atlantic Provinces and provide an opportunity to work and perform with some of the region’s most promising young musicians in 80 music education events from Nov. 13-25, 2011.
On November 13, the tour will kick-start with a national choral performance/lecture broadband videoconference with child poverty activist Craig Kielburger and 300 choir members in St. John’s and Ottawa. The event will be webcast live on nacotour.ca and will explore how we can all build community through music.
Grammy award-winning choir master Duain Wolfe will be in residence in St. John’s from Thursday, Nov 10th-Sunday Nov 13 not only working with Shallaway in preparation for the concert but also rehearsing the Lady Cove Adult Choir and Newman Sound Men’s Choir as well as masterclasses with Memorial University’s choral conductors.
In St. John’s, the tour will be a homecoming for Sean Rice, a member of the NAC’s Orchestra who grew up in Newfoundland and studied at Holy Heart of Mary High School and Memorial University before continuing his studies at The Juilliard School in New York City.
On Tuesday, November 15th the National Arts Centre Orchestra will perform in a student matinee at Sean Rice’s alma mater, Holy Heart of Mary High School at 10:00 a.m. This concert is one of the highlights of 33 educational and community outreach events during the Orchestra’s four days in Newfoundland – including 14 masterclasses and sectional rehearsals at Memorial University – many of which are open to the public.
“One of the things I think the Orchestra does well is the educational outreach that is planned and programmed for each city. I find that incredibly important because my own career is a product of that,” said Sean Rice the Second Clarinettist in the NAC Orchestra.
Mr. Rice was a 19 year old student at Memorial University in 2002 when the NAC Orchestra last visited Newfoundland and he was the featured soloist at a similar concert at his former High School. Sean went on to study with Principal Clarinet Kimball Sykes during the National Arts Centre’s Summer Music Institute in 2005 and 2006 and was a featured performer in the National Arts Centre’s Debut series before winning the position of second clarinet in the NAC Orchestra.
Mr. Rice will also be featured as a guest artist with Vernon Regehr (another NAC Summer Music Institute alumnus) on November 16th as part of Music at Memorial series.
It will be another homecoming for composer Michael Parker who revised his composition for wind ensemble Torngat especially for the premiere performance by the NAC Orchestra for its Student Matinee performance on November 15. A work that was originally commissioned by Grant Etchegary for performance by his wind ensemble at Holy Heart of Mary High School, it represents a musical description of the Torngat Mountain Range in Labrador. Mr. Parker will fly from Halifax to St. John’s to hear this performance and will offer composition workshops for students at Holy Heart of Mary High School.
On November 16, the NAC Brass Trio will also be performing for seniors at the Hoyles-Escasoni Complex, thanks to a partnership with Health Arts Society.
Another education highlight will be a concert with 16 year old pianist Jan Lisiecki playing for 25 schools across Newfoundland and Labrador in cooperation with Newfoundland and Labrador’s Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation. Mr. Lisiecki will perform on Wednesday, November 16th at 10:30 a.m. for students at Ascension Collegiate High School in Bay Roberts, Newfoundland and later at Baccalieu Collegiate in Old Perlican where through interactive videoconferencing he will be linked to up to 25 remote schools across the Province.
The main concert for the tour will be a wonderful performance on Tuesday, November 15th at the Arts and Culture Centre in St. John’s. The National Arts Centre Orchestra will perform with young singers from Newfoundland’s award-winning Shallaway choir. The concert will be conducted by one of Canada’s rising young conductors, Julian Kuerti and will feature 16 year old pianist Jan Lisiecki as the soloist with the Orchestra. The concert begins at 8:00 p.m.
Repertoire for this performance will include:
Brio: Toccata and Fantasy for Orchestra, a new work in memory of Malcolm Forsyth composed especially for the tour by Canadian composer John Estacio, winner of the National Arts Centre Award for Canadian composers. Mr. Estacio will give pre-concert talks throughout the tour as well as composition classes;
- The Place of the Blest by Randall Thompson, which will showcase Newfoundland’s Shallaway choir;
- Piano Concerto no. 20 by Mozart, with soloist Jan Lisiecki;
- Symphony no. 1 by Brahms, with five apprentices from the NAC’s Institute for Orchestral Studies;
Composer John Estacio will also be accompanying the orchestra and will offer masterclasses and public lectures including a pre-concert chat from 19:10-19:40 at Irwin Court, Arts and Culture Centre on November 15th prior to the evening performance.
TICKET INFORMATION
St. John’s (Nov. 15)
St. John’s Arts and Culture Centre
Tel: (709) 729-3900
Web site: www.artsandculturecentre.com
Media are invited to attend all listed events, details are as follows:
Sunday, November 13, 2011 13:30-15:00pm
Broadband Choral Session with Craig Kielburger “Building Community Through Music”
D.F. Cook Hall, Memorial University
Media Contact: Rosemary Thompson (613) 762-4118 rthompson@nac-cna.ca
Tuesday, November 15, 2011 10:00 a.m.
Student Matinee with Sean Rice at the Holy Heart of Mary High School
Address: 55 Bonaventure Avenue. St. John’s, Newfoundland
Media Contact: Rosemary Thompson NAC rthompson@nac-cna.ca (613) 762-4118 cell
Tuesday, November 15, 2011 8:00 p.m.
Main Concert with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and Shallaway
Arts and Culture Centre
Address: 95 Allandale Road, St. John’s, Newfoundland
Media Contact: Rosemary Thompson NAC rthompson@nac-cna.ca (613) 762-4118 cell
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 10:30-11:30p.m.
Performance by Jan Lisiecki
Ascension Collegiate High School
32 Conception Bay Highway
Bay Roberts, Newfoundland
Media Contact: Rosemary Thompson NAC rthompson@nac-cna.ca (613) 762-4118 cell
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 13:30-14:30
Performance by Jan Lisiecki and NACO Player with students in Summerford and up to 25 schools in the Province
Baccalieu Collegiate
Old Perlican, Newfoundland
Media Contact: Rosemary Thompson NAC rthompson@nac-cna.ca (613) 762-4118 cell
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The National Arts Centre Foundation gratefully acknowledges support for the Atlantic Canada Tour from Regional Partners CN (Nova Scotia), Suncor Energy (Newfoundland) and Tim Hortons (CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick) and Supporting Partners Diane and Wesley Campbell and Ian and Jan Craig. Thank you also to NAC Friends Crosbie Group of Companies, Long & McQuade Musical Instruments and the Gill Radcliffe Foundation.
The Atlantic Canada Tour is also made possible thanks to the CEO National Fund which supports the NAC’s programs across the country. The NAC Foundation extends a warm thank you to the Atlantic Canada donors to the CEO National Fund; the Craig Foundation, Fred and Elizabeth Fountain, Dale Godsoe, C.M., Frederick and Joanne MacGillivray, Frank and Debbie Sobey as well as NAC Foundation Director Gary Zed who has made a gift in memory Leesha & Amelia Zed.
The Atlantic Canada Tour Travel Partner is Air Canada and the Hotel Partner is Delta Hotels and Resorts. National Media Partners are CBC – Radio Canada and the National Post and the Media Partner is Atlantic Business Magazine.
For more information:
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Rosemary Thompson |
Carl Martin
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Mary Gordon
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