Applications are now being accepted for the 2012 National Arts Centre Orchestra Bursary Competition. A total of $19,000 in prizes is available for talented National Capital Region music students who are studying for careers as orchestral musicians. Deadline for applications is March 15, 2012, at 5 p.m.

Finalists from amongst the applicants will be selected after auditions scheduled to take place at the National Arts Centre before a jury of NAC Orchestra musicians and special guests on April 30 and May 1, 2012. Finalists will then be invited to perform on May 7 in the NAC Studio at 3 p.m., at which time the winners will be chosen and announced by the jury. The NAC Orchestra Bursary Competition Finals are open to the public.

The NAC Orchestra Bursary Committee and Jury are chaired for the second year by Roderick Bell, Canada’s former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Jordan, a passionate music lover, and an active volunteer at the National Arts Centre. Mr. Bell believes that this NAC community engagement program and the encouragement of talented young people are more essential now than ever.

The NAC Orchestra Bursary provides recognition and financial support to help further the development of young Canadian orchestral musicians who have connections to the National Capital Region. It was established in 1979 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the founding of the National Arts Centre Orchestra and to thank the people of the National Capital Region for their support during the Orchestra’s first decade. The first competition took place in 1981. The NACO Bursary Trust Fund provides funding for the NACO Bursary of $7,000; the NACO Vic Pomer Award of $2,000; and the NACO Special Prize for Best Orchestral Excerpts worth $1,000. The NACO Bursary Committee also has available three additional prizes to be awarded at the Jury’s discretion: the Harold Crabtree Foundation Award of $5,000; the Friends of the National Arts Centre Orchestra Award of $3,000, created in 1993 to celebrate the Orchestra’s 25th season; and the Piccolo Prix of $1,000 initiated in 2001 by Pasqualina (Pat) Adamo.

Eligible applicants are music students aged 16 to 24 who are following a recognized course of music study in preparation for careers as professional orchestral musicians.  They must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada. Their family or principal residence must be in the National Capital Region (NCR), or their principal residence must have been in the NCR for one year immediately prior to applying, or they must have been studying under a recognized orchestral instrument teacher in one of the music schools of the NCR over that year.

For full information and online application, visit the NAC website at www.nac-cna.ca/bursary
Applications must be received at the NAC by 5 p.m. on March 15, 2012.

For additional information, please call Ryan Purchase at 613-947-7000, ext. 342 or email bursary@nac-cna.ca

Mail or fax applications to:
National Arts Centre Music Department
P.O. Box 1534, Station B
Ottawa, Canada   K1P 5W1
FAX: 613-992-5225

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Information:  Gerald Morris
Communications Officer, NAC Music
613-947-7000, ext. 335   
[e-mail]  gerald.morris@nac-cna.ca