The fourth and final ‘Music for a Sunday Afternoon’ concert of the NAC’s 2010-2011 season features Saskatchewan-born brothers Malcolm and Darren Lowe – both superb violinists – as well as Blair Lofgren (principal cello with the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec), Suzanne Beaubien (piano), Kimball Sykes (NAC Orchestra principal clarinet), and Jethro Marks (NAC Orchestra associate principal viola) in an all-Brahms program. This concert takes place on the final day of the National Arts Centre’s wide-ranging Prairie Scene, which features 500 artists in 80 events over 13 days (April 26-May 8).

On May 8, this Sunday afternoon concert series features music by Brahms. The program includes:
BRAHMS   Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, Op. 78
BRAHMS   Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8
BRAHMS   Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115

Malcolm and Darren Lowe are brothers, and both are exceptionally talented classical musicians; both were introduced to music early, and both are enjoying remarkable careers. Malcolm Lowe joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra as Concertmaster in 1984, and Darren Lowe has been Concertmaster of the Quebec Symphony since 1987. Both brothers also perform with acclaimed chamber ensembles, and have become sought-after teachers.

Blair Lofgren studied at the Regina Conservatory, where he was awarded the President’s Gold Medal, and at Toronto’s Glenn Gould School of Music, where he won the school’s concerto competition. At age 24, he became the principal cellist of the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec. In 2004, he was featured soloist in the creation of a work entitled Bright Sadness by Ukrainian composer Oleksa Lozowchuk. Blair Lofgren currently teaches at the Conservatoire de musique de Québec and at the Académie de musique et de danse du Domaine Forget.

The concert takes place in the Auditorium of the National Gallery of Canada at 2 p.m. on Sunday May 8. Tickets are $31.21 for adults and $15.60 for students with Student ID; they can be purchased at the National Arts Centre Box Office in advance or, if available, at the door on the day of the concert.

This Music for a Sunday Afternoon concert will be recorded by CBC for future broadcast.

PRAIRIE SCENE
From April 26 to May 8, 2011, Canada’s National Arts Centre presents Prairie Scene, the fifth in a series of national Scene festivals celebrating and showcasing our country’s finest established and emerging artists. Prairie Scene includes more than 500 Saskatchewan and Manitoba artists -- musicians, actors, choreographers, visual and media artists, filmmakers, writers, and master chefs -- bringing their unique talents to concert halls, theatres, galleries, bars, clubs, museums, and restaurants throughout the region. Prairie Scene also offers a chance for 70 national and international presenters to discover the best of Prairie culture, creating new performance opportunities for Prairie artists across the country and around the world. Prairie Scene presents a vast living portrait of the region – combining rural and urban, traditional and contemporary, shaking stereotypes and celebrating new voices.

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