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The WolfGANG Sessions: Music with a wild side
July 2, 2015The Mercury Lounge is a jewel of a nightclub in Ottawa's Byward Market. It's high ceilings, exposed brick walls and tall windows make it an elegant setting for live music and dancing into the wee hours of the night. It is not a place one would expect to hear classical music and that's what…
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Alice’s Looking-Glass Adventures Continues Across Canada
June 25, 2015Director Jillian Keiley with actors playing Alice across Canada: Gwendolyn Collins (Winnipeg’s Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre), Ellie Heath (Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre), Trish Lindström (the Stratford Festival) and, seated, Natasha Greenblatt (NAC and Charlottetown's Confederation Centre of…
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Memories of the Maestro
June 23, 2015In this, Pinchas Zukerman’s ultimate season, we asked some of those closest to him at the NAC to share a special memory of the man who brought us so much enjoyment over the years. Here’s what they had to say: “For me, every occasion I hear Pinchas perform, it's a special gift. I've also…
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Institute for Orchestral Studies: Pinchas Zukerman’s “brainchild” an investment in young musicians
June 23, 2015Sean Hawthorne, cellist and apprentice with the NAC’s Institute for Orchestral Studies (IOS), feels his anticipation grow. He knows that in a moment, NAC Orchestra Music Director Pinchas Zukerman will play Max Bruch’s First Violin Concerto. “Hearing him play the Bruch Concerto every night…
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A Golden era: Pinchas Zukerman and the National Arts Centre Orchestra
June 15, 2015When Pinchas Zukerman became Music Director of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in 1999, a heady mixture of surprise and delight swept across Canada. As one of the finest violinists and violists of his generation — of any generation — Maestro Zukerman could have chosen another orchestra…
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Donor pre-rehearsal chats: Alice in Wonderland
June 10, 2015Attending pre-rehearsal chats and open rehearsals are one of the many benefits donors receive when they support performance, creation and learning through the National Arts Centre Foundation. In the spring, ballet master Lindsay Fisher gave an informative talk to NAC Foundation donors…
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Red carpet highlights from the 2015 Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards
June 3, 2015The Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards for Lifetime Artistic Achievement are Canada’s highest honour for the performing arts. This year's recipients are singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan, filmmakers Atom Egoyan and Jean-Marc Vallée, actor-directors Diana Leblanc and R.H. Thomson,…
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Ce qui nous relie ? - a metamorphosis
May 14, 2015During eight months, the eleven adolescent participants of Ce qui nous relie ? shared, lived, transformed themselves and re-imagined the world. This wonderful experience will be cristalized on stage during one magically truthful show.
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The arts are our country’s deepest expression
May 11, 2015Earlier this spring the laureates for the 2015 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards were announced at events held in Montreal, Victoria, Vancouver and Toronto and via live stream. They were the first of many celebrations that will honour Canadian artists whose accomplishments have…
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Daniel Lanois: What lives outside of measurement
May 11, 2015For Daniel Lanois, the most important qualities of an artist not quantifiable. "It's hard to measure imagination and original thought, instinct, intuition,” the acclaimed producer and musician said. “All those primal powers we possess as adventurers cannot be measured." Daniel Lanois…
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The Summit: A vital conversation on Indigenous theatre
May 7, 2015In the spring of 2014, NAC English Theatre, the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance (IPAA), the Luminato Festival and the Banff Centre collaborated on an initiative called The Summit. We brought together leading Indigenous artists from across the country for a vital conversation that would…
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A Harmonic Storm: Daniel Lanois with the NAC Orchestra
May 1, 2015In June 2013 Daniel Lanois visited the National Arts Centre to receive the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for lifetime achievement. Two years later Lanois is once again backstage at the NAC's Southam Hall - this time as a performer. "It's nice to experience this beautiful edifice…
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Behind the scenes with English Theatre
April 30, 2015Attending pre-rehearsal chats and open rehearsals are one of the many benefits donors receive when they support performance, creation and learning across Canada through the National Arts Centre Foundation. On Thursday, March 26, members of the Donors’ Circle were treated to a Q&A between…
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FACETS: A creative collaboration
April 28, 2015The restless, inquiring mind of award-winning performer-creator Tedd Robinson—Artistic Director of 10 Gates Dancing, an NAC Associate Dance Artist, choreographer, educator and Ottawa favourite — has resulted in a catalogue of innovative work blazing with witty originality and extraordinary…
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Experience Ontario’s best artists at the Scene
April 27, 2015At the National Arts Centre, we like to say that “Canada is our stage,” a statement that underlines our commitment to work with artists and arts organizations across the country to build a national stage for the performing arts. The Scene festivals are a perfect illustration of that…