Sounds of Jazz Age: NAC Orchestra’s Roaring 20s Festival

For five unforgettable nights (Oct-8-17), Music Director, Alexander Shelley and the NAC Orchestra brought the sounds of Jazz Age “Storytelling music” to the stage. Featuring the music of Elgar, Cole Porter, Sibelius, Weill, Gershwin, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Ravel, and even Charlie Chaplin,…

Welcoming a new maestro to the podium: Alexander Shelley begins his tenure

It’s like visiting an old friend. That’s how Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra’s new Music Director, describes the joy we feel when we listen to live classical music.  “There’s nothing that compares with revisiting pieces you know and love, and the enjoyment of having them performed…

Building Brilliance

On Canada Day in 2017, the National Arts Centre will be opening its dazzling new addition to the public as part of Canada’s 150th anniversary. The “new” National Arts Centre will include a glittering entrance on Elgin Street, facing Confederation Square with improved performance and public…

Young People and the Arts at the NAC

Meet the National Arts Centre’s artistic leaders: Cathy Levy, Executive Producer, NAC Dance; Jillian Keiley, Artistic Director NAC English Theatre; Brigitte Haentjens, Artistic Director NAC French Theatre; and Alexander Shelley, Music Director, NAC Orchestra. All of them care deeply about…

Franco-Ontarian Flag Flies Proudly at the National Arts Centre

Peter Herrndorf, President and CEO of the National Arts Centre, surrounded by French-speaking artists and representatives of Franco-Ontarian associations, raised the Franco-Ontarian flag today to celebrate three anniversaries: the 40th anniversary of the first raising of the flag, the fifth…

Lang Lang’s 101 Pianists Gives Young Musicians the Opportunity of a Lifetime

On September 18, 100 talented Ottawa students, paired on 50 Roland pianos, had the opportunity of a lifetime, when they joined world renowned piano virtuoso Lang Lang and Alexander Shelley on Southam Hall stage for 101 Pianists, a thrilling one-of-a-kind public masterclass and performance…

L’Ontario de notre tête

**** Text available in French only *****   Depuis des mois, en préparation du happening À quoi ça sert d’être brillant si t’éclaires personne, deux têtes chercheuses sillonnent le territoire franco-ontarien via sa littérature, sa musique, ses artistes. Quête passionnante que la leur,…

Generous donors and sponsors celebrate record-breaking NAC Gala

On Saturday, September 19, the 2015 National Arts Centre Gala featured world renowned pianist Lang Lang and the NAC Orchestra – under the leadership of its new Music Director Alexander Shelley – raising a record-breaking $1,005,000 in support of the NAC’s National Youth and Education Trust…

Moments on stage: A mother’s story

Creative Producer and Director Donna Feore

Q. You are the Creative Producer/Director for two ground-breaking, multimedia works featuring the NAC Orchestra this season: Dear Life and I Lost my Talk. How would you describe these works? A. Dear Life is an autobiographical short story by Alice Munro. It’s a reflection on childhood and…

Anticipating Opening Night with the NAC Orchestra

The National Arts Centre Orchestra’s musicians have been practicing for weeks in the lead-up to the opening night of the season, and to Alexander Shelley’s inaugural beginning as Music Director. Now as the final hours tick-on, and last minute adjustments to phrasing and colour have been…

A dream fulfilled: Royal Wood takes centre stage at Southam Hall

It has been an incredible journey for Peterborough singer-songwriter Royal Wood. Since being proclaimed the “Songwriter of the Year”, by iTunes in 2008, Royal has continued to evolve and hone his musical craft – maintaining an unmistakable identity while uncovering and reinventing his…

Arts Education: An opportunity to talk heart to heart.

When actor Lois Anderson attended the theatre as a grade 10 student it had a profound impact on her. "I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened to me in the theatre," says Lois, “when I was in that space with the lights down - being drawn into a story that was live." Young people…

Celebrating Oscar Peterson’s 90th birthday

Come and wish Oscar Peterson, one of the world’s greatest jazz musicians “Happy Birthday” on Saturday, August 15 at 1:00 p.m. The National Arts Centre will be hosting a jazz concert by the Clayton Connell quartet beside the statue of Oscar Peterson on the corner of Elgin St. and Albert St.…

Ontario Scene Highlights

Festival season is in full swing and Canadians everywhere are gathering to enjoy cultural activities outdoors. From Vancouver to P.E.I Shakespeare is performed in parks and on beaches, music of all kinds drifts through the warm night air and during the day families gather to watch buskers,…