La mini-tournée acadienne

« Avez-vous déjà vu un bâton laid »?, demande Marjolaine Fournier. La centaine d’élèves rassemblés dans la cafétéria de l’école de Grande-Digue – située dans un des pittoresques petits villages de la côte acadienne – éclatent de rire lorsqu’ils aperçoivent cet instrument de musique hors de…

Transformation through music

Chanter et danser en Acadie

(Re)Connecting Through Music

Today I played a woodwind trio concert with my colleagues Chip Hamann and Chris Millard at the Kenneth E. Spenser Home as part of the Health Arts Performance program.  I also had an “it’s a small world experience.” After the concert, some of the residents of the home came up to us and told…

Un grand concert dans une petite salle

Catch and Release with Sibelius

The Role of the Conductor

Recherchées: queue-de-pie et contrebasse

Hier soir, l'Orchestre du centre national des arts a brisé avec la tradition et a joué son concert à Charlottetown, Île-du-Prince-Édouard, en tenue de ville. T-shirts, bottes de cowboy, pantalon orange, chemise à carreaux, on se croyait en pleine répétition. Aurais-je dû garder mon t-shirt…

Jour 6 de la tournée

Nous voici, jour 6 de la tournée, entassés comme des sardines dans l'autobus qui nous emmène de Charlottetown à Halifax. Trois heures dans un autobus surchargé d'instruments (grâce à notre mésaventure avec le ferry de terre-neuve), de bagages et de musiciens! Mais les choses pourraient être…

No tuxes? No problem!

For those of you wondering how the now-famous "broken-down ferry" concert in Charlottetown went last night (if you missed the story, take a look) read what the Ottawa Citizen has to report on the concert. In addition, take a look our what folks on Twitter who were at the show have to…

The Show Must Go On…

The National Arts Centre Orchestra is on its way to Charlottetown this evening, but some of the larger instruments won't be making the trip. On Wednesday, a truck carrying the timpani, the double-basses, the scores, the wardrobe cases and much of the Orchestra's equipment was stopped at…

Learning the Orchestral Ropes

Sean Rice Comes Home to Newfoundland

The auditorium at the Holy Heart High School in St. John’s, Newfoundland was packed. Children from all over the city were brought in by school bus for a performance that had people literally square dancing in the aisles of the Theatre. This is a school that is nationally known for its…

A trip up the coast with Jan Lisiecki

A vivacious musical greeting: an interview with composer John Estacio

Music is often described as a conversation between the listener and the performer. However, it is the composer who has written the script. In this interview, NAC Award Composer John Estacio speaks about the composition process and his newly commissioned work for the National Arts Centre…