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Tea with a Ballerina: A day young dancers will remember all their...
May 14, 2019At first, the eight young dance students, ages five through 12, were shy and awestruck. After all, it’s not every day they have the opportunity to meet a ballerina from The National Ballet of Canada. But then they realized that Ottawa-born Meghan Pugh is a real person. “It’s at this…
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Vic and Flo Boyko: Dedicated to sparking a love for the arts...
May 14, 2019Vic and Flo Boyko have been there from the beginning. The couple still remembers their excitement when the National Arts Centre was built in 1969. They happily toured the new building. “Our passion is the NAC Orchestra but we’ve seen all kinds of performances in all the venues at the NAC…
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Making Giving Easy: Show your passion for the arts and save on...
May 14, 2019There’s nothing quite like the feeling you experience when you take your seat at the NAC. You’ve been anticipating the performance for weeks. You know it’s going to stir your heart and lift your spirit for weeks to come. Now you can ensure future generations get that same chance. …
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Five Minutes with Karoly Sziladi: A Q&A with one of the founding...
May 14, 2019Violinist Karoly Sziladi has been with the NAC Orchestra since it first performed in October, 1969. While the Orchestra was getting ready to depart on their seven-city 50th Anniversary European Tour this May, we asked Karoly about why touring is so important and what he’s most looking…
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Our new compost program: sustainability at the NAC
May 14, 2019The National Arts Centre and the Hon. Catherine McKenna, Canadian Minister of the Environment and Climate Change and Member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre, have unveiled an innovative program that will introduce plant-based food and drink containers and transform them into rich compost to…
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Exciting changes coming to the NAC restaurant
May 7, 2019The National Arts Centre recently underwent a dramatic renewal, just in time for this year’s 50th anniversary. This includes stunning new public spaces, upgraded performance venues such as a beautiful orchestra shell, and the creation of the first Indigenous Theatre Department in the world.…
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Live in the Studio: Visiting the Old Trout Puppet Workshop
April 29, 2019To reach Calgary’s Old Trout Puppet Workshop, you knock on the door of an unprepossessing Quonset hut, squeeze through the lean-to they use for an office, then finally set foot inside the studio, where an otherworldly vibe possesses you. Puppets gaze down from every corner, ghosts from the…
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A Sense of Place
April 12, 2019Urban designers call it “sense of place,” that unique collection of qualities and characteristics – visual, cultural, social and environmental – that make a building warm, welcoming and worth caring about. One of the goals of the NAC’s recent renovation to re-orient its front entrance to…
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Canada at its core: 50 years of the NAC
April 12, 2019The opening of the National Arts Centre was a significant moment for Canadians. On May 31, 1969, 40,000 people flooded downtown Ottawa to see the NAC. Its opening night on June 2 was a grand affair that was covered by national and international media. “Not since Expo 67’s shimmering debut…
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New name for le café
April 12, 2019Later this year, the NAC will retire le café, the name of its restaurant since the 1970s. le café rose to national culinary fame under legendary chef Kurt Waldele, a pioneer in the movement to use local ingredients. le café was among the first to embrace the diverse flavours of Canadian…
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Q&A: Nelson McDougall, NAC Orchestra and Tour Manager
April 12, 2019Q. What are the key numbers around the NAC Orchestra’s 50th Anniversary European Tour (May 10 to 26)? A. Nine concerts, 50 education activities, seven cities, 70 musicians and five Canadian soloists performing the music of six Canadian composers. Q. What’s your role? A. I’m like a “chief…
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The Transformative Power of Angélique
April 3, 2019On Thursday March 21, the first full day of spring, director Mike Payette spoke to NAC supporters about the play Angélique, a play that invites its audience to look deep within and emerge anew. Mike gave NAC supporters an overview of the challenging play by the late Lorena Gale that they…
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Arts and social inclusion videoconference
March 22, 2019The topic of arts and social inclusion is one that the NAC Orchestra is exploring in their programming throughout the year as well as during the upcoming tour to Europe. In preparation for the tour, the NAC Orchestra hosted it’s inaugural conversation about Arts and Social Inclusion in…
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The NAC Orchestra’s album New Worlds is nominated for a JUNO award
March 15, 2019The JUNOs are awarded annually to Canadian musical artists in celebration of their artistic achievements in all aspects of music, and to raise public awareness of Canadian music and musicians. First named the Gold Leaf Awards in 1970, they quickly took the name of Pierre Juneau, the first…
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One of Those ‘Off” Seasons
March 14, 2019An essay to better understand the NAC Orchestra’s 50th season “I just met a lady downstairs,” Alexander Shelley tells me. “She must have been in her mid-90s. She was very sweet. She shook my hand and she said, ‘I think I’ve met you before.’ “And I said, ‘Oh, maybe you’ve been to a…
