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Celebrating 55 years of dedication and excellence
December 23, 2024The NAC Orchestra is proud to celebrate an extraordinary milestone: violinist Karoly Sziladi, a founding member of the Orchestra, has reached an incredible 55 years of service. From the very first notes played at the NAC’s inaugural performance in 1969 to countless concerts that have…
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Community Building Creation
December 17, 2024Creation is an act of gathering: ideas, people, places, a bit of magic. One of my ongoing preoccupations is how we trace the impacts of this gathering. I picture my fingers moving along imaginary lines, feeling microscopic and deep grooves that spread out like a web through the communities…
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Bear Grease? Tell me more, tell me more!
December 10, 2024Crystle Lightning and MC RedCloud, affectionately known as “Cloud” — the creative minds behind Bear Grease — share their inspirations, success, and the importance of Indigenous representation. What was the initial interest that sparked the development of Bear Grease? Crystle: Cloud and I…
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The iconic Beauchemin Curtain rises again
December 9, 2024In the years following the opening of the NAC in 1969, one of the joys of attending a performance in the Opera (now called Southam Hall), was to sit and quietly marvel at the sight of the breathtakingly beautiful Beauchemin Curtain. It was said that the curtain was the first work of art…
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A Fountain of Career-Enhancing Opportunities for Artists
December 5, 2024A commitment to the future of the arts builds on decades of support. On November 28, Fred and Elizabeth Fountain extended their decades-long commitment to the performing arts with a $1 million dollar gift to the National Arts Centre Foundation. This gift addresses critical gaps in the…
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A path punctuated with beautiful sparks
December 3, 2024Since 1992, December 3 has marked International Day of Persons with Disabilities, a day that “aims to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and development, and to increase awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in every…
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Invitation for public feedback on accessibility at the NAC
December 2, 2024We are currently reviewing and finalizing our 2024 Accessibility Progress Report. This document is intended as a summary of our progress towards achieving the accessibility goals included in our 2022-2025 Accessibility Plan. Over the past few months, our Accessibility Advisory Committee…
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“A gift to the trumpet repertoire”
November 26, 2024John Estacio’s concerto gets NAC premiere with Karen Donnelly Karen Donnelly, who’s been the NAC Orchestra’s Principal Trumpet since 1999, will be the featured soloist for the Southam Hall premiere of Canadian composer John Estacio’s Trumpet Concerto in performances on November 27…
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Nominate your favourite artist for a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award
November 26, 2024We all know that one of Canada’s best exports is its immense talent in the performing arts. Around the world and here at home, people turn to the arts and our artists in times of celebration and as a balm during uncertainty. Since 1992, the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards…
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Share your love of the performing arts on Giving Tuesday
November 22, 2024On December 3, we celebrate Giving Tuesday. Giving Tuesday is a global movement that takes place every year after Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It’s a day for giving and volunteering and to rally around your favourite causes, such as the performing arts! The National Arts Centre brings…
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Raven Mother: Honouring our mothers and celebrating their legacy
November 20, 2024With Raven Mother, choreographer Margaret Grenier wants to honour the precious artistic legacy inherited from her mother, the late elder Margaret Harris. Through dance and song, Dancers of Damelahamid, founded by Elder Harris and her husband, the late Chief Kenneth Harris in 1967, presents…
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Dreaming Big: Artists Unite for the NAC’s SPHERE Festival
November 18, 2024“What an incredible celebration of creativity from across Canada and around the world we experienced together at this season’s SPHERE Festival! Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your passion and support for the arts! ” Alexander Shelley, NAC Orchestra Music Director “As a…
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Responding to Hétu’s final symphony
November 15, 2024A uniquely Canadian tribute: The NAC Orchestra, the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir join forces on landmark recording of Jacques Hétu’s Symphony No. 5 The NAC Orchestra (NACO) is proud to release Two Orchestras, One Symphony, a grand-scale interpretation…
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Resident Chefs bring unique talents to 1 Elgin
November 15, 2024In 2025, our Resident Chef program enters its sixth season with an exciting lineup of Canadian culinary artists. These five innovative and entrepreneurial Chefs will collaborate with our very own Chef Kenton Leier to create new menus to be featured at 1 Elgin, where these chefs will…
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Our Stories are Medicine: Celebrate 5 Years of Indigenous Theatre at the NAC
November 7, 2024In 1969, The Ecstasy of Rita Joe by George Ryga was the first theatre production presented at the newly opened National Arts Centre. This contemporary tragedy powerfully condemns the systemic brutality that confines Indigenous people to lives of social and spiritual poverty, stripping away…
