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Lang Lang’s 101 Pianists Gives Young Musicians the Opportunity of a Lifetime
September 22, 2015On 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…
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Anticipating Opening Night with the NAC Orchestra
September 15, 2015The 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…
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Ontario Scene Highlights
July 27, 2015Festival 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,…
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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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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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Nicholas Atkinson interviews Alexander Shelley
March 24, 2015The NACOcast, a classical music podcast produced by the National Arts Centre, regularly rates in the top five classical music podcasts on iTunes. Hosted by Nicholas Atkinson, Principal Tuba of the NAC Orchestra, the series explores the broad world of orchestral music and its great…
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A violin’s personality: Timothy Chooi and his 1729 Guarneri del Gesù
January 19, 2015When musicians perform they become one with their instrument. For violinists, the bow is an extension of their arm, and the sound communicates their emotions and interpretation of the score. While training at the National Arts Centre's Summer Music Institute, Timothy Chooi (age 20) took…
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Dark and friendly: Christopher Millard on why he loves bassoon
January 6, 2015Q & A with Christopher Millard, Principal Bassoon, NAC Orchestra A Bassoon Concerto – since WHEN does a bassoon get up and solo as frontman to an entire orchestra and audience, please? Not often. We are usually content to sit amongst our more flamboyant woodwind colleagues, trying to…
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Standing Out: Paul Wells on conductor John Storgårds
January 5, 2015Audiences could be forgiven if guest conductors start to blur together after a while. For the space of two hours (or so it seems to us from our seat in the auditorium), our beloved NAC Orchestra is in the hands of a visitor from afar who, as often as not, doesn’t say a word and spends most…
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Singing Messiah: Keeping it fresh, with help from Woody Woodpecker
December 11, 2014I have the great pleasure to prepare the chorus for the National Arts Centre Orchestra's production of Handel's Messiah, an event I have enjoyed for over 27 years. My job is to keep the chorus on their toes, rehearsing the movements in a variety of tempi, articulation and dynamics. Add…
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Explore the Symphony: The passion behind the podcast
December 9, 2014Tucked into the back corner of the NAC’s lobby the Hexagon Studio is a small space where big ideas are discussed. It is the home of NAC podcasting and it is where NAC Orchestra musician Marjolaine Fournier and music critic Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer can be seen engaged in passionate…
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Behind the scenes at pianist Jan Lisiecki’s portrait shoot
November 14, 2014When Jan Lisiecki was only ten years old, he stepped onto the stage to perform with the National Arts Centre Orchestra. “The NAC musicians were extremely kind, though perhaps slightly skeptical. That’s only natural when you’re ten and playing with such an acclaimed orchestra. But they were…
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Presenting music in new ways: Alexander Shelley and the NAC Orchestra
November 6, 2014“Why, then the world’s mine oyster, which I with sword will open.” – Pistol from The Merry Wives of Windsor In September 2015, a new era in music at the National Arts Centre will begin with the arrival of Music Director Designate of the NAC Orchestra, Alexander Shelley, an exceptionally…
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Cultural exchange: China and Canada come together through the arts
October 31, 2014One of the highlights of the 2013 National Arts Centre Orchestra’s historic performance and education tour of China was its encounter with the National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra (NCPA). The NCPA presented the NAC Orchestra at their incredible concert hall in Beijing and were…
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A roaring finish to an outstanding tour
October 31, 2014One would think that after travelling, performing and teaching in five cities across the UK over ten days the NAC Orchestra would be exhausted, and indeed they are. But no matter how many times they have hauled their luggage on and off buses, trains and planes or how many colds and flues…
