-
Impact Report 2020-2021
August 26, 2021A HEARTFELT THANK YOU Looking back on last season we have much to celebrate and it’s thanks to you, our donors that helped make it all possible. You helped create inspiring and innovative programming like: • NAC English Theatre’s Grand Acts of Theatre, which engaged 13 of Canada’s most…
-
BIG BANG: An Incredible Celebration of Music
March 8, 2021Thanks to generous donors like you, thousands of children from across the country were transported on a magical, musical adventure from the comfort of their homes the weekend of February 13 and 14 during the BIG BANG festival. This year BIG BANG’s Artistic Director and Associate Artistic…
-
Livestreams: Creating a New Stage for Canada’s Performing Artists
February 3, 2021Thanks to your generous support, the NAC Orchestra and performing artists from across the country have found a new stage through the NAC’s livestreams. In response to the closure and limited capacity of performing arts venues, the NAC has showcased many beloved artists through livestream…
-
Spreading Love through Music
February 3, 2021As passionate supporters of the performing arts, you know that music, dance and theatre can be powerful expressions of love. This year, to show appreciation for dearly missed audience members, the NAC Orchestra invited patrons to dedicate a virtual performance to a loved one as part of a…
-
Gerry and Rebecca Grace – Loyal patrons, loyal donors
December 2, 2020“The shows we’ve seen on the stages of the National Arts Centre are equal to if not better than those we have seen in New York, London, Berlin and other places around the world”. So say Gerry and Rebecca Grace of Ottawa, and they should know, after seeing hundreds of amazing and memorable…
-
Jim and Pat Whitehead – Patrons, performers
December 2, 2020It was love at first sight — almost! Jim Whitehead first met his wife Pat almost 80 years ago when they were children. “Pat came to visit relatives in Orangeville, Ontario, where I lived at the time and we became friends.” Years passed, both married other people and, when they by chance…
-
Donor profile: Barb Newbegin
December 2, 2020Barb Newbegin says it well: “You have to pay it forward.” That philosophy is why she volunteers and is so generous to the organizations she cares about. It is also why she has remembered the National Arts Centre Foundation with a gift in her Will. Born in Calgary, Barb lived in various…
-
Bob and Marian Cumming – Patrons par excellence!
December 2, 2020“We’d be absolutely lost without the National Arts Centre!” And when you speak with Marian and Bob Cumming, you know they mean exactly what they say. The Cummings’ association with the NAC goes back 50 years to its very first performance. Eagerly anticipated, they were delighted by the…
-
A Grand Success for Canadian Theatre Companies Across Canada
December 1, 2020This past summer NAC English Theatre created Grand Acts of Theatre to re-ignite creativity, bring hope, and lift the spirits of theatre artists and performing arts lovers from across the country. Co-curated by English Theatre Artistic Director Jillian Keiley and Sherry Yoon, Artistic…
-
Discovering Common Ground Through Dance
November 4, 2020Over the past many weeks and months, the NAC Dance team has been working hard to offer programs aimed at keeping dance at the forefront of people’s minds and hearts. Now in its third year, the NAC Dance Visiting Dance Artist program is doing just that. The Visiting Dance Artist program is…
-
Young Musicians Receive World Class Instruction from their Living Rooms
October 1, 2020The thing about music auditions is that it doesn’t matter whether you are playing for a jury in-person or via Zoom, the nerves can hit you just the same. Throughout the spring, in homes throughout the country and around the world, exceptional young musicians who were set to participate in…
-
History in the Making: Impact Report 2019-2020
August 24, 2020Looking back on the NAC’s 2019–2020 season, one word rises to the surface of my mind: gratitude. Yes, the season was unsettling, challenging and so much more, but the events of 2019–2020 shone a wonderful light on all that we have to be thankful for. Almost immediately after our stages…
-
The inaugural season of Indigenous Theatre
August 24, 2020Mòshkamo Indigenous Arts Festival officially launched on September 14 with an emotional canoe voyage on the Rideau Canal to the National Arts Centre, hosted by the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation to the National Arts Centre. Sixty Indigenous leaders, artists, and community members from across…
-
The return of BIG BANG
August 24, 2020In February 2020, excitement was in the air as the BIG BANG Festival returned to the NAC, taking over the building with children and families exploring the fascinating world of music, sound and the arts. This one-of-a-kind festival included imaginative installations, workshops and…
-
The NAC Orchestra Romances Listeners with a Quartet of Recordings
August 24, 2020Under the direction of NAC Orchestra Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra released new recordings in the spring of 2020 featuring Romantic music by Clara and Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms. The first album, Darlings of the Muses, included improvisations inspired…
