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Young Artists Program teaches students to take musical risks
December 14, 2015When 24-year-old flutist Lara Deutsch was accepted into the National Arts Centre (NAC)’s Young Artists Program (YAP), she was thrilled. Already an accomplished musician, Lara, was keen to sharpen her skills by learning hands on experience from the program’s internationally-renowned…
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Inspiring Children through the Arts: Hip Hop Week at Rankin Inlet
December 11, 2015Students in Rankin Inlet were treated to some very special performing arts lessons when Hip-Hop artists Godson, Nelson Tagoona and local throat-singer Kathleen Merritt shared their skills at Simon Alaittuq School (SAS) from November 24 - November 26. Following the success of last year’s…
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Welcoming a new maestro to the podium: Alexander Shelley begins his tenure
October 13, 2015It’s like visiting an old friend. That’s how Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra’s new Music Director, describes the joy we feel when we listen to live classical music. “There’s nothing that compares with revisiting pieces you know and love, and the enjoyment of having them performed…
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Young People and the Arts at the NAC
October 2, 2015Meet the National Arts Centre’s artistic leaders: Cathy Levy, Executive Producer, NAC Dance; Jillian Keiley, Artistic Director NAC English Theatre; Brigitte Haentjens, Artistic Director NAC French Theatre; and Alexander Shelley, Music Director, NAC Orchestra. All of them care deeply about…
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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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Arts Education: An opportunity to talk heart to heart.
July 29, 2015When actor Lois Anderson attended the theatre as a grade 10 student it had a profound impact on her. "I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened to me in the theatre," says Lois, “when I was in that space with the lights down - being drawn into a story that was live." Young people…
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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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Hip-hop in Baker Lake, Nunavut
April 22, 2015The Music Alive Program: Nunavut funded a hip-hop week in Baker Lake from March 9 to March 12. Nelson Tagoona, who performed at the NAC’s Northern Scene a couple of years ago, taught eight workshops on a style he’s credited with inventing— an entirely new category of music called throat-…
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Creating the conditions for joy
December 19, 2014If you were to try to describe unbridled human joy to a newcomer on planet Earth, pointing directly at Kyle during Elizabeth Simpson’s Music Circle class would make an easy visual. Kyle sits in the standard public high school chair, one leg tucked under another, and beams as Liz Simpson…
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Why a late blooming arts lover is supporting the NAC
December 12, 2014Lawyer Michael Segal admits he wasn’t much of an arts lover in his youth. “I grew up with sports,” he says. “It was my wife, Hedy, who studied music and introduced me to the performing arts.” And so, Michael didn’t know what to expect when Hedy took him to his first ballet at the NAC many…
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How music builds community
December 11, 2014In 2006 the National Arts Centre began sending musicians into schools in rural and remote communities in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Developed in consultation with local boards of education, and using NAC-created teaching resources based on classical music composers, the Music Alive…
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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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Ce qui nous relie ? Sharing a space
November 12, 2014Eleven local youth will be part of the adventure. They said YES to the unique creation process led by an author and multidisciplinary artist. With their dreams and imagination they will try to remodel the present time. But first, they must meet and get acquainted.
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Pre-show activities for kids
November 6, 2014To accompany the performance Eaux, the Théâtre français will be inaugurating a new space set aside for children. Established in association with the Ottawa Public Library, the book nook is an opportunity for children of all ages to discover books that complement the themes explored in this…
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Ode to Canada: The NAC Orchestra in Salisbury
October 30, 2014Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra performed in the magnificent Salisbury Cathedral, just a few kilometres away from the muddy terrain where 30,000 Canadians came to train 100 years ago to fight in the First World War. The musicians were following in the footsteps of the young…
