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Music Alive Program connects in Ottawa

Trumpet player Rachel Niego-Akavak first met NAC Orchestra musician Karen Donnelly in 2012 through the Music Alive Program in Nunavut. Rachel is a talented young musician but she did not have a trumpet teacher to take her music training to the next level. Over the past two years Karen has…

Bringing the Blues to Northern B.C.

At the National Arts Centre, we strive to be a catalyst for performance, education and learning in communities across Canada. From February 26 to March 6, we are thrilled to be partnering with RBC Bluesfest so that we can deliver, for the first time ever deliver, RBC Bluesfest's Blues in…

Alain Trudel Goes Back to School: It’s where it all began

When NAC Orchestra Principal Youth and Family Conductor Alain Trudel visited Nepean High School he got right down to business and took a seat in the brass section during rehearsal. Within a very short time Alain had adjusted some key elements to their performance and students could hear the…

Putting their best face forward: Young dancers benefit from ballet make-up and...

You could feel the concentration in the room.  Ten young dancers, each with her own make-up station, watched intently as Alberta Ballet’s Skye Balfour-Ducharme and Alexandra Pera demonstrated step-by-step how to apply stage make-up.  Then it was their turn.  By the end of the two-hour…

Students develop a three minute play and the skills to last a...

The little girl was shy at first.  She had recently arrived from China and didn’t speak much English.  She wasn’t sure what the Three-Minute Play Festival was all about or how she could contribute. “She was part of a group but she would just disappear,” admits Kristina Watt,…

Maestro Zukerman says “Art takes time”

Students from the Central Conservatory of Music crowded into the recital hall to attend a masterclass by Pinchas Zukerman. During the class Maestro Zukerman returned to some of the basics of posture, bow technique and finding the balance between passion and control when performing. Maestro…

Eager students soak up musical knowledge

Violinist Elaine Klimasko is a founding member of the NAC Orchestra whose passion for teaching is clearly evident. From the moment she greets her students at Xinghai Conservatory in Guangzhou her curious and outgoing nature creates an immediate rapport. Students hang on her every word and…

My First NAC showcases some of Canada’s most promising musicians

Soprano, Jacqueline Woodley, admits she had to step out of her comfort zone during her performance at the My First NAC Showcase, last May. “As our encore, I was asked to sing a duet of Mack the Knife with the jazz combo. It was definitely more stressful than what we usually do but it ended…

Musical exchange at Lok Sin Tong Primary

Today an NAC Orchestra wind quintet and the Rideau Brass Quintet travelled by bus to the New Territories to perform for students at Lok Sin Tong Leung Kau Kui Primary School. Our musicians were impressed with focus of the students who played chinese instruments such as guzhengs and erhus.…

Erhu masterclass with Professor Yu Hongmei

Earlier this year Professor Yu Hongmei, renowned erhu soloist and teacher at China's Central Conservatory of Music held a masterclass with Ottawa student Leo Zhang in the NAC's Hexagon Studio.

Making connections possible that wouldn’t otherwise be possible