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Karen Donnelly and the 32 trumpet tribute
May 4, 2020Last month, 32 of the world’s top trumpet players came together over the internet to perform a tribute to front-line health care workers battling COVID-19. The song is A Hope for the Future by Matt Catingub and the video has more than 220,000 views. The musicians, who come from 14…
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A Landmark Celebration: The NAC Orchestra 50th Anniversary European Tour
October 4, 2019This past spring, your NAC Orchestra performed under Music Director Alexander Shelley to captivated audiences across Europe. CROSSINGS featured six Canadian composers and five Canadian soloists and offered more than 60 learning and engagement activities, none of which would have been…
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The National Arts Centre Orchestra at 50
September 30, 2019A reflection by Winston Webber “The Centre must have a heart that beats.” - Jean Gascon. “A good orchestra is called for. A superb one would be more to the point.” - Louis Applebaum And on October 7, 1969, from the first dramatic notes of Haydn’s “Drumroll” symphony, played by…
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A few comments on The Marriage of Figaro
June 7, 2019Susanna, Rosine, Marcellina, Barbarina and the rest It was barely two years after the opening night of The Marriage of Figaro, six years after its publication, that Mozart and Da Ponte transformed Beaumarchais’ lively ideological offering into a much more subversive musical work,…
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Q&A: Nelson McDougall, NAC Orchestra and Tour Manager
April 12, 2019Q. What are the key numbers around the NAC Orchestra’s 50th Anniversary European Tour (May 10 to 26)? A. Nine concerts, 50 education activities, seven cities, 70 musicians and five Canadian soloists performing the music of six Canadian composers. Q. What’s your role? A. I’m like a “chief…
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Arts and social inclusion videoconference
March 22, 2019The topic of arts and social inclusion is one that the NAC Orchestra is exploring in their programming throughout the year as well as during the upcoming tour to Europe. In preparation for the tour, the NAC Orchestra hosted it’s inaugural conversation about Arts and Social Inclusion in…
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One of Those ‘Off” Seasons
March 14, 2019An essay to better understand the NAC Orchestra’s 50th season “I just met a lady downstairs,” Alexander Shelley tells me. “She must have been in her mid-90s. She was very sweet. She shook my hand and she said, ‘I think I’ve met you before.’ “And I said, ‘Oh, maybe you’ve been to a…
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Orchestra shell assembly and installation timelapse
January 17, 2019This time-lapse highlights the complex assembly and installation of the Southam Hall orchestra shell. It is, without a doubt, the shining star of the National Arts Centre’s Production Renewal Project. Designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects, Fisher Dachs Associates, Threshhold Acoustics and…
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Q&A: Ian Cusson, Métis composer
November 13, 2018Q. In 2017 you were selected for Carrefour, a two-year residency program by the NAC and Canada Council for the Arts to mentor diverse, emerging composers. At 37, would you say you’re a late bloomer? A. Great question! Although I’ve been writing music for a long time, I came to the…
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After Ypres: The Music of Two Nations Soars
November 9, 2018“We were eighteen and had begun to love life and the world; and we had to shoot it to pieces. The first bomb, the first explosion, burst in our hearts.” ― Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front This November, the National Arts Centre will host two very special concerts in…
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Sweet New Sound of Southam Hall
September 13, 2018Southam Hall has a fresh new look, and a superb new sound. The NAC’s new orchestra shell, which took more than 18 months to design and build, arrived in 15 semi-trailers from two separate facilities 1,000 miles apart and was installed over the summer. While Southam Hall is the NAC’s…
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Q&A: Colin Traquair, Trombone, NAC Orchestra
September 13, 2018Q. You’re one of the NAC Orchestra’s most passionate coffee lovers. What’s your drink? A. Equator makes a piccolo, which is a small, very intense latte. You don’t ever want me to play a piccolo, however. Q. Were you happy when Equator Coffee Roasters opened its NAC location? A. Are you…
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Interview with Showbiz Mastermind and Creator of “Let’s Dance” Jeff Tyzik
May 18, 2018”Stronger together” is the name of the game when it comes to the NAC Orchestra's “Let’s Dance”, a performance of spectacular musical and dance numbers carefully designed by creator Jess Tyzik. World-renowned and gifted in his ability to dazzle audiences of all ages, Jeff Tyzik has been in…
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Get to know Christopher Millard, NAC Orchestra bassoonist
May 2, 2018Q & A with Christopher Millard, bassoon, NAC Orchestra Q1. When did you begin playing the bassoon and why this instrument? I came to the bassoon at age 15, after years as a pianist and later a saxophonist. My story is that of every bassoonist… if you show some talent on the popular…
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Get to know Anna Petersen, NAC Orchestra oboist
May 2, 2018Q & A With Anna Petersen, oboe player, NAC Orchestra Q1. When did you begin playing the oboe and why this instrument? I started playing the oboe when I was 9 years old. My parents were both music teachers, so I was constantly surrounded by musical instruments at home, and informally…
