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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…
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Connecting North to South made easy thanks to First Air
December 5, 2017Members of Canada’s National Arts Centre (NAC) Orchestra, along with Music Director Alexander Shelley, are in Iqaluit December 4 to 6, and Yellowknife on December 9, for concerts and music education activities as part of the final segment of its Canada 150 Tour. Their travel from Ottawa to…
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Dreaming of the Sea in Southam Hall
October 18, 2017Attending intermission chats and open rehearsals are one of the many benefits donors receive when they support performance, creation and learning across Canada through the National Arts Centre Foundation. On a beautiful October morning, NAC Foundation supporters were carried away during an…
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Reconnecting with the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra
July 17, 2017In the spring of 2017 the NAC Orchestra was in residence for two days with 240 students from across New Brunswick as part of their Canada 150 Tour. Alexander Shelley, James Ehnes and members of the NAC Orchestra coached three Sistema ensembles, with a final concert featuring NAC Orchestra…
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NAC Orchestra musician Charles Hamann records 15 Canadian works for oboe and piano
June 7, 2017Charles Hamann has wanted to make a solo recording for a very long time. As principal oboe for the National Arts Centre Orchestra Charles (or Chip as many in the music world know him) has worked with many of the country’s most respected composers and it was composer John Burge’s Sonata…
