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My Name is Amanda Todd: telling her story through music
April 6, 2016When Canadian composer Jocelyn Morlock began to compose the music for My Name is Amanda Todd, one of four new Canadian works the NAC Orchestra has commissioned about remarkable Canadian women, she met with Amanda’s mother Carol Todd. "That was illuminating" Morlock said. "She feels like…
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Gail and David O’Brien donate $1.5 million to the NAC
April 1, 2016On March 24, 2016 the National Arts Centre unveiled its Strategic Plan for 2015–2020. Entitled “Canada is our Stage”, the new plan reinforces the NAC’s commitment to champion performance, creation and learning across Canada. The Strategic Plan emphasizes the National Arts Centre’s…
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Q & A: Geneviève Cimon – Director, Music Education and Community Engagement
March 31, 2016Q. How has arts education grown and changed since you arrived at the NAC in 2000? A. It’s grown exponentially! In fact it’s now part of our DNA. Our programs now reach many remote regions of the country. We used to offer about a dozen local programs. Now we reach over 100,000 national and…
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Thank You to Our Generous Donors
March 8, 2016On May 19, 2016, Alexander Shelley and the National Arts Centre Orchestra will share the stories of four remarkable Canadian women through music, motion and word, in the world premiere of Life Reflected. This ground-breaking performance is the most ambitious creation project in the…
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From Sunrise to Sunset: MAP Saskatchewan
January 15, 2016Well, it’s 5:00 a.m. on this cold morning, November 27th, which means I’ve got to get up and get going if I want to make it to Manor School on time. I get ready quickly and start loading my gear: 5 cords, 4 instruments, 3 stands, 2 speakers, 1 microphone…and a partridge in a pear tree. Oh,…
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NAC Party Makes the List of Canada’s Hottest!
January 14, 2016The Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Gala has been named by The Globe and Mail as one of the Top 10 Canadian parties of 2016! Canada’s highest honour in the performing arts, the Awards recognize our country’s top artists and arts volunteers for their outstanding lifetime…
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Students discuss the Rita Joe Song Project
January 12, 2016In her autobiography, Rita Joe challenges Indigenous youth to find their voices, share their stories, and celebrate their talents. Inspired by this idea, the National Arts Centre asked teachers and students from five Indigenous groups across Canada to create a song based on Rita Joe's…
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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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WolfGANG Sessions: What chamber music was meant to be
November 6, 2015A chamber music concert is, by nature, more social than an orchestral performance. The smaller number of performers and more intimate setting create a more informal, inclusive vibe, and in turn, expands the musical conversation between players to include the audience. The NAC Orchestra's…
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Tribute to Mario Bernardi 1930 – 2013
November 3, 2015As the founding conductor of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra in 1969, Mario Bernardi helped realize the vision of a national centre for the performing arts in Canada. Under his leadership, the Orchestra flourished artistically, touring and recording widely. Notable among his…
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Sounds of Jazz Age: NAC Orchestra’s Roaring 20s Festival
October 19, 2015For five unforgettable nights (Oct-8-17), Music Director, Alexander Shelley and the NAC Orchestra brought the sounds of Jazz Age “Storytelling music” to the stage. Featuring the music of Elgar, Cole Porter, Sibelius, Weill, Gershwin, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Ravel, and even Charlie Chaplin,…
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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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Generous donors and sponsors celebrate record-breaking NAC Gala
September 22, 2015On Saturday, September 19, the 2015 National Arts Centre Gala featured world renowned pianist Lang Lang and the NAC Orchestra – under the leadership of its new Music Director Alexander Shelley – raising a record-breaking $1,005,000 in support of the NAC’s National Youth and Education Trust…
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Anticipating Opening Night with the NAC Orchestra
September 15, 2015The National Arts Centre Orchestra’s musicians have been practicing for weeks in the lead-up to the opening night of the season, and to Alexander Shelley’s inaugural beginning as Music Director. Now as the final hours tick-on, and last minute adjustments to phrasing and colour have been…
