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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…
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Celebrating Oscar Peterson’s 90th birthday
July 29, 2015Come and wish Oscar Peterson, one of the world’s greatest jazz musicians “Happy Birthday” on Saturday, August 15 at 1:00 p.m. The National Arts Centre will be hosting a jazz concert by the Clayton Connell quartet beside the statue of Oscar Peterson on the corner of Elgin St. and Albert St.…
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The WolfGANG Sessions: Music with a wild side
July 2, 2015The Mercury Lounge is a jewel of a nightclub in Ottawa's Byward Market. It's high ceilings, exposed brick walls and tall windows make it an elegant setting for live music and dancing into the wee hours of the night. It is not a place one would expect to hear classical music and that's what…
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Memories of the Maestro
June 23, 2015In this, Pinchas Zukerman’s ultimate season, we asked some of those closest to him at the NAC to share a special memory of the man who brought us so much enjoyment over the years. Here’s what they had to say: “For me, every occasion I hear Pinchas perform, it's a special gift. I've also…
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Institute for Orchestral Studies: Pinchas Zukerman’s “brainchild” an investment in young musicians
June 23, 2015Sean Hawthorne, cellist and apprentice with the NAC’s Institute for Orchestral Studies (IOS), feels his anticipation grow. He knows that in a moment, NAC Orchestra Music Director Pinchas Zukerman will play Max Bruch’s First Violin Concerto. “Hearing him play the Bruch Concerto every night…