-
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…
-
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…
-
A Q&A with The Weather Station’s Tamara Lindeman
September 24, 2018In recent years, the romance of life on the road has been thankfully demystified. A new, more realistic picture has emerged, albeit an often black and white one. It seems you’re either the grant-dependent, bleary-eyed emerging artist struggling to make ends meet, or you’re among the…
-
The New NAC: More National Than Ever
November 15, 2017National Arts Centre President and CEO Peter Herrndorf recently announced that he would step down in June 2018. Over the past 18 years, Herrndorf has put the “national” back in the National Arts Centre. This transformation culminated in 2017 with three different NAC tours. “I can’t ever…
-
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…
-
NAC Orchestra in Eskasoni: An unforgettable musical experience
May 10, 2017As the NAC Orchestra tour buses travelled along the beautiful tree lined edge of Bras d’Or Lake we knew we had arrived to a very special place. The community of Eskasoni is the ancestral home of Mi’kmaw poet Rita Joe. Her poem I Lost My Talk was the inspiration for NAC Award composer John…
-
Follow the NAC Orchestra on Tour!
April 28, 2017As our National Arts Centre Orchestra sets off on the first leg of its cross-Canada performance and education tour, a group of dedicated supporters from across the country is cheering them on from the sidelines. Tour Patrons Gail and David O’Brien, who split their time between Toronto and…
-
Moh Faris and Family Donate $1 Million to National Arts Centre in...
April 25, 2016The National Arts Centre Foundation is honoured to announce a generous gift of $1 million from Mohammed (Moh) Faris and his family in honour of the late Yulanda Faris. Wife of Moh and mother of three daughters, Yulanda – who died at the age of 77 on April 23, 2015 – was a passionate…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Hip-hop in Baker Lake, Nunavut
April 22, 2015The Music Alive Program: Nunavut funded a hip-hop week in Baker Lake from March 9 to March 12. Nelson Tagoona, who performed at the NAC’s Northern Scene a couple of years ago, taught eight workshops on a style he’s credited with inventing— an entirely new category of music called throat-…
-
CBC Television: Historic Salisbury concert to air on Christmas day
December 19, 2014On Christmas Day, Canadians are invited to watch the extraordinary performance of the National Arts Centre Orchestra on CBC Television from Salisbury Cathedral to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War. The haunting beauty of one of the United Kingdom’s…
-
Cultural exchange: China and Canada come together through the arts
October 31, 2014One of the highlights of the 2013 National Arts Centre Orchestra’s historic performance and education tour of China was its encounter with the National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra (NCPA). The NCPA presented the NAC Orchestra at their incredible concert hall in Beijing and were…
-
A roaring finish to an outstanding tour
October 31, 2014One would think that after travelling, performing and teaching in five cities across the UK over ten days the NAC Orchestra would be exhausted, and indeed they are. But no matter how many times they have hauled their luggage on and off buses, trains and planes or how many colds and flues…
-
A dazzling concert in Salisbury Cathedral
October 29, 2014Hearing Pinchas Zukerman and the NAC Orchestra perform a live concert of such extraordinary beauty and musicality is one way to bring healing to human suffering. As Maestro Zukerman says, “A live concert experience brings you extraordinary joy, and healing. It can be a major life…
