October 23, 2014 – OTTAWA (Canada) — A minute of silence will be observed by Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra before tonight’s concert at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall, as a mark of respect for Corporal Nathan Cirillo, the Canadian soldier killed in Ottawa yesterday. Tonight is the first performance of the NAC Orchestra’s 10-day, five-city tour of the United Kingdom, which also features 50 educational events.

In the spirit of condolence and remembrance, Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra will dedicate the concert at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall to the memory of Cpl. Cirillo. Before the concert begins, the audience will be asked to observe a moment of silence, as a mark of respect for the young soldier and father.

Canada’s National Arts Centre (NAC) Orchestra, featuring internationally acclaimed Music Director and violinist Pinchas Zukerman as conductor and soloist is embarking on the largest arts project from Canada to commemorate the sacrifice of more than 600,000 Canadians who enlisted 100 years ago to fight in the First World War.

Exactly one hundred years ago this October, the first contingent of 30,000 brave Canadians marched onto Salisbury Plain on U.K. soil to muster and train for service in the First World War. Their sacrifices and the role that Canada played in that conflict are being commemorated by Pinchas Zukerman and Canada’s NAC Orchestra on this 5-concert, 10-day tour, which also celebrates the strong ties between Canada and the U.K. and underlines the expressive and enduring power of music. The musicians of the NAC Orchestra will be following in the footsteps of 600,000 Canadians who enlisted in the First World War.

Hearing Pinchas Zukerman and the NAC Orchestra perform a live concert of such extraordinary beauty and musicality is pure joy for the soul and the senses. As Maestro Zukerman says, “A live concert experience brings you extraordinary energy. It can be a major life experience. That’s why people come, that’s why they want more. With music, you can reach the depths of human experience.”

Of special interest are several education activities taking place in Scotland on October 22-23, including Sectional Rehearsals with Sistema Scotland (Big Noise). Sistema Scotland is a charity which transforms lives through music, fostering confidence, teamwork, pride, and aspiration in children by giving them the opportunity to play in a symphony orchestra. Sistema Scotland is an official partner of the original Venezuela El Sistema organization established in 1975. The rehearsals take place at Big Noise Base Raploch at 90 Drip Road (Stirling) on Wednesday October 22 at 3:30 p.m.

OTHER U.K. TOUR PERFORMANCE/EDUCATION ACTIVITIES IN SCOTLAND

October 23 at 12 noon.: Music at St. Giles’ Cathedral Recital with NAC Orchestra Horn Quintet and NAC Orchestra String Trio, St. Giles’ Cathedral (Edinburgh)

October 23 at 1 p.m.: Composer Workshop with composer John Estacio, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (Glasgow); open to RCS students and staff only

October 23 at 6:30 p.m.: Pre-Concert Lecture with composer John Estacio, Usher Hall (Edinburgh)

October 23 at 6:45 p.m.: Pre-Concert performance by National Youth Choir of Scotland, Usher Hall (Edinburgh)

October 24 at 10 a.m.: Youth Creation Project: “Inspire Day” with Royal Scottish National Orchestra String Quintet and NAC Orchestra Horn Quintet and 100 schoolchildren, Riverside Museum (Glasgow Museum of Transport)

October 24 at 11 a.m.: Chamber Music Masterclass for bassoon students with NAC Orchestra musician Christopher Millard, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (Glasgow); open to RCS students and staff only

October 24 at 2:15 p.m.: Reed-Making and Performance Class with NAC Orchestra musician Christopher Millard, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (Glasgow); open to RCS students and staff only

October 24 at 2:30 p.m.: Double Bass Masterclass with NAC Orchestra musician Joel Quarrington, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (Glasgow); open to RCS students and staff only

October 24 at 4 p.m.: Winds and Brass Orchestra Sectionals with NAC Orchestra musicians Christopher Millard and Karen Donnelly, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (Glasgow); open to RCS students and staff only

EDINBURGH CONCERT REPERTOIRE

Maestro Zukerman – famous for that liquid Zukerman tone, the breathtaking molten gold that streams from his violin -- will perform one of his signature solo pieces, Bruch’s lyrical Violin Concerto No. 1, perhaps the most ardent and touching concerto in the repertoire. Other repertoire includes the inspiring and atmospheric Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis by Ralph Vaughan Williams and award-winning Canadian composer John Estacio’s mercurial Brio: Toccata and Fantasy for Orchestra, which beautifully conveys a sense of loss for those departed. The program concludes with Beethoven’s exhilarating Symphony No. 7, extraordinary in visceral impact, intoxicating and imbued with a powerful rhythmic energy that ensures an irresistible whirlwind finale. Regarded by the composer as one of his best works, it premiered in 1813 at a benefit concert for soldiers wounded in battle.

THE CBC

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is planning extensive coverage of the tour on radio and television. The National Arts Centre’s Concert at the Salisbury Cathedral on October 29th will be broadcast on CBC Radio 2 on November 11th and on CBC Television as part of its Remembrance Day coverage. An hour-long broadcast of the Salisbury Cathedral concert will be broadcast by CBC Television during the holiday season in December.

ABOUT THE NAC ORCHESTRA’S U.K. TOUR: OCTOBER 22-31, 2014

Under the patronage of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, the tour of the United Kingdom by Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra is presented by RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) with major support from The W. Garfield Weston Foundation. One of the most important Canadian artistic projects in the U.K. during the fall of 2014, the tour brings together artists, arts organizations, educators, and the worlds of diplomacy, business, and politics in a message of peace. The First World War is considered a pivotal, nation-building event in Canadian history. Marking the 100th anniversary of the beginning of that conflict commemorates the relentless bravery and deep devotion to country of British and Canadian military personnel and demonstrates the power of music as a force for remembrance and healing.

Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra brings power, precision, and extraordinary musicality to the concert stage. The NAC Orchestra has long played an international role with performances, teaching, and partnerships across Canada and around the world. In addition to the performances in Edinburgh, Nottingham, London, Salisbury, and Bristol, there will be a robust education program with activities linking school-age children in Canada and the U.K., using music to underline themes of remembrance and reconciliation. These events are part of the NAC Orchestra’s fifth visit to the U.K. in its 45-year history.

NAC ORCHESTRA: COMMITMENT TO CREATION, PERFORMANCE, AND LEARNING

The National Arts Centre -- Canada’s only bilingual multi-disciplinary performing arts centre -- believes in nation building through the performing arts, by providing a home for the world’s most creative artists, by being artistically adventurous, and by acting as a catalyst for creation, performance, and learning. The NAC Orchestra’s commitment to contemporary composition is demonstrated on the U.K. Tour by four performances of Brio: Toccata and Fantasy for Orchestra by Canadian composer John Estacio (commissioned by the NAC Orchestra, premiered 2011) and a London performance of A Ballad for Canada by the late Canadian composer Malcolm Forsyth (co-commissioned by the NAC Orchestra, premiered 2011). Song of the Poets, a new choral piece by Canadian composer Abigail Richardson, is a powerful tribute to the soldiers of the First World War, featuring wartime poetry from Canada, the U.K. and Germany. This National Arts Centre-commissioned work will be performed by youth and community choirs throughout the U.K. during the NAC Orchestra’s tour. There will also be three international creation projects involving hundreds of youth in the U.K. and in Canada conceived as a result of this tour.

Pinchas Zukerman believes musicians should be great teachers as well as great performers and he has ensured the National Arts Centre Orchestra’s international reputation for performance and learning. With the support of Education Partner Dasha Shenkman, NAC Orchestra musicians will take part in over 50 educational activities during the U.K. Tour -- including school visits, composition and instrumental workshops, and masterclasses – inspiring youth, emphasizing the healing power of music, and demonstrating that the arts are accessible to all. The NAC will also partner with leading arts and educational organizations in the U.K. and Canada, including The World Remembers project, The Canadian War Museum, Britain’s Imperial War Museum, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Sistema Scotland, and The Prince’s Trust Young Ambassadors program; in Edinburgh, London, and Bristol, The Prince’s Trust Young Ambassadors are hosting and blogging about the NAC Orchestra's education activities and evening concerts.

The National Arts Centre’s commitment to the next generation of great musicians is also demonstrated by the inclusion on the U.K. Tour of five young musicians from the NAC’s Institute of Orchestral Studies. Also, in anticipation of this tour, three exceptional young artists studying at the Royal College of Music (RCM) in London were invited to participate in the National Arts Centre’s Summer Music Institute Young Artist Program in June 2014. The RCM students will perform with the NAC Orchestra during their joint concert in London with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, where Pinchas Zukerman is Principal Guest Conductor.

ABOUT PINCHAS ZUKERMAN and THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE ORCHESTRA

A phenomenon in the world of music for over four decades, Pinchas Zukerman is one of the world’s greatest violinists, violists, and conductors. Since 1999, he has been the Music Director of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, and, since 2009, he has served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London. Pinchas Zukerman has led many of the world’s top ensembles in a wide variety of orchestral repertoire. A devoted and innovative pedagogue, he chairs the Pinchas Zukerman Performance Program at the Manhattan School of Music, where he has pioneered the use of distance-learning technology in the arts. In Canada, he has established the NAC Institute for Orchestral Studies and the Summer Music Institute, which encompasses the Young Artists, Conductors, and Composers Programs. His extensive discography contains over 100 titles, and has earned him 21 GRAMMY® nominations and two awards.

Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra (founded 1969) gives over 100 performances a year in Ottawa. The Orchestra is also one of the country’s leading cultural ambassadors, visiting over 120 global communities on more than two dozen international tours. The NAC Orchestra has also commissioned the creation of over 100 new Canadian works. Orchestra musicians and staff regularly teach students all over the world through the state-of-the-art broadband videolink at the NAC’s Hexagon Studio. The NAC Orchestra has recorded more than 40 discs, including six with Pinchas Zukerman; a new recording of Mozart with Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt was released in June 2014 on Hyperion Records.

ABOUT CONEXXIONS 2014 VIDEOLINK: OCTOBER 28

The National Arts Centre is an international leader in distance learning through videoconference technology. On Tuesday October 28, Mrs. Laureen Harper, wife of the Prime Minister of Canada, will host ConneXXions 2014, a free 1-hour special performance using a state-of-the-art, high-definition broadband videolink between the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and the Royal College of Music (RCM) in London. In a live, real-time musical exchange, Scottish virtuoso percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie and RCM student Stefan Beckett will perform a new work for two snare drums composed by fellow RCM student Bertram Wee. Ms. Glennie will also speak on the power of music to encourage, heal, and promote resilience. Musicians from London’s Brent Youth Concert Band and Ottawa’s Colonel By Secondary School Senior Concert Band will perform works by U.K. and Canadian composers of the First World War period, as well as new compositions they will create and perform for each other.

Watch the live broadcast (at 2 p.m. London time/10 a.m. Ottawa time) on October 28 on the NAC website.

FOLLOW THE U.K. TOUR ONLINE

The NAC is a leader in new media outreach in the arts and has created a website at nacotour.ca where people from across Canada and around the world can follow this remarkable tour. Daily reports will also be posted on Facebook and Twitter @CanadasNAC.

PARTNERS IN MUSIC PERFORMANCE AND EDUCATION

An international tour of this calibre is only made possible through the generous support of the Government of Canada, as well as individuals and corporations from across Canada and the United Kingdom. The National Arts Centre and National Arts Centre Foundation gratefully acknowledge the tremendous support of Major Partner The W. Garfield Weston Foundation (Canada), Presenting Supporter RBC, Education Partner Dasha Shenkman, and Supporting Partners David Aisenstat, Margaret and David Fountain, Aimia and W1 Developments, and Major Media Partner The Globe and Mail. Benefactors of the U.K. Tour are Gail Asper, O.C., O.M., LL.D. and Michael Paterson, John and Bonnie Buhler, Adrian Burns and Gregory Kane, Q.C., Marg Campbell, Irene D’Souza, Barbara Crook and Dan Greenberg, Julia and Robert Foster, Elinor Gill Ratcliffe C.M., O.N.L., LL.D (hc), Susan Glass, C.M. and Arnie Thorsteinson, James and Emily Ho, D’Arcy Levesque, M. Ann McCaig, C.M., A.O.E., LL.D, John McCaig, Grant J. McDonald, FCPA, FCA and Carol Devenny, Gordon McGibbon, Wilson McLean, Janice and Earle O’Born, Gail and David O’Brien, and Jeanne d’Arc Sharp. Thank you also to members of the U.K. Tour’s International Advisory Council: The Honourable Hilary Weston, C.M., O.Ont and W. Galen Weston, O.C., O.Ont (Co-Chairs); The Honourable Gordon Campbell, Canadian High Commissioner to the U.K.; Diana Fox Carney; Phillip Crawley; His Excellency Howard Drake, OBE British High Commissioner to Canada; Rupert Duchesne; Margaret Fountain; Gay Mitchell ICD.D; and Janice O’Born. The National Arts Centre would also like to thank the Government of Canada for its support of the NAC Orchestra’s U.K. Tour.

TICKETS AND PERFORMANCE

Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra will perform in Usher Hall (Edinburgh) on Thursday October 23 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are [PC1] [PC5] £12, [PC4] £16, [PC4] £21, [PC4] £26, and £32.

Usher Hall, Lothian Rd, Edinburgh, Midlothian EH1 2EA, United Kingdom
Telephone 0131 228 1155    

[PC3]   

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

 

Carl Martin                                                 Rosemary Thompson (In the U.K. with the Orchestra)

Senior Advisor, Communications           Director of Communications and Public Affairs

National Arts Centre                                 National Arts Centre

613 947-7000 x 560                                 613 762-4118 (txt)

Carl.Martin@nac-cna.ca                           Rosemary.Thompson@nac-cna.ca