DONNELL LEAHY AND FAMILY TEAM UP WITH THE NAC ORCHESTRA FOR A ROCKIN’, RIPPIN’, JAW-DROPPING PERFORMANCE WHERE LIVELY FIDDLE TUNES GET A MODERN, FRESH TWIST IN THIS FIDELITY INVESTMENTS POPS CONCERT
Press Release
DONNELL LEAHY AND FAMILY TEAM UP WITH THE NAC ORCHESTRA FOR A ROCKIN’, RIPPIN’, JAW-DROPPING PERFORMANCE WHERE LIVELY FIDDLE TUNES GET A MODERN, FRESH TWIST
IN THIS FIDELITY INVESTMENTS POPS CONCERT
“I’m not the greatest with words, but on the fiddle, I can tell the whole story passionately” – Donnell Leahy
APRIL 15, 2015 – OTTAWA (Canada) – Sparks will fly in Southam Hall April 23-25 when Donnell Leahy, one of Canada’s foremost fiddlers and front-man for Juno Award-winning LEAHY for over 20 years, is joined on the NAC stage by brothers Doug and Angus for a night of virtuosic fiddling, breath-taking reels and jigs, story-telling and step-dancing, in this fifth concert in the Fidelity Investments Pops series.
Donnell’s family includes none other than award winning Canadian fiddling sensation, Natalie MacMaster, who has also been known to grace the NAC stage. The couple were married in 2002 and have often collaborated onstage, most recently on their 60-show tour of the United States. Their first CD together, ONE, produced by legendary producer Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, Deep Purple) will be released on April 28, but concert attendees will get to hear some of the music from the CD performed live April 23-25 from the NAC stage!
Honing his remarkable talent since the age of three, Donnell, the front-man for Donnell Leahy and family, is an award winning Canadian fiddle player who has literally spent his entire life with a fiddle in his hand. His initial skills were learned at home from his parents – a fiddle-playing father from Ontario and a step-dancing mother from Cape Breton. With a well-trained ear, Donnell learned tunes from fiddlers both in person and on recordings, perfecting his talent until his own style emerged. Mesmerizingly strident, exultant, and high-energy performances have become Donnell Leahy’s musical signature.
The performances are part of Ontario Scene, a festival that brings together 600 Ontario artists – established and emerging, from all disciplines, to perform in the national spotlight on the stages of Ottawa/Gatineau, presented by Canada’s National Arts Centre from April 29 to May 10, 2015. The Presenting Partner of Ontario Scene is OLG.
DONNELL LEAHY BIOGRAPHY
For well over 100 years, the descendants of a poor Irish immigrant to rural Ontario have been fashioning fiddlers that are remarkable in both their level of musical skill and their hard-working attitude. Iconic Canadian fiddler Donnell Leahy is the epitome of this skill and work-ethic.
No matter if he is performing with Leahy, alongside is wife - Canadian fiddler Natalie MacMaster, or solo, audiences lap up every amazing moment of Donnell’s riveting performances, filled with, as Natalie describes, “intense power, [while] maintaining the sweetness and tone” of the fiddle. “He is absolutely precise and articulate – a must see to believe.”
“If you want to play a sad piece, it’s easy to be sad playing it”, says Donnell. “I’m aggressive, a quick-mover, spirited, athletic, and that comes out in my playing.”
“I think that I’ve learned that you really have to believe in what you’re playing.” It is this simple fact that has earned Donnell not only industry awards and accolades, but more importantly for him, has won him world-wide audiences who appreciate his work and continue to follow him wherever his musical roads have led.
Having spent his life touring and performing, people who meet Donnell are impressed to find he is humble and down-to-earth, which can be attributed to his up-bringing in a house of 11 children, not to mention that he still farms as a way to “relax” outside of his touring life. Over the last 11 years, he and wife Natalie have not only shared their focus on musical pursuits but have set their sights on raising their six children and bringing them up in the same musical traditions they received.
Together with Natalie, Donnell instructs his children, exposing them to world-class musicians who visit their home and tour the world with the couple. There is no doubt that the humble Irish immigrant who came to Canada all those years ago would be pleased with his legacy.
LUCAS WALDIN BIOGRAPHY
Lucas Waldin is a dynamic and versatile conductor who has delighted audiences across North America by combining a passion for performance with a flair for audience engagement.
Now in his sixth season with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO), Lucas is currently the ESO Artist-in-Residence and Community Ambassador. With over 100 appearances to date with the ESO, Lucas has collaborated with some of North America’s finest musicians including Jens Lindemann, Angela Cheng and Sergei Babayan. An experienced conductor of pops and crossover, he has worked with a range of artists such as Ben Folds, Chantal Kreviazuk and the Barenaked Ladies, and has conducted numerous multimedia presentations including Disney in Concert and Blue Planet Live.
Strongly dedicated to Canadian composers, Lucas has performed six world premieres and collaborated closely with composers such as John Estacio, Allan Gilliland and Malcolm Forsyth. In 2012 he was awarded the Jean-Marie Beaudet Award in Orchestra Conducting by the Canada Council for the Arts.
In 2013 Lucas Waldin made his Main Series debut with the NAC Orchestra, leading a Pops concert featuring the Barenaked Ladies. He returned last December to lead the NAC Orchestra in A Matt Dusk Christmas.
ABOUT THE NAC ORCHESTRA
Under the inspiring leadership of Pinchas Zukerman, Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra is noted for the passion and clarity of its performances and recordings, ground-breaking teaching and outreach programs, and nurturing of Canadian creativity. This vibrant orchestra draws accolades from home and abroad.
The NAC Orchestra was formed in 1969 at the opening of Canada's National Arts Centre, and gives over 100 performances a year with renowned artists including Itzhak Perlman, Renée Fleming, James Ehnes, Emanuel Ax and Yo-Yo Ma.
Previous Music Directors included Mario Bernardi and Trevor Pinnock. Alexander Shelley takes on this mantle from Pinchas Zukerman in 2015-16, and John Storgårds will be Principal Guest Conductor beginning the same season. Principal Youth and Family Conductor Alain Trudel, and Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly complete the strong artistic leadership team.
In addition to a full series of subscription concerts at the National Arts Centre each season, tours are undertaken to regions throughout Canada and around the world, most recently to China (2013) and the UK (2014). The latter commemorated the start of the First World War and explored themes of remembrance and healing through music in over 50 education and performance events. Following the footsteps of Canadian troops 100 years ago, it showcased the brilliant work of Canadian composers and the NAC Orchestra's musicians, both as performers and as educators, and received standing ovations in packed halls throughout the UK.
In 1999, Pinchas Zukerman founded the NAC Young Artists Program, part of the wider NAC Summer Music Institute, which provides elite training to talented young musicians. Students all over the world are also taught via videoconferencing in the NAC's cutting-edge Hexagon Studio. The Orchestra also created and continues to pioneer education work locally and in indigenous communities in northern Canada.
The NAC Orchestra has made over 40 commercial recordings, including Angela Hewitt’s 2014 Juno Award-winning album of Mozart Piano Concertos conducted by Hannu Lintu. Many more concerts are freely available through MusicBox on the NAC's Arts Alive wide-reaching education website. These include many of the 100 new Canadian works commissioned by the NAC Orchestra in its 45 year history.
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