OTTAWA (Canada) –  Nadia Sirota and the National Arts Centre Orchestra will perform the Canadian premiere of Nico Muhly's Viola Concerto at the National Arts Centre on Feb 17-18. This much anticipated work was commissioned by an international consortium of orchestras and organisations made up of Orquesta Nacionales de España, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Festival of Saint Denis and National Arts Centre Orchestra.

Under the baton of Music Director Alexander Shelley, Sirota will join members of the NAC Orchestra in this electrifying performance. This Mark Motors Audi Signature Series “Prodigious Talents: Shelley Conducts Bizet” will also feature French composer Georges Bizet’s operatic masterpiece Carmen Suite and his Symphony in C. 

“The repertoire will showcase the talent of two young prodigies,” explains Alexander Shelley. “Bizet wrote his Symphony as a 17-year old student and Carmen in the final year of his life, at age 36. Both showcase his miraculous gifts. Nico Muhly - a colourful, brilliant, eclectic, thoughtful composer - is, at 34, just such a prodigy and I am proud and delighted that the NAC has co-commissioned this major new work,” he says.

Sirota’s debut album, First Things First (New Amsterdam Records), was a New York Times 2009 record of the year, and she can also be heard on albums by Grizzly Bear, yMusic (a new music ensemble who commission Sufjan Stevens, Son Lux, and other young American composers),Jonsi, the National, Ratatat, Doveman, My Brightest Diamond, and Arcade Fire’s Grammy-winning The Suburbs.

Sirota first met Nico Muhly when she attended Juilliard School of Music in 2004, and soon fostered a composer-performer relationship with him, that led to over a decade of unique collaborations.

Sirota is deeply committed to expanding the reach of contemporary classical music for a variety of audiences. Her podcast “Meet the Composer,” demystifies classical music, employing accessible storytelling techniques that are reminiscent of the popular show “This American Life.”

“‘To speak in cliches, she’s not your grandma’s viola player (unless you have a grandmother whose taste skews towards indie rock, of course). Her podcast, Meet the Composer, takes listeners on a tour of other composers pushing the boundaries of classical music’” (The Guardian, 2015).

Alexander Shelley and Jean-Jacques Van Vlasselaer will lead a bilingual pre-concert talk at 7:00 p.m. February 17 -18 where the audience members can ask questions directly to conductors, soloists and special guests.

Don’t miss these exhilarating performances, February 17-18 at the National Arts Centre. Tickets start at $25 and available online at Nac-cna.ca.

Nadia Sirota will also join Alexander Shelley, Music Director of the NAC Orchestra, and Andrew Potter, Editor of the Ottawa Citizen for a fascinating, up-close-and-personal conversation titled “Is Classical Music Really Dead?” on February 16. Presented by the Southam Club, the event will take place at the NAC Fourth Stage. Doors open at 7 p.m. speaking portion from 7:30 to 9 p.m., including audience Q&A. Mingling and drinks before and after.
 

ABOUT THE NAC ORCHESTRA

In September 2015 Alexander Shelley began his tenure as Music Director with the National Arts Centre’s Orchestra. Shelley has an unwavering reputation as one of Europe’s leading young conductors, notably as Chief conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra and most recently as the Principal Associate Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Formed in 1969 at the opening of Canada's National Arts Centre, the NAC Orchestra gives over 100 performances a year with renowned artists including Itzhak Perlman, Renée Fleming, James Ehnes, Emanuel Ax and Yo-Yo Ma. It is noted for the passion and clarity of its performances and recordings, its ground-breaking teaching and outreach programs, and nurturing of Canadian creativity.

Since its inception the Orchestra has commissioned 80 works, mostly from Canadian composers. In 2001 it inaugurated the National Arts Centre Awards for Canadian Composers and the recipients thus far have been Denys Bouliane, John Estacio, Peter Paul Koprowski, Gary Kulesha, Alexina Louie and Ana Sokolovic.

Previous NAC Orchestra Music Directors include Pinchas Zukerman, Mario Bernardi and Trevor Pinnock. The 2015-16 season features Principal Guest Conductor John Storgårds , Alain Trudel as Principal Youth and Family Conductor and Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly completing the strong artistic 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 NACmusicbox.ca on the NAC's performing arts education website ArtsAlive.ca. These include many of the 100 new Canadian works commissioned by the NAC Orchestra in its 45 year history.

 

TO BOOK AN INTERVIEW, PLEASE CONTACT:

Andrea Ruttan

Communications Officer, NAC Orchestra
National Arts Centre
(613) 947-7000, ext. 335
Andrea.Ruttan@nac-cna.ca