The 20th Annual NAC Gala with Diana Krall and Alexander Shelley Raises $724,500 for Arts Education Program's Across Canada
Tonight’s 2016 National Arts Centre Gala – featuring five-time GRAMMY winning jazz pianist and vocalist extraordinaire Diana Krall and the NAC Orchestra, under the leadership of its Music Director Alexander Shelley, has raised $724,500 (net) for the National Youth and Education Trust (NYET) in support of the NAC’s arts and education programs across Canada. The annual NAC Gala has raised over $12.3 million over the past 20 years to support the NYET.
The NAC Orchestra and Alexander Shelley kicked off the concert with a sparkling performance of Strauss’s “Die Fledermaus” Overture, after which Diana Krall and her quartet joined the orchestra for some of the world’s best loved jazz standards as well as more intimate songs with just piano and jazz trio
Many notable guests walked the red carpet prior to the concert, including Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, the Honorary Chair of the NAC Gala Committee, The Hon. Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, The Hon. Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, His Excellency Bruce Heyman, U.S. Ambassador to Canada, Howard Drake, British High Commissioner to Canada, and many more.
GRATITUDE FOR SUPPORTERS
Proceeds from the Gala help the NAC to provide a wide range of artistic and educational programming that nurtures and develops the creativity of young people in the National Capital Region and all across the country.
“The incredible generosity of our donors and sponsors helps to enrich the lives of young Canadians,” said Jayne Watson, CEO of the National Arts Centre Foundation. “It enables the NAC to deliver programs like the Music Alive Program that supports and delivers youth-centered, community-driven music programming that celebrates and gives a voice to Canada’s diverse communities and Indigenous cultures,”
The NAC Gala is made possible by the tireless dedication of its organizing committee, led by Honorary Chair Sophie Grégoire Trudeau and Chair Gary Zed. We are grateful to Presenting Sponsor CIBC for their ongoing partnership with the NAC Gala since 2012. As well, we wish to thank Honorary Patrons Bonnie and John Buhler, Associate Sponsor Shaw Communications Inc., and Major Sponsor SNC-Lavalin Inc. for their generous support. Other Gala sponsors include Emond Harnden LLP, EY, Mark Motors Audi, Mizrahi Corporation, Québecor, The Ottawa Citizen and LeDroit. Their investment through the Trust, as well as individual and corporate donors from all across the country, help the NAC nurture and develop the creativity of young people in all regions across Canada and support the educators and artists who challenge and encourage them.
MENU
At the post-concert Gala dinner on the Southam Hall stage, guests enjoyed a menu that included an appetizer of Juniper farm’s acorn squash velouté, main dish of AAA Alberta beef filet seared and topped with a leek and tomato jam, heirloom carrot purée with glazed baby turnips, caramalized golden beets, whipped P.E.I potatoes, and chokecherry and birch syrup demi. Dessert was a Fall harvest delight of spiced apple butter mousse, oatmeal brown sugar crunch toasty Canadian wild ginger mallow, cranberry gelée, and Vancouver Island sea salt caramel.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL YOUTH AND EDUCATION TRUST
Initiatives supported by the National Youth and Education Trust include a wide range of programs such as masterclasses, internships, and training programs for emerging artists, as well as student matinees, open rehearsals, and subsidized tickets to build young audiences. It also helps provide key information to teachers, including resource kits, online tools such as the Arts.Alive.ca, as well as support for dozens of educational activities across Canada, like the NAC’s Music Alive Program which brings professional musicians into elementary schools in remote parts of the country. Last year alone, more than 100,000 young people participated in activities made possible by gifts to the Trust. Established by the NAC Foundation in 2001, the Trust is the primary resource for youth and education funding at the NAC.
For additional information, visit the NAC website at www.nac-cna.ca.
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