In a much-anticipated annual ritual, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson will declare May 7-13, 2012 to be NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE ORCHESTRA WEEK in the National Capital Region. This marks the sixth year in a row for this high-spirited series of events highlighting the role of the NAC Orchestra and its musicians in performance at the NAC and in the community. Throughout each year, NACO musicians participate in hundreds of educational and outreach events, inspiring and entertaining tens of thousands of students and adults.

Special thanks go to the Friends of the NAC Orchestra, without whose help and support NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE ORCHESTRA WEEK would not be possible.

As always during NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE ORCHESTRA WEEK, there will be numerous concerts by ensembles of NAC Orchestra musicians, including the following:

PUBLIC CONCERTS
• Monday, May 7: ‘Music Monday’ at Ottawa City Hall, 12:45 p.m. Performance by the NAC Rideau Lakes Brass Quintet (Karen Donnelly, trumpet; Steven van Gulik, trumpet; Jill Kirwan, French horn; Don Renshaw, trombone; Nicholas Atkinson, tuba) and the NAC massed choir (including 500 local elementary students). Three bilingual songs will be performed, including: Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, Tomorrow is Coming (Music Monday theme by Luke Doucet), and Paul Halley’s Song for Canada. Mayor Jim Watson will be on hand to proclaim NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE ORCHESTRA WEEK and host the concert. Free concert, no tickets required.
• Monday, May 7: NAC Orchestra Bursary Competition Finals in the NAC Studio, 3 p.m. Eight finalists compete for $19,000 in prizes. Free concert, no tickets required.
• Thursday May 10-Saturday May 12: NAC Orchestra CTV Pops concerts: Do You Hear the People Sing, a tribute to Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, creators of Les Misérables, Miss Saigon, and other classics of musical theatre. Southam Hall at 8 p.m.
• Saturday May 12: Performance (repertoire to be confirmed) by NAC Orchestra Brass Quintet (Karen Donnelly, trumpet; Steven van Gulik, trumpet; Jill Kirwan, French horn; Don Renshaw, trombone; Nicholas Atkinson, tuba). Performance of Rossini’s String Sonata No. 3 in C major and Dvorák’s Terzetto in C major by NAC Orchestra String ensembles (Yosuke Kawasaki, violin; Jessica Linnebach, violin; Paul Casey, viola; David Hutchenreuther, cello; Hilda Cowie, double bass) at Fifth Avenue Court (99 Fifth Avenue at the corner of Bank St.) 12 noon. Free concert, no tickets required.

NAC ORCHESTRA WEEK CONTEST
Win a free pair of tickets to see the NAC Orchestra!
Tell us: where in your community would YOU like to see the NAC Orchestra
or its members perform?

Tweet your answer with #NACOweek
Or post on our Facebook page

OTHER EVENTS – not open to the public
• Monday, May 7: Musicians in the Schools performance (NAC Orchestra Brass Quintet) at 9:30 a.m. at Elmwood School (261 Buena Vista Road, Ottawa)
• Tuesday, May 8: NAC Student Matinee (Emily Saves the Orchestra) at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, May 9: NAC Student Matinee (Emily Saves the Orchestra) at 10 a.m.
• Wednesday, May 9: Performance by Sean Rice (clarinet) and Vincent Parizeau (bassoon) for Retraite en action at Centre Communautaire Richelieu-Vanier (300 ave. Des Pères Blancs, Secteur Vanier, Ottawa)
• Wednesday, May 9: ‘Concert in Care’ performance – presented by the Health Arts Society of Ontario -- by Douglas Burden (bass trombone) and Judy Ginsburg (piano) at 2 p.m. at Carleton Lodge (55 Lodge Road, Ottawa)
• Wednesday, May 9: ‘Concert in Care’ performance – presented by the Health Arts Society of Ontario -- by an NAC Orchestra string quartet at 2 p.m. at Peter D. Clark Home (9 Meridian Place, Ottawa)
• Thursday, May 10: ‘Concert in Care’ performance – presented by the Health Arts Society of Ontario -- by an NAC Orchestra string quartet at 2 p.m. at Centre d’Accueil Champlain (275 Perrier Avenue, Secteur Vanier, Ottawa)
• Thursday, May 10: ‘Concert in Care’ performance – presented by the Health Arts Society of Ontario -- by an NAC Orchestra string quartet at 3 p.m. at Garry J. Armstrong Home (200 Island Lodge Road, Ottawa)
• Friday, May 11: Performance of Schubert’s String Quintet in C major by NAC Orchestra String Quintet (Leah Roseman, violin; Mark Friedman, violin; Paul Casey, viola; Leah Wyber, cello; Margaret Munro Tobolowska, cello) for Académie des retraités de l’Outaouais at Cabane-en-bois-rond (331 blvd. Cité-des-Jeunes, Gatineau)

MUSIC MONDAY
Music Monday is an annual event that brings together thousands of students, musicians, parents and community members across the country to celebrate the gift of music in our lives, on the same day at the same time.
The Coalition for Music Education launched Music Monday in 2005. Always on the first Monday of May, this year Music Monday happens on May 7, 2012. The magic of the event is that at the same point during that day (at 10 a.m. Pacific time, 11 a.m. Mountain time, 12 p.m. Central time, 1 p.m. Eastern time and 2 p.m. Atlantic time, and 2:30 in Newfoundland, schools across the country are united by one piece of music. Across the country and around the world, our goal is to “Fill the Skies with Music.”
More schools than ever are participating in this year’s Music Monday locally, nationally, and internationally.
This year’s concert will mark the eighth time the National Arts Centre has participated in Music Monday. One of the NAC’s key objectives is to promote music education in our schools. We are proud to partner with the Coalition for Music Education in Canada for this event.

A typical NAC Orchestra season includes approximately 50 separate concert events and almost 100 performances, most of which are performed in the NAC’s Southam Hall or in a concert hall in another city when the Orchestra is on tour. However, NAC Orchestra musicians, as individuals or in small ensembles, participate in numerous Musicians in the Schools educational activities outside the NAC throughout the year. The Orchestra includes a string quartet and quintet, a brass quintet, a brass sextet, a wind quintet, a brass trio, and a percussion duo, all of whom are kept busy performing and teaching in schools throughout Ottawa-Gatineau and the Ottawa Valley.

During NAC ORCHESTRA WEEK, the National Arts Centre website will have a special feature including a calendar of events and a website contest which asks ‘Where in your community would YOU like to see the NAC Orchestra or its members perform?’

For additional information, visit the NAC website at www.nac-cna.ca

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Information:  Gerald Morris
Communications Officer, NAC Music
613-947-7000, ext. 335
[e-mail]  gerald.morris@nac-cna.ca