Industry Minister Tony Clement and Mayor Jim Watson to attend broadband masterclass
National Arts Centre's Manhattan on the Rideau Merges Musical Inspiration with Digital Innovation Canada’s
National Arts Centre uses high-speed CANARIE Network to connect the world’s best musicians with gifted students from across Canada
[Ottawa, Ontario] Canada’s Advanced Research and Innovation Network (CANARIE Inc.) and the National Arts Centre are pleased to present an exciting demonstration of how technology is transforming education and the arts.
As part of the Manhattan on the Rideau masterclass series, acclaimed jazz trombonist Wycliffe Gordon will instruct three jazz students in Ottawa from his location at Manhattan School of Music in New York on February 8 from 12:00-2:00p.m. at the National Arts Centre Fourth Stage. Mr. Gordon has a thriving solo career and tours regularly leading the Wycliffe Gordon Quartet. He is a former member of the Wynton Marsalis Septet and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.
This is the seventh season of Manhattan on the Rideau, a partnership with Manhattan School of Music which relies on the CANARIE Network and the latest in broadband videoconference technology to connect world-renowned musicians with accomplished students in real time. The season includes four jazz masterclasses conducted in a professional performance setting.
“It’s incredible what happens when you combine artistic inspiration with CANARIE’s high-bandwidth network,” says Jim Roche, Interim President and CEO of CANARIE. “This kind of program just isn’t possible over the commercial Internet. The data streams need an ultra high-speed, high-capacity network to deliver such superior quality audio and video.”
“Using the CANARIE Network, the NAC has become a real pioneer in using distance learning in the performing arts,” said NAC President and CEO Peter Herrndorf. “These kinds of programs continue to be an extraordinarily valuable experience for young artists, allowing them to grow by learning from some of the world’s best musicians and teachers.”
Other arts institutions connected to the CANARIE Network include the Emily Carr Institute of Art, the Ontario College of Art and Design, the Banff Centre, the Canadian Film Centre and the National Film Board. The CANARIE Network supports these institutions in transforming arts education and fostering the next generation of world-class Canadian artists.
The Manhattan on the Rideau program is just one of a number of NAC Hexagon programs that uses the CANARIE Network. Another is the Pinchas Zukerman Program in which students receive instruction from Maestro Zukerman over the Network, enabling violinists to learn from one of the world’s most celebrated musicians. NAC Orchestra musicians also conduct distance learning sessions at the NAC on an almost weekly basis. The Hexagon Project also connects NAC English Theatre Artistic Director Peter Hinton with theatre students in other cities, and continues to expand its distance learning performing arts initiatives.
The Feb. 8 masterclass featuring Wycliffe Gordon is open to the public and free of charge. Seating is very limited, so please arrive early to avoid disappointment.
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For more information, please contact:
Kathrn Anthonisen
Director of Communications
CANARIE
(613) 943-5374
Mary Gordon
Communications Advisor
National Arts Centre
(613) 947-7000, ext. 849
About CANARIE:
CANARIE Inc. is Canada’s Advanced Research and Innovation Network. Established in 1993, CANARIE manages an ultra high-speed network which facilitates leading-edge research and big science across Canada and around the world. More than 40,000 researchers at over 225 Canadian universities and colleges use the CANARIE Network, as well as researchers at institutes, hospitals, and government laboratories throughout the country. Together with 12 provincial and territorial advanced network partners, CANARIE enables researchers to share and analyze massive amounts of data, like climate models, satellite images, and DNA sequences that can lead to groundbreaking scientific discoveries. CANARIE is a non-profit corporation supported by membership fees, with the major investment in its programs and activities provided by the Government of Canada.
CANARIE keeps Canada at the forefront of digital research and innovation, fundamental to a vibrant digital economy. For additional information, please visit: www.canarie.ca.
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The National Arts Centre Hexagon Project
The NAC's Hexagon Project supports national education outreach activities by leveraging next-generation networks like Canada's CANARIE Network (www.canarie.ca) and Internet2 (www.internet2.org) in the United States as well as regional high-speed networks throughout the world. The NAC's broadband infrastructure includes state-of-the-art optical network access in all its performance spaces as well as on-site videoconference and audio-video production facilities. Hexagon programs include tele-mentoring sessions with master teachers in music, theatre and dance.