Pinchas Zukerman and the National Arts Centre Orchestra perform in Vancouver

The VSO Presents Pinchas Zukerman and the National Arts Centre Orchestra

Vancouver BC ’Äì The VSO is proud to present the National Arts Centre Orchestra from Ottawa on their 2008 Western Canada Tour, with their Music Director, the legendary Pinchas Zukerman, on October 25^th and 27^th at 8pm at the Orpheum Theatre. As well as an esteemed conductor and successful music director, Maestro Zukerman is of course one of the greatest violinists of our age, and will perform Mozart’Äôs beloved Violin Concerto No. 3. Zukerman will also lead the NAC Orchestra in Tchaikovsky’Äôs Symphony No. 5 as well as the NAC-commissioned work Infinite Sky with Birds by Vancouver-born NAC Award Composer Alexina Louie. Concertgoers are invited to come early to hear Alexina Louie give a pre-concert talk at 7:05 p.m.

’ÄúZukerman remains an astounding virtuoso; his robust tone and flawless passage work still amaze.’Äù

--Washington Times

’ÄúThis is a spectacular orchestra, capable of the richest, roundest, most powerful sound, and led with assurance by Zukerman.’Äù

--Star Phoenix

Born in Tel Aviv in 1948, Pinchas Zukerman first began to study music with his father, a professional violinist and survivor of the Nazi concentration camps. In 1962, Zukerman immigrated to America with the support of Isaac Stern, Pablo Casals, and the America-Israel and Helena Rubenstein Foundations. He studied at the Juilliard School with Ivan Galamian, and in 1967 was named first-prize winner of the 25th Leventritt Competition.

One of the finest musicians of our time, Pinchas Zukerman is well-respected not only as a violinist and violist but also a conductor, teacher and chamber musician. He has been the recipient of the King Solomon Award, the Isaac Stern Award for Artistic Excellence and the National Medal of Arts presented to him by President Ronald Reagan in 1983. Having recorded over 100 works, he has been nominated for 21 Grammy Awards, winning two.

The National Arts Centre Orchestra was founded in 1969 as the resident orchestra of the Parliament’Äôs Centennial project, the National Arts Centre. NACO has enjoyed consistent praise throughout its history. The orchestra has been under the direction of Maestro Zukerman since 1998 and continues to draw critical acclaim both abroad and at its home in Ottawa where it gives over 100 performances a year.

Visit the National Arts Centre Orchestra at: www.nac-cna.ca

CONCERT INFO

PricewaterhouseCoopers Masterworks Silver Series

Master Meets Master: Zukerman Plays Mozart

Saturday, October 25, 8pm, Orpheum Theatre

Monday, October 27, 8pm, Orpheum Theatre

Pinchas Zukerman, conductor/violin

National Arts Centre Orchestra

Alexina Louie Infinite Sky with Birds

Mozart Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major, K.216, Strassburg

Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op.64

Tickets $25 to $78.50 (Student, Senior and Subscriber discounts available)

Tickets available by phone at 604.876.3434 or online at www.vancouversymphony.ca

Series Sponsor:

PricewaterhouseCoopers

Video Screen Sponsor:

TELUS

Video Screen Presentations Created and Produced by:

Columbia Academy

National Arts Centre Western Canada Tour 2008

Presenting Partner EnCana; Signature Education Partner Agrium, and generous support from NAC Friends including True Energy Trust and SaskTel and individual donors

BIOGRAPHIES:

Pinchas Zukerman

Pinchas Zukerman has been recognized as a musical phenomenon for four decades. His genius and prodigious technique have long been a marvel to critics and audiences, and his exceptional artistic standards continue to earn him the highest acclaim. He is equally respected as a violinist, violist, conductor, teacher and chamber musician.

Pinchas Zukerman’Äôs 2007-08 season away from the National Arts Centre includes a 22-city North American Tour conducting and performing with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; a concert in Chicago’Äôs Millenium Park in honour of the 60^th anniversary of Israel; a special concert at Carnegie Hall with the Manhattan School of Music; performances with the Gothenberg Orchestra led by Gustavo Dudamel, the New York Philharmonic led by Riccardo Muti, the Cincinnati Symphony led by Paavo Jˆ§rvi and the Chicago Symphony led by Leonard Slatkin; conducting and playing with orchestras in North America, Europe, Japan and China.

He also leads the Zukerman ChamberPlayers, a string ensemble of talented musicians mainly from the NAC Orchestra which has already performed more than 50 concerts at the most prestigious festivals in North America and Europe and recorded four CDs since it was founded in 2003.

Since his appointment as Music Director of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in 1998, Mr. Zukerman has taken an interest in virtually every aspect of Ottawa’Äôs artistic community while continuing his international career. In 1999 he initiated the NAC Young Artists Programme, which is now part of the NAC Summer Music Institute (SMI) including the Conductors Programme founded in 2001, and the Young Composers Programme founded in 2003. The 2007 SMI assembled 80 talented musicians chosen by audition and invitation from Canada and around the world to study with an international faculty headed by Zukerman. In 2007, Pinchas Zukerman launched the Institute of Orchestral Studies, a year-round institute charged with developing highly talented musicians for orchestral careers.

He has made five recordings with the Orchestra and been involved in a number of national radio and television broadcasts. He has introduced a new Acoustic Control System in Southam Hall, created the Pinchas Zukerman Musical Instruments Foundation for the NAC Orchestra and founded Parents for the Arts. A pioneer of distance learning, he champions the NAC’Äôs broadband videoconferencing programme known as Hexagon. A recent initiative is the year-round Institute of Orchestral Studies which was launched in 2007.

Since the arrival of Pinchas Zukerman, the National Arts Centre Orchestra has regained its commitment to regular touring both nationally and internationally. These tours now include a strong educational component. He led enormously successful Canadian tours in 1999, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006, as well as critically acclaimed tours to the Middle East and Europe in 2000, and the United States and Mexico in 2003, all highlighted by unprecedented outreach activities and innovative internet activities on the NAC’Äôs website at www.nac-cna.ca. The Orchestra’Äôs Quebec Tour in November 2006 included over 70 educational events.

Pinchas Zukerman regularly conducts and/or performs with the world’Äôs finest orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, English Chamber Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, London Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, and Philadelphia Orchestras.

A frequent chamber music performer, Pinchas Zukerman has appeared worldwide with friends and colleagues who are luminaries of the music world, including Daniel Barenboim, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Itzhak Perlman, Ralph Kirshbaum, the Tokyo String Quartet, the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, Marc Neikrug and the late Jacqueline du Prˆ©.

Pinchas Zukerman's discography contains over 100 titles, and has earned him 21 Grammy nominations and two Grammy awards. His most recent recording at the National Arts Centre was nominated for a Juno Award.

Born in Tel Aviv in 1948, Pinchas Zukerman studied music with Ilona Feher and, in 1962, came to America with the support of Isaac Stern, Pablo Casals, and the America-Israel and Helena Rubenstein Foundations. He began his studies at the Juilliard School with Ivan Galamian, and in 1967 was named first-prize winner of the 25th Leventritt Competition.

Maestro Zukerman was presented with the King Solomon Award by the America-Israel Cultural Foundation and, in 1983, President Reagan awarded him a Medal of Arts for his leadership in the musical world. In October 2002, he became the first recipient of the Isaac Stern Award for Artistic Excellence at the National Arts Awards Gala in New York City.

National Arts Centre Orchestra

Consistent praise has followed this vibrant orchestra throughout its history of touring both nationally and internationally, recording, and commissioning Canadian works. Canada’Äôs National Arts Centre Orchestra, now under the direction of renowned conductor/ violinist/violist Pinchas Zukerman, continues to draw accolades both abroad and at its home in Ottawa where it gives over 100 performances a year.

The NAC Orchestra was founded in 1969 as the resident orchestra of the newly opened National Arts Centre, with Jean-Marie Beaudet as Music Director and Mario Bernardi as founding conductor and (from 1971) Music Director until 1982. He was succeeded by Franco Mannino (1982 to 1987), Gabriel Chmura (1987 to 1990), and Trevor Pinnock (1991-1997). In April 1998, Pinchas Zukerman was named Music Director of the NAC Orchestra.

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. Since the arrival of Pinchas Zukerman, education has been an extremely important component of these tours. He has led the Orchestra on tours within Canada in 1999, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006, to Europe and Israel in 2000, and the United States and Mexico in 2003, with educational activities ranging from masterclasses and question-and-answer sessions to sectional rehearsals with youth and community orchestras and student matinees. Teacher Resource Kits have been developed for distribution to elementary schools in the regions toured and across Canada, and the public has been able to follow each tour through fully interactive websites which are now archived on the NAC’Äôs Performing Arts Website at www.artsalive.ca. The Orchestra’Äôs tour of Quebec in November 2006 included 70 education events.

In 1999 Pinchas Zukerman initiated the NAC Young Artists Programme, which is now part of the NAC Summer Music Institute (SMI) including the Conductors Programme founded in 2001, and the Young Composers Programme founded in 2003. The 2007 SMI assembled over 80 talented musicians chosen by audition from Canada and around the world to study with an international faculty headed by Zukerman. Other Orchestra education activities at home include Musicians in the Schools, student matinees and open rehearsals, and masterclasses. Since the arrival of Pinchas Zukerman, the Orchestra is also exploring education through long-distance Broadband videoconferencing, and increased use of the Internet. In 2007, Pinchas Zukerman launched the Institute of Orchestral Studies, a year-round institute charged with developing highly talented musicians for orchestral careers.

The NAC Orchestra has 40 recordings to its name, six with Pinchas Zukerman: Haydn, Vivaldi, Beethoven, Schubert and two of Mozart (a CD of flute quartets, and a CD of orchestral music and string quintets). The commissioning of original Canadian works has always been an important part of the National Arts Centre’Äôs mandate with over 70 works commissioned to date. The NAC Orchestra’Äôs current New Music Programme includes $75,000 Awards to three Canadian composers ’Äì Denys Bouliane, Gary Kulesha and Alexina Louie ’Äì for which they have each been commissioned to create three works while collaborating with the NAC on the Young Composers Programme and educational activities on tour.