Applications accepted for the 2009 NAC Orchestra Bursary Competition

Applications are being accepted for the

2009 NAC Orchestra Bursary Competition with prizes totaling $18,750

Ottawa, Canada ’Äě Applications are now being accepted for the 2009 National Arts Centre Orchestra Bursary Competition which has available a total of $18,750 in prizes for talented music students in the National Capital Region who are studying for careers as orchestral musicians. Deadline for applications is March 15, 2009, at 5 p.m. Finalists from amongst the applicants will be selected from auditions to take place at the University of Ottawa before a jury of National Arts Centre Orchestra musicians and special guests on May 16 and 17, 2009. These finalists will then be invited to perform on Tuesday, May 19 in the NAC Salon at 7 p.m., at which time the winners will be chosen and announced by the jury. The Finals are open to the public.

The Bursary Committee and Jury are chaired for the eighth year by Vernon G. Turner, Canada’Äôs former Ambassador to the USSR and Israel, and an active volunteer at the National Arts Centre.

The NACO Bursary was established in 1979 to commemorate the 10^th anniversary of the founding of the National Arts Centre Orchestra and to thank the people of the National Capital Region for their support during the Orchestra’Äôs first decade. The first competition took place in 1981. The NACO Bursary Trust Fund provides funding for the NACO Bursary of $7,000; the NACO Vic Pomer Award of $2,000; and the NACO Special Prize for Best Orchestral Excerpts worth $750. The NACO Bursary Committee also has available three additional prizes to be awarded at the Jury’Äôs discretion: the Harold Crabtree Foundation Award of $5,000; the Friends of the National Arts Centre Orchestra Award of $3,000, created in 1993 to celebrate the Orchestra’Äôs 25^th season; and the Piccolo Prix of $1,000 initiated in 2001 by Pasqualina (Pat) Adamo.

Eligible applicants are music students aged 16 to 24 who are following a recognized course of music study in preparation for careers as professional orchestral musicians. They must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada. Their family or principal residence must be in the National Capital Region (NCR), or their principal residence must have been in the NCR for one year immediately prior to applying, or they must have been studying under a recognized orchestral instrument teacher in one of the music schools of the NCR over that year.

Apply online at www.nac-cna.ca.

For additional information, please call Kelly Abercrombie:

613-947-7000, ext. 390 or email to mused@nac-cna.ca

Mail or fax applications to:

National Arts Centre Music Department

P.O. Box 1534, Station B

Ottawa, Canada K1P 5W1

FAX: 613-992-5225

Applications must be received at the NAC by 5 p.m. on March 15, 2009.