A Leahy Family Christmas with the NAC Orchestra takes to the stage on December 18 in Southam Hall of the National Arts Centre

Additional seats now available due to audience demand!

OTTAWA, December 7, 2009 ’Äî A Leahy Family Christmas with the NAC Orchestra ’Äì a unique holiday concert during the NAC’Äôs 40^th Anniversary season ’Äì unites Canadian musical powerhouse family Leahy with conductor Stˆ©phane Laforest, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, and the Ottawa Regional Youth Choir, under the direction of Kevin Reeves. A Leahy Family Christmas with the NAC Orchestra will be performed in Southam Hall of the National Arts Centre on Friday December 18 at 7 p.m. (please note early curtain time). This concert has been in such demand with music-lovers that the front rows of Southam Hall have been slightly reconfigured, adding over 100 seats to the hall’Äôs capacity. Tickets for these seats are available now.

The eight award-winning brothers and sisters of Leahy have been making music together their entire lives. This year, they invite you to join them for A Leahy Family Christmas with the NAC Orchestra -- where you’Äôll feel just like one of the gang at a festive family gathering back home in Lakefield, Ontario. The step-dancing, fiddle-playing, song-singing Leahy family, together with the NAC Orchestra and the Ottawa Regional Youth Choir, promise a full spectrum of Christmas music, from sacred hymns and slow airs to fiery Celtic tunes and best-loved carols. It’Äôs sure to be an exhilarating Christmas adventure!

Embarking on this tour gives the members of Leahy the chance to share a bit of the enchantment of the Christmas season that began when they were children and still continues today. Family Christmas traditions included not only honoring the sacredness of the season, but also partaking of good food, the company of family and friends ’Äì and, always, copious amounts of music. A Leahy Family Christmas with the NAC Orchestra offers audiences a peek in the window of the Leahy home to experience a bit of the magic of the season for themselves.

The Leahy family consists of Donnell (fiddle), Doug (fiddle), Angus (fiddle), Frank Jr. (drums), Siobheann (bass, vocals, dance), Denise (guitar, vocals, dance), Maria (guitar, vocals, dance), and Erin (piano, vocals, dance). Leahy will focus their set-list mainly on Christmas favourites and original seasonal pieces as well as typical Leahy fare that audiences have come to love. The concert will feature selections such as A Christmas Festival, The Huron Christmas Carol, Christmas in Killarney, and a special Christmas sing-along medley.

On recent tours, audiences have learned that these instrumentalists, singers, and dancers bring a rare level of originality and musicianship to the stage. This originality includes music that Leahy writes, arranges, and produces. Known for their unique blend of musical styles and genres, their repertoire is more distinct than ever. The band’Äôs four acclaimed CDs ’Äì Leahy, Lakefield, In All Things, and Live ’Äì have world-wide sales of over half a million copies. Leahy is now in the process of recording their fifth CD, due out in 2010. Pure and authentic ’Äì Leahy continues to be one of Canada’Äôs most sought after exports.

A Leahy Family Christmas with the NAC Orchestra will be performed in Southam Hall of the National Arts Centre on Friday December 18 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $19, $29, $40, $52, $62, $70 and $81 for adults and $10.75, $15.75, $21.25, $27.25, $32.25, $35.75, and $41.75 for students (upon presentation of a valid student ID card). Tickets are available at the NAC Box Office (in person) and through Ticketmaster (with surcharges) at 613-755-1111; Ticketmaster may also be accessed through the NAC’Äôs website www.nac-cna.ca.

Subject to availability, full-time students (aged 13-29) with valid Live Rush’Ñ¢ membership may buy up to 2 tickets per performance at the discount price of $11 per ticket. Tickets are available online (www.nac-cna.ca) or at the NAC box office from 10 a.m. on the day before the performance until 6 p.m. on the day of the show or 2 hours before a matinee. Groups of 10 or more save 15% to 20% off regular ticket prices to all NAC Music, Theatre and Dance performances; to reserve your seats, call Julie Laroche at 613-947-7000, ext. 634 or e-mail grp@nac-cna.ca.

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