NAC Gala (with PM Stephen Harper) raises $575,000

National Arts Centre’s annual Gala raises $575,000 for the NAC’s National Youth and Education Trust Prime Minister Stephen Harper makes a surprise appearance singing in concert with Yo-Yo Ma

Ottawa, Canada – The National Arts Centre’s 2009 Gala has raised an impressive $575,000 for the National Arts Centre Foundation’s National Youth and Education Trust. It also featured a surprise performance by Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper singing in concert with Yo-Yo Ma! The National Youth and Education Trust provides funds for the NAC’s wide array of performing arts programming for young artists, young audiences and schools.

The NAC Gala on Saturday, October 3 had been sold out for months with audiences looking forward to an evening with superstar cellist Yo-Yo Ma, NAC Music Director Pinchas Zukerman and the National Arts Centre Orchestra, along with rising star pianist Avan Yu. Yo-Yo Ma together with Avan Yu had already thrilled the standing-room-only crowd with an encore duet at the end of the first half. Then to their astonishment and delight, Yo-Yo Ma led out Prime Minister Stephen Harper for an surprise performance of “I’ll Get By With a Little Help From my Friends” backed by cellist Ma and the local group Herringbone. The Prime Minister’s wife Laureen Harper was the Honourary Chair of the Gala.

TELUS, Founding Partner of the National Youth and Education Trust, was once again the Presenting Sponsor of the Gala – a commitment that reflects TELUS’s continuing support of this primary resource for supporting the artistic development of young Canadians through educational materials, professional training, mentoring programs and young audience performances. The Trust is also supported by Michael Potter, supporters and patrons of the National Arts Centre Gala, and members of the NAC Foundation’s Donors’ Circle.

In addition to TELUS as the Presenting Sponsor, the Gala is supported by A&E, University of Ottawa and TD Bank Financial Group. Media partners are the Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa Business Journal, Le Droit, Embassy Newspaper and The Hill Times.

The Gala Committee was chaired for the fourth year by Janet Yale, Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs of TELUS, the Presenting Sponsor of the Gala, and Founding Partner of the National Youth and Education Trust.

Janet Yale said: “What a thrilling night! To have the privilege of being able to see such consummate performers as Yo-Yo Ma and Pinchas Zukerman and our own NAC Orchestra share the stage with pianist Avan Yu, a shining example of the next generation of artists, is exactly what this Gala is all about. It is wonderful to have our community, including our Honourary Gala Chair Laureen Harper and our surprise guest performer Stephen Harper, come together in this way to show their support for this fantastic cause.”

Jayne Watson in her new role as NAC Foundation CEO added: “I am so grateful to all the supporters of the National Youth and Education Trust who have demonstrated through their attendance at this Gala just how important a place the arts have in their lives. Janet Yale and the Gala Committee have really done us proud by raising such an impressive amount in these challenging economic times. I applaud Pinchas Zukerman and the musicians of the NAC Orchestra for donating their services for the Gala, and also Yo-Yo Ma who took time on the afternoon of the Gala to give a workshop to local music students.”

The crowd of over 2,100 included ambassadors, cabinet ministers, senators and members of Canada’s corporate elite. A luxurious wine and canapé reception in the lavishly decorated NAC Foyer was followed by the concert which featured Yo-Yo Ma performing the Dvorák Cello Concerto with the National Arts Centre led by Pinchas Zukerman. To conclude the evening, 650 Gala guests on the transformed Southam Hall stage dined on a spectacular gourmet dinner created by the NAC’s new Executive Chef Michael Blackie.

The 2009 NAC Gala offers a Magical Evening with Yo-Yo Ma and the NAC Orchestra led by Pinchas Zukerman on Oct. 3

“Yo-Yo Ma is the greatest cellist today. Everything he touches he turns to gold...gorgeous, almost voluptuous playing.” Boston Herald

Ottawa, Canada – The upcoming National Arts Centre Gala featuring superstar cellist Yo-Yo Ma, “the most popular artist in classical music today,” on Saturday, October 3 is sold out. Those lucky enough to have tickets will hear Yo-Yo Ma together with the National Arts Centre Orchestra led by Music Director Pinchas Zukerman. This “Magical Evening with Yo-Yo Ma” is presented by TELUS. The Gala benefits the National Youth and Education Trust which provides funds for the NAC’s wide array of performing arts programming for young artists, young audiences and schools.

Yo-Yo Ma has been a cultural beacon for decades. Young and old flock to his sold-out concerts, coming away moved, thrilled, and inspired. This astonishing artist has performed at the Oscars, the Grammys, the Olympics, and before a live audience of over a million at the inauguration of President Barack Obama. He returns to the NAC Orchestra to perform Dvorák’s beloved Cello Concerto with the NAC’s own luminary Pinchas Zukerman leading the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

The concert will also feature rising star pianist AvanYu, a former participant in the NAC Summer Music Institute, performing Chopin’s Andante spianato and Grand Polonaise brillante in E-flat major. Pinchas Zukerman will open the concert with “Blumine” from Mahler’s Symphony No. 1. Additional programming will remain a surprise!

There will be a pre-concert reception for all patrons at 5:30 p.m., followed by the concert at 6:30 p.m. Those who have purchased Encore Seating will join Gala sponsors at a post-concert reception, followed by dinner on the Southam Hall stage.

The NAC is honoured once again to have TELUS, Founding Partner of the National Youth and Education Trust, as the Presenting Sponsor of the Gala – a commitment that reflects TELUS’s continuing support of this primary resource for supporting the artistic development of young Canadians through educational materials, professional training, mentoring programs and young audience performances. The Trust is also supported by Michael Potter, supporters and patrons of the National Arts Centre Gala, and members of the NAC Foundation’s Donors’ Circle.

In addition to TELUS as the Presenting Sponsor, the Gala is supported by A&E, University of Ottawa and TD Bank Financial Group. Media partners are the Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa Business Journal, Le Droit, Embassy Newspaper and The Hill Times.

Janet Yale, TELUS’ executive vice president, Corporate Affairs, is the Chair of the Gala Committee for the fourth year. Mrs. Laureen Harper is the Honourary Gala Chair.

Yo-Yo Ma was born in 1955 to Chinese parents living in Paris. He began to study the cello with his father at age four and soon came with his family to New York, where he spent most of his formative years. Later, his principal teacher was Leonard Rose at the Juilliard School. He sought out a traditional liberal arts education to expand upon his conservatory training, graduating from Harvard University in 1976. He has received numerous awards, including 15 Grammy® Awards from his discography of over 75 albums, the Avery Fisher Prize (1978), the Glenn Gould Prize (1999), the National Medal of the Arts (2001), and the World Economic Forum’s Crystal Award (2008). Appointed a CultureConnect Ambassador by the United States Department of State in 2002, Yo-Yo Ma has met with, trained and mentored thousands of students worldwide. In 2006, Secretary General Kofi Annan named him a U.N. Messenger of Peace and in 2007 Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon extended his appointment.

Pinchas Zukerman has been Music Director of the National Arts Centre Orchestra since 1998, and his genius and prodigious technique have been a marvel to critics and audiences for over four decades. He is equally respected as a violinist, violist, conductor, and chamber musician while his dedication to teaching has been a major catalyst for many of the education initiatives supported by the National Youth and Education Trust. Pinchas Zukerman’s discography contains over 100 titles, and has earned him 21 Grammy nominations and two Grammy awards. He was named first-prize winner of the 1969 Leventritt Competition, 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.

Avan Yu has already, at the age of 21, performed in recital and with orchestras on four continents, consistently captivating audiences with his extraordinary musicianship and prodigious ability. He is the only pianist to win First Prize in both the Junior and Senior Divisions of the Missouri Southern International Piano Competition. Avan Yu won first prize at the Canadian Chopin Competition at the age of seventeen. In August 2008 he captured the Silver Medal and the Audience Award at the Paloma O’Shea Santander International Piano Competition in Spain.

He says: “I was 16 years old when I first tackled the Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise brillante in preparation for the Canadian Chopin Competition. My love for it has only grown with time - it’s a wonderful piece that combines elegance, youthful exuberance, and lyricism in a perfect balance. It is astonishing to realize that Chopin completed the work when he was only in his early twenties.”

Pinchas Zukerman and the National Arts Centre Orchestra donate their services for the NAC’s annual Gala.

Attendance increase of more than 15 per cent at the National Arts Centre in 2007-08

Attendance increase of more than 15 per cent at

the National Arts Centre in 2007-08

Annual Report highlights also include a ninth surplus in 10 years

Ottawa (Canada) – The National Arts Centre (NAC) announced today that paid attendance for performances and events had increased by more than 15 per cent in 2007-2008 compared to the previous year. The NAC also announced it had ended its 39^th season with a surplus of $204,000 – the Centre’s ninth surplus in the past 10 years.

The increase in paid attendance and the surplus are some of the highlights of Voices of Canada, the NAC’s 2007-2008 Annual Report, which was tabled in Parliament yesterday by the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages.

“Over the last decade, the National Arts Centre has strengthened its reputation as a catalyst for the performing arts across Canada,” said Julia E. Foster, Chair of the National Arts Centre’s Board of Trustees. “The NAC’s pursuit of artistic excellence is solidly grounded in its commitment to sound and efficient financial management.”

The Annual Report – which covers the period from September 1, 2007, to August 31, 2008 – highlights the NAC’s progress against its strategic goals: artistic expansion and innovation, an increased emphasis on the NAC’s national role, greater commitment to youth and educational activities and an increase in earned revenues.

Highlights of the 2007-2008 Annual Report include:

• Paid attendance for performances and events at the NAC in 2007-2008 was 554,534 – an increase of 88,108 (or more than 15 per cent) compared to the previous year.

• The NAC collaborated with the Royal Shakespeare Company in the United Kingdom to bring Margaret Atwood’s novel The Penelopiad to the stages of both organizations.
  
  
• The NAC Orchestra presented a tribute to Canadian composing legend R. Murray Schafer on his 75^th birthday for its second annual, week-long eXpressions new music festival.

• Renowned playwright, director and actor Wajdi Mouawad began his tenure as Artistic Director of the NAC French Theatre.

• Ninety exceptionally talented young musicians, composers and conductors from Canada and 14 other countries around the world were invited to participate in the
  10th annual NAC Summer Music Institute.

• World-renowned choreographer of contemporary dance-theatre Pina Bausch and her company Pina Bausch Tanztheater Wuppertal brought Nefés, an homage to Istanbul, to the NAC in an exclusive Canadian engagement.

• The NAC undertook extensive consultations with artists, arts organizations, arts educators and public funders in communities across Canada to help create the NAC’s new Strategic Plan.

• The National Arts Centre’s total revenues were $69,894,000, an increase of $263,000 from the previous year.

• The National Arts Centre again received significant support from individual donors and corporate sponsors. The National Arts Centre Foundation raised
  $8.3 million this past year – $6.6 million of which were transferred to the National Arts Centre.

• Revenues from the NAC’s commercial operations such as the Le Café restaurant and hall rentals were up significantly.

• The 2007-2008 surplus of $204,000 brings the NAC’s accumulated surplus to $675,000.

The full text of the annual report is available on the NAC’s website at
http://www.nac-cna.ca/ar.

NACO, Feb 11-12: Sarah Chang and Mendelssohn Violin Concerto

Sarah Chang performs the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the NAC Orchestra led by Roberto Minczuk on Feb. 11-12

Ottawa (Canada) – One of the most remarkable prodigies of any generation, Sarah Chang has matured into a young artist whose musical insight, technical virtuosity, and emotional range continue to astonish. The soloist returns to perform Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with the National Arts Centre Orchestra led by Roberto Minczuk on Wednesday, February 11 and Thursday, February 12 at 8 p.m. in the NAC’s Southam Hall. These Ovation Series concerts include a suite from Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Beethoven’s fresh, energetic, whimsical Fourth Symphony.

Audiences are invited to stay in Southam Hall after both concerts to chat with Sarah Chang in a Musically Speaking Talkback hosted by CBC Radio National Music Producer Jill LaForty.

On Thursday, February 12 (one night only), there is also a free “Musically Speaking” pre-concert exploration of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto as explained by violin teacher William van der Sloot of Calgary’s Mount Royal College Conservatory and demonstrated by young violinist Shanshan Yao accompanied by pianist Jean Desmarais. This entertaining and informative lecture-demonstration, hosted by Michel Dozois, is free. (Shanshan Yao will also perform a one-hour Debut Series recital at 12 noon on February 12 in the NAC Salon.)

Sarah Chang has this to say about the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto: “I first learned the Mendelssohn Concerto when I was 7 years old and a student at The Juilliard School. I remember falling in love with it immediately! It’s a jewel of a concerto, loaded with virtuosic elements and challenges but also filled with some of the most beautiful, soaring melodies ever written. I recorded it when I was 16 with the Berlin Philharmonic and Mariss Jansons, and throughout the years it has been a constant staple in my repertoire.”

Born in Philadelphia to Korean parents, Sarah Chang began her violin studies at age 4. Her early auditions, at age 8, for Zubin Mehta and Riccardo Muti led to immediate engagements with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Sarah Chang made a sensational debut with the NAC Orchestra in 1992 at age 12 playing Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 1. She has reached a wide audience through her many television appearances, concert broadcasts, and best-selling recordings for EMI Classics, for which she records exclusively. Her latest release, the widely lauded Vivaldi Four Seasons with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, has reached the Billboard charts in the US and continues to top the best selling charts internationally. Her most recent appearance at the NAC was in 2002 when she performed the Brahms Violin Concerto.

Tickets for these concerts with violinist Sarah Chang and conductor Roberto Minczuk on Wednesday, February 11 and Thursday, February 12 at 8 p.m. are on sale now at $19.00, $39.00, $49.00, $59.00, $69.00 and $86.00 (GST and Facility Fee included) at the NAC Box Office (Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.), and through Ticketmaster (with surcharges) at 613-755-1111. Ticketmaster may also be accessed through the NAC’s website at http://www.nac-cna.ca/.

Half-price tickets for students in all sections of the hall are on sale in person at the NAC Box Office upon presentation of a valid student ID card. Live Rush tickets (subject to availability) for full-time students (aged 13 to 29) are $11 at the NAC Box Office from 2 p.m. the day before the concert to 6 p.m. the day of, upon presentation of a valid Live Rush card.

Groups of 10 and more save 15% to 20% off the regular price of tickets to NAC Music, Theatre and Dance performances. To reserve your seats call 613-947-7000 ext. 384 or email grp@nac-cna.ca.

NACO, Feb 5-7: Neil Sedaka performs on NAC Orchestra Pops Series

Pop music legend Neil Sedaka comes to the National Arts Centre Orchestra CTV Pops Series from Feb. 5 to 7

Ottawa, Canada – Pop legend Neil Sedaka, whose more than a thousand songs have won him a place in the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame, joins the National Arts Centre Orchestra in CTV Pops concerts from Thursday, February 5 to Saturday, February 7 at 8 p.m. in the NAC’s Southam Hall. Sedaka’s 50 years as a topnotch musician, extraordinary vocalist, and ageless songwriting talent are celebrated in such chart-topping hits that have made him famous: “Love Will Keep Us Together”, “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do”, and “Laughter in the Rain”.

The second half of the concert opens with a short film of Neil Sedaka’s long and illustrious career before the man himself takes the stage to perform (in his words) “the hits that I am most known for, including my hidden treasures that I am just as proud of.”

The opening half features the National Arts Centre Orchestra led by Earl Stafford performing a light classical program including Shostakovich’s Festive Overture, Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings, Offenbach’s Can-Can, and selections from Bernstein’s West Side Story. There will also be a surprise orchestral selection by Neil Sedaka himself! Sedaka composed the short symphony, Joie de vivre, which the former classical piano student of the prestigious Juilliard School describes as being “inspired by all the classical music I was exposed to at a young age.” Joie de vivre premiered last November and is now being performed in Canada for the first time. It will be conducted by Lee Holdridge, who also did the arrangement.

The history of Rock ’N’ Roll would be incomplete without the innumerable contributions of Neil Sedaka. For over five decades, he has written, performed, produced, and inspired countless songs, and his canon of compositions will continue to stand the test of time. His introduction to his young neighbor Howard Greenfield led to one of the most prolific songwriting partnerships of the last half century selling forty million records between 1959-1963.

Neil Sedaka catapulted into stardom after Connie Francis recorded his “Stupid Cupid.” After signing a contract with RCA, Sedaka recorded chart toppers “The Diary,” “Oh! Carol,” “ Stairway to Heaven,” “Calendar Girl,” “Little Devil,” “Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen,” “Next Door To An Angel,” and “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do.”

The numerous honours Sedaka has received include being inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and a street named after him in his hometown of Brooklyn, while his song “Love Will Keep Us Together,” won a Grammy Award as Record of the Year for The Captain and Tenille. In 2004, he received the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Popular Music / Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Tickets for Neil Sedaka and the NAC Orchestra from February 5 to 7 in Southam Hall are on sale now at $29, $39, $49, $59, $69 and $86 (GST and Facility Fee included) at the NAC Box Office (Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.), and through Ticketmaster (with surcharges) at 613-755-1111. Ticketmaster may also be accessed through the NAC’s web-site at www.nac-cna.ca.

Half-price tickets for students in all sections of the hall are on sale in person at the NAC Box Office upon presentation of a valid student ID card. Live Rush tickets (subject to availability) for full-time students (aged 13 to 29) are $11 at the NAC Box Office from 2 p.m. the day before the concert to 6 p.m. the day of, upon presentation of a valid Live Rush card.

Groups of 10 and more save 15% to 20% off the regular price of tickets to NAC Music, Theatre and Dance performances. To reserve your seats call 613-947-7000 ext. 384 or email grp@nac-cna.ca.

NACO, Jan. 28-29: Pinchas Zukerman leads a Haydn Celebration

Pinchas Zukerman plays Haydn’s Violin Concerto and leads the Lord Nelson Mass to honour Haydn’s 200^th anniversary on January 28 and 29

Ottawa, Canada – Pinchas Zukerman leads the National Arts Centre Orchestra in a celebration of Haydn in commemoration of the 200^th anniversary of his death showcasing the composer’s amazing contributions to the concerto and vocal repertoire. These Ovation Series concerts on Wednesday, January 28 and Thursday, January 29 at 8 p.m. in NAC’s Southam Hall open with Pinchas Zukerman demonstrating his mastery of the classical form with Haydn’s festive Violin Concerto No. 1 in C major, full of fast runs, double stops, and big changes in volume and pitch. Then audiences will experience the mighty Lord Nelson Mass, a work filled with both triumph and anguish composed by Haydn to honour Admiral Horatio Nelson’s destruction of Napoleon’s fleet at The Battle of the Nile in 1798.

The mass will be performed by a spectacular array of soloists and the combined vocal forces of four Ottawa choirs. The soloists are Ottawa soprano Donna Brown (who also returns the following weekend for a Music for a Sunday Afternoon chamber music concert); Grammy Award-winning American mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor making her NAC Orchestra debut; American tenor Lawrence Wiliford, an alumnus of the COC’s Ensemble Studio, and Canadian bass Robert Pomakov, in his fifth appearance with the NAC Orchestra. Chorus master Duain Wolfe has prepared the combined choral forces of the Cantata Singers of Ottawa (Michael Zaugg, director), Seventeen Voyces (Kevin Reeves, director); Ewashko Singers (Laurence Ewashko, director) and the Ottawa Festival Chorus (Laurence Ewashko and Duain Wolfe, directors).

There are three Musically Speaking events connected with the NAC Orchestra’s Haydn Celebration, presented in collaboration with a Haydn Symposium “Transcendence, Reality and Universality in the Music of Joseph Haydn” taking place in Ottawa (Jan. 28-30).

There are Musically Speaking Pre-Concert Chats in French both nights at 7 p.m. titled
“Haydn : Les messes d’un franc-maçon” with music critic Jean Jacques Van Vlasselaer.

There are Musically Speaking Post-Concert Talkbacks both nights led by music critic Jean-Jacques Van Vlasselaer in discussion with Austrian Haydn scholars Peter Revers, Peter-Maria Krakauer and Hartmut Krones.

And on January 28 only there is a Pre-Concert Talk in English from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m. in the Panorama Room titled “Haydn’s Nelson Mass and the Aesthetics of Salvation” with Haydn scholar James Webster from Cornell University. This talk is the Keynote Opening Lecture of the Haydn Symposium presented by Carleton University and the Kunstuniversität Graz in association with the “Mozarteum” in Salzburg, with the NAC, and with the Kunstforum, Embassy of Austria. The Opening Remarks for the Symposium are from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. also in the Panorama Room. The public is invited to come at either 6 p.m. for the Remarks or at 6:30 p.m. just for the Lecture.

Tickets for these Ovation Series concerts on January 28 and 29 are on sale now at $19.00, $39.00, $49.00, $59.00, $69.00 and $86.00 (GST and Facility Fee included) at the NAC Box Office (Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.), and through Ticketmaster (with surcharges) at 613-755-1111. Ticketmaster may also be accessed through the NAC’s web-site at www.nac-cna.ca.

Half-price tickets for students in all sections of the hall are on sale in person at the NAC Box Office upon presentation of a valid student ID card. Live Rush tickets (subject to availability) for full-time students (aged 13 to 29) are $11 at the NAC Box Office from 2 p.m. the day before the concert to 6 p.m. the day of, upon presentation of a valid Live Rush card.

Groups of 10 and more save 15% to 20% off the regular price of tickets to NAC Music, Theatre and Dance performances. To reserve your seats call 613-947-7000 ext. 384 or email grp@nac-cna.ca.

Peter Herrndorf's appointment extended as President and CEO of the National Arts Centre

Peter Herrndorf’s appointment extended as President and CEO of the National Arts Centre

Ottawa –Julia Foster, Chair of the NAC Board of Trustees, announced today that the Board has extended Peter Herrndorf's contract as President and CEO until August 31, 2011.

“Over the past nine years, Peter Herrndorf has transformed the NAC into a thriving and important centre for performance, creation and learning that champions the arts and arts education across Canada,” Mrs. Foster said. “The Board of Trustees is thrilled that he will continue leading the NAC to even greater success.”

Since his appointment in September of 1999, Mr. Herrndorf has worked to strengthen the NAC's national role as well as its youth and education activities across Canada. Under his leadership the NAC has resumed annual performance and education tours by the NAC Orchestra; presented biannual "Scene" Festivals in the National Capital Region featuring artists from specific regions of the country, including Atlantic Scene (2003), Alberta Scene (2005), Quebec Scene (2007), with BC Scene to run in the spring of 2009 and Prairie Scene slated for 2011; created the NAC’s Summer Music Institute that has, since 1999, trained 581 of the world’s best young musicians from 33 countries, as well as the Institute for Orchestral Studies, a unique apprenticeship program that allows young musicians to gain practical experience with the NAC Orchestra; fostered artistic exchange through dozens of co-productions with theatres and dance companies across Canada; and attracted a dynamic artistic leadership team that includes Pinchas Zukerman, Wajdi Mouawad, Cathy Levy, Peter Hinton, Heather Moore and Michel Dozois.

During Mr. Herrndorf’s tenure the NAC has also enjoyed surpluses in nine of the last ten years, strong subscription sales and the creation of a NAC Foundation with a board comprised of prominent Canadians from across the country. In 2007-08 the Foundation raised more than $8 million to support the NAC's artistic and educational work across Canada.

Mr. Herrndorf became President and CEO of the NAC after a remarkable career that included working as Vice-President of English-language television for the CBC, Publisher of Toronto Life magazine and Chairman and CEO of TVOntario. He is a graduate of the University of Manitoba, a law graduate from Dalhousie University and a graduate of the Harvard Business School. The recipient of many honours, he is an Officer of the Order of Canada. He is married to Eva Czigler, a program executive at the CBC. They have two children, Katherine and Matthew.

NACO, Jan 8-9: Pinchas Zukerman leads Beethoven's Fifth on an all-Beethoven program with pianist Jonathan Biss

Pinchas Zukerman leads Beethoven’s Fifth on an all-Beethoven program on January 8 and 9 that also features American pianist Jonathan Biss in the Piano Concerto No. 3

Ottawa (Canada) – Four instantly recognizable notes (“ba-ba-ba-BAH”) start you on a magnificent journey called Beethoven’s Fifth. Music Director Pinchas Zukerman will lead the way through this most celebrated and superb of all symphonies on an all-Beethoven program to begin the National Arts Centre Orchestra’s New Year on Thursday, January 8 and Friday, January 9 at 8 p.m. in the NAC’s Southam Hall. These Bostonian Bravo Series concerts open with the brilliant young American pianist Jonathan Biss performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3.

The NAC is offering two ways for audiences to prepare for the experience. Beethoven’s Third Concerto is part of the NAC Orchestra’s online “Explore the Symphony” series of podcasts by music critic Jean-Jacques Van Vlasselaer hosted in separate English and French versions by NAC Orchestra assistant principal double bass Marjolaine Fournier. The podcast can be found online in the podcast section of the NAC website www.nac-cna.ca, or in the Jan. 8-9 event listing, or in the NAC Orchestra under “Explore the Symphony”.

This concert also offers the first of this year’s “Musically Speaking” pre-concert performance-demonstrations featuring an artist on the Debut Series together with a teacher. On Friday, January 9 (one night only) at 7 p.m., concertgoers are invited to explore Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 as described by teacher James Anagnoson, the Dean of the Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory of Music, and demonstrated by young pianist Alexander Serendenko. This entertaining and informative lecture-demonstration, hosted by Paul Lefebvre, is free. (Alexander Serendenko will also perform a one-hour Debut Series recital at 12 noon on January 9 in the NAC Foyer.)

American pianist Jonathan Biss first performed Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto in 1999. He says, “Once when my favourite moment came – the hushed entry of the timpani after the cadenza – it hit me so hard I stopped breathing. This is not the wisest course of action when playing a concerto, but I can honestly say it was involuntary.”

Twenty-eight-year-old American pianist Jonathan Biss has already proved himself an accomplished and exceptional musician with a flourishing international reputation through his orchestral, recital, and chamber music performances in North America and Europe and through his EMI Classics recordings. He made his debut with the NAC Orchestra in 2002, and his most recent appearance at the NAC was in September 2007, playing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 under the direction of Pinchas Zukerman. Since he made his New York Philharmonic debut in 2001, Jonathan Biss has appeared with the foremost orchestras of the United States and Europe. This season includes debuts with the Colorado Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and NHK Symphony Orchestra.

Tickets for these Bostonian Bravo Series concerts on Thursday, January 8 and Friday, January 9 at 8 p.m. are on sale now at $19.00, $39.00, $49.00, $59.00, $69.00 and $86.00 (GST and Facility Fee included) at the NAC Box Office (Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.), and through Ticketmaster (with surcharges) at 613-755-1111. Ticketmaster may also be accessed through the NAC’s website at www.nac-cna.ca.

Half-price tickets for students in all sections of the hall are on sale in person at the NAC Box Office upon presentation of a valid student ID card. Live Rush tickets (subject to availability) for full-time students (aged 13 to 29) are $11 at the NAC Box Office from 2 p.m. the day before the concert to 6 p.m. the day of, upon presentation of a valid Live Rush card.

Groups of 10 and more save 15% to 20% off the regular price of tickets to NAC Music, Theatre and Dance performances. To reserve your seats call 613-947-7000 ext. 384 or email grp@nac-cna.ca.