The National Arts Centre Orchestra (NAC Orchestra) is a Canadian

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

based in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

led by music director Alexander Shelley. The NAC Orchestra's primary concert venue is Southam Hall at the

National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) (french: Centre national des Arts) is a performing arts organisation in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre building. History The NAC was one of a number of ...

. Since its inception, the Orchestra has commissioned more than 90 works, mostly from Canadian composers. The NAC Orchestra has made over 50 commercially released recordings. The Orchestra has visited more than 125 cities in Canada and more than 130 cities internationally in its 51-year history, including a coast-to-coast Canadian tour in 1999 and again in 2017. In May 2019, the NAC Orchestra completed a major European tour, performing and delivering education events in five countries.

History

The NAC Orchestra was founded in 1969 as the resident orchestra of the newly opened

, with

Jean-Marie Beaudet Jean-Marie Beaudet (20 February 1908 – 19 March 1971) was a Canadian conductor, organist, pianist, radio producer, and music educator. He had a long career with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, serving variously as a music producer, progr ...

as music director and Mario Bernardi as founding conductor. Bernardi became music director in 1971 and held the post until 1982. The NAC Orchestra undertook first international tour in 1973 to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, travelling as far as Leningrad. The NAC Orchestra has remained committed to touring internationally, averaging approximately one tour per every two years. Previous tours have taken them to the UK, China, the United-States of America, and all over Europe. Beaudet and Bernardi are the only Canadian conductors to be appointed music director of the NAC Orchestra. Bernardi was named Conductor Laureate in 1997. Subsequent NAC Orchestra music directors have included

Franco Mannino Franco Mannino (25 April 1924 – 1 February 2005) was an Italian film composer, pianist, opera director, playwright and novelist, born in Palermo. He made his debut as pianist at the age of 16. He conducted the National Arts Centre Orchestra ...

(1982 to 1987), Gabriel Chmura (1987 to 1990), and

Trevor Pinnock Trevor David Pinnock (born 16 December 1946 in Canterbury, England) is a British harpsichordist and conductor. He is best known for his association with the period-performance orchestra The English Concert, which he helped found and direct ...

(1991-1997). From 1999 to 2015,

Pinchas Zukerman Pinchas Zukerman ( he, פנחס צוקרמן, born 16 July 1948) is an Israeli-American violinist, violist and conductor. Life and career Zukerman was born in Tel Aviv, to Jewish parents and Holocaust survivors Yehuda and Miriam Lieberman Zuk ...

was the NAC Orchestra's music director. The orchestra expanded to 61 players during Zukerman's tenure. In October 2013, the NAC Orchestra announced the appointment of Alexander Shelley as its next music director, as of the 2015–2016 season, with an initial contract of 4 years. In 2018, the NAC announced that his contract was renewed through to 2022.

Franz-Paul Decker Franz-Paul Decker (June 26, 1923 – May 19, 2014) was a German-born conductor. Life Decker was born in Cologne, Germany, where he studied at the Hochschule für Musik with Philip Jarnach and Eugen Papst. He made his conducting debut at the ...

was Principal Guest Conductor from 1991 to 1999. In 2001,

Jean-Philippe Tremblay Jean-Philippe Tremblay (born 1978) is a Canadian orchestra conductor. In addition to an international career as guest conductor, he is the founding Artistic Director and chief conductor of the Montreal based Orchestre de la Francophonie. Trembla ...

became the NAC Orchestra's Apprentice Conductor, a then newly created post, for a two-year term. John Storgards is the current Principal Guest conductor of the NAC Orchestra while

Jack Everly Jack Everly (born January 13, 1952) is an American conductor who serves as Principal Pops Conductor with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic and the National Arts Centre Orchestra (Ottawa, Canada ...

is the Principal Pops Conductor.

Recordings

Music Directors

(1969–1971) * Mario Bernardi (1971–1982) *

(1982–1987) * Gabriel Chmura (1987–1990) *

(1991–1997) *

(1999–2015) * Alexander Shelley (2015–present)

References

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1969 Canadian orchestras Musical groups from Ottawa Tourist attractions in Ottawa 1969 establishments in Ontario

History

Recordings

Music Directors

See also

References