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Canadian orchestra
The
National Arts Centre Orchestra
(NAC Orchestra) is a Canadian
orchestra
based in
Ottawa
,
Ontario
led by music director
Alexander Shelley
. The NAC Orchestra's primary concert venue is Southam Hall at the
National Arts Centre
. 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
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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. Bernardi became music director in 1971 and held the post until 1982. The NAC Orchestra undertook first international tour in 1973 to
Europe
, travelling as far as Leningrad.
[1]
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
(1982 to 1987),
Gabriel Chmura
(1987 to 1990), and
Trevor Pinnock
(1991-1997). From 1999 to 2015,
Pinchas Zukerman
was the NAC Orchestra's music director.
[2]
The orchestra expanded to 61 players during Zukerman's tenure.
[3]
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.
[4]
[5]
In 2018, the NAC announced that his contract was renewed through to 2022.
Franz-Paul Decker
was Principal Guest Conductor from 1991 to 1999. In 2001,
Jean-Philippe Tremblay
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
is the Principal Pops Conductor.
Recordings
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(
July 2021
)
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Music Directors
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See also
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References
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