News & Announcements

BC Scene Offers Sneak Peak at Classical Music Line-up

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

(OTTAWA – Tuesday, March 11, 2008) In collaboration with the NAC Music Department, BC Scene is pleased to offer a preview of some of its classical music programming.

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and conductor Bramwell Tovey, recent Grammy Award recipients, will perform at the NAC for the first time since 1976 (Friday, May 1, 2009). The concert will feature rising young Vancouver pianist Avan Yu performing Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. The concert will also include a composition by Jeffrey Ryan, the VSO’s former composer-in-residence, and Stravinsky’s electrifying Petrouchka.

Vancouver native Jon Kimura Parker will perform a solo piano recital in Southam Hall as part of the Bombardier Great Performer’s Series (Wednesday, April 29, 2009). In addition to his performance during BC Scene, Mr. Parker will also become the National Arts Centre Orchestra’s first artist-in-residence next season, and he will be a featured soloist on the orchestra’s 2008 Western Canada Tour.

The third edition of the NAC’s annual eXpressions festival will be a celebration of B.C.’s vibrant new music scene. The NAC Orchestra will perform a concert of music by West Coast composers Rodney Sharman, Jocelyn Morlock and Douglas Smith (Thursday, April 30, 2009). The concert will be led by Alain Trudel, the principal conductor of Vancouver’s CBC Radio Orchestra.

eXpressions will also feature a performance by B.C.’s daring and energetic Hard Rubber Orchestra led by John Korsrud. The acclaimed new music ensemble plays high energy, eclectic music inspired by such diverse artists as John Zorn, Krzysztof Penderecki, Public Enemy, John Cage and Miles Davis. (Saturday, May 2, 2009). Both eXpressions concerts will be free to the public.

The NAC’s Music for a Sunday Afternoon chamber music concert on April 26, 2009 will have a distinctly B.C. flavour. Prince George native Jonathan Crow and renowned pianist James Parker will collaborate with several NAC Orchestra musicians who have ties to Vancouver in a program that will include works by B.C. composers.

Tickets for many of these performances are available now as part of NAC Orchestra subscription packages. Single tickets will be available in September.

This is just a small taste of the largest festival of B.C. artists ever produced outside the province. Additional programming in music, dance, theatre, literature, visual arts, and culinary arts will be announced in the coming months. Stay tuned for details.