Last night was gala night as the NAC and Opera Lyra Ottawa held the 10th Black and White Opera Soiree. This is the second big fundraising event of the season, and as with the Fall gala, it attracts a well-heeled audience of ambassadors, judges, MP’s, and captains of industry. I dug my old gig suit … More When Harry Met Measha

Bronwen and I went to another orchestra concert last week. This time, Pinchas was conducting a programme that included Shostakovich’s first cello concerto (with Amanda as soloist) and Fauré’s Requiem. I hadn’t listened to this piece in a while, and I was completely taken by the performance. I went home and listened to a recording … More Gotta Love Those Requiems

Gustavo Dudamel, the young Venezuelan conductor who is generating a great deal of international attention these days, made his Canadian debut this week with the orchestra. Over the five days he was in Ottawa, he generated more buzz than anyone I’ve encountered.Gustavo is the product of Venezuela’s phenomenal system of state-funded youth orchestras. Roughly 250,000 … More The Future of Conducting?

Maurizio recently tagged me in a recent post on his blog. We’re playing a little game called If My Life Was a Movie, What Would the Soundtrack Be? To paraphrase another blogger, you put your iPod on shuffle and write the name of each song that comes up in sequence against a specific list of … More The Soundtrack of my Life

Nearly a year ago, the NAC launched the first podcast produced by a professional orchestra. The NACOcast is produced a few times a month and provides listeners with information on upcoming concerts, interviews with artists and composers, and discussions with orchestra musicians about their experiences.The NACOcast is hosted by our Principal Bassoon, C Millard. He’s … More The NACOcast