Additional Resources
NAC Programs
Performance
- Canada Performs: Created by Heather Gibson, this program was made in partnership with Facebook, Slaight Music, and RBC. It provided live-streamed performances to audiences and employment to the artists. These performances can be accessed through the NAC’s Facebook page or YouTube channel (Lunch Break video series, and NACO at the Fourth were subcategories of this project).
- NAC and RBC Bluesfest: Branching from Canada Performs, this collaboration provided diverse programming such as music, dance, theatre, Indigenous arts, storytelling, and cooking. In July and August 2020, the NAC and RBC Bluesfest offered drive-in concerts as a safe alternative to in-person concerts.
- NACO Live: When restrictions were lifted and NACO was able to play together again, NACO Live was created to stream concerts to audiences online, free of charge. Showcasing Canadian artists and diverse classical music, this series includes backstage perspectives that give insight into the artists and performers on stage.
- NACO Lunch Break Series: This program allowed solo, duo, or small ensemble musicians to showcase a variety of musical compositions. These short concerts provided entertainment while also a sense of intimacy as you got to know musicians on a more individual level. The Lunch Break series has published over 120 videos so far and can be viewed on NAC’s website or YouTube channel.
- NACO at the Fourth: Showcasing chamber music, this series focused on the performances of NAC musicians at Fourth Stage. These performances can be found on NAC’s website and Facebook page (this series is not to be mistaken with Fridays at the Fourth under Popular Music and Variety).
- NACO Home Delivery: Early on in the pandemic, the NAC devised a plan to email existing archival recordings of the NACO to patrons. With a total of 24, these archival recordings aimed to provide accessible music to patrons at home. The archives can be found on the NAC website.
Music Education
- Music Alive: During the pandemic, travel was not permissible, therefore the workshops, lessons, and rehearsals were moved to this online platform. This program aims to provide accessible music education for demographics all across Canada.
- ArtsAlive: This program has been a key component in providing educators with accessible music resources. NAC’s Music Education department aims to add more material to the website in the future.
- Music Monday Celebrations with the Coalition for Music Education: Music Monday is a day- long celebration of music education across Canada. NAC’s Music Education department was able to go ahead with their planned activities for this celebration in collaboration with Coalition for Music Education. It is was renamed “Monday @ Home Celebration”. The events included recorded and live music making to connect youth on Facebook, YouTube, and on the Coalition for Music Education’s website.
- Education Department: Masterclasses with MusicFest Canada: NAC has collaborated with MusicFest Canada for many years in providing free music lessons to youth. This year, the teaching was provided over Zoom in a workshop format.
- Alexander Shelley’s Musically Speaking: These seven interviews posted on the NAC’s website and YouTube channel brought Shelley and guest speakers together in a conversation about life, upbringing, goals, music making, etc. He interviewed musicians, composers, and even the Governor General, Julie Payette on her journey as a choir singer. At the end of the interview, the performers would sometimes treat the audience to a live/recorded performance.
- NACOcast: Led by Sean Rice (NAC’s second clarinet), this series attempts to bring musicians into a closer public view. During the pandemic, two podcasts were released: one regarding the NAC’s 50th anniversary and another in conversation with University of Ottawa professor, Julie Pedneault-Deslauriers and her research on the Schumann family and Brahms.
- Popular Music and Variety: PMV includes a wide range of diverse acts including cirque, comedy, and dance. During the pandemic, Heather Gibson with her team, moved the shows online to the NAC’s website and Facebook page.
- Celebrity Speakers with Margaret Atwood: This initiative was arranged as part of Popular Music and Variety, under NAC podcasts. Other videos in the same selection were published between 2006 and 2018. The initial podcasts were run by Peter Hinton, the renowned stage director who was English Theatre’s director from 2005 to 2012.
- NAC Presents: Under the direction of Heather Gibson, this project is dedicated to Canadian pop music and aims to showcase up and coming artists. The festival showcases pop, rock, songwriting, francophone, jazz, blues, hip-hop, folk, roots, world, and country music.
Arts Organizations & Partnerships
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