June 14, 2004 -

Ottawa, Canada -- Two “Celebration of Future Classics” concerts featuring works by the participants of the NAC Young Composers Programme and their teachers – NAC Award Composer Denys Bouliane and guest composer Alexander Raskatov – will take place on Wednesday, June 23 and Saturday, June 26 at 19:30, in the University of Ottawa’s Tabaret Hall. Over the course of the two evenings, new music lovers will hear five world premieres and two Canadian premieres, as well as three Ottawa firsts performed by ensembles of musicians from the Orchestre de la francophonie canadienne, the NAC Orchestra, the Fibonacci Trio, pianist Brigit Poulin and percussionist Reynaliz Herrera. The Young Composers Programme is one component of Pinchas Zukerman’s NAC Summer Music Institute supported by the Scotiabank Group, and the NAC National Youth and Education Trust.

Denys Bouliane is the Lead Composer for the second edition of the Young Composers Programme together with Russian composer Alexander Raskatov. Over the course of nine days, four Canadian composers and one Mexican composer will participate in composition workshops while putting the finishing touches on works they have composed over the past season. They will have at their disposal an ensemble of virtuoso musicians from l’Orchestre de la francophonie canadienne led by Denys Bouliane and Jean-Philippe Tremblay , the NAC Orchestra’s former Apprentice Conductor and a graduate of the NAC Conductors Programme.

Morning sessions of the Young Composers Programme from June 21 to 25, 9:30 to 12:30 in NAC Rehearsal Hall B, are open to public observation. To reserve a spot please email: ebarnhar@nac-cna.ca.

The Wednesday, June 23 “Celebration of Future Classics” concert opens with the world premieres of works by three of the Young Composers Programme participants: Vos murs nous parlent by 27-year-old Jimmie Leblanc from Quebec City, Déviations by 25-year-old Félix Frédéric Baril from Montreal, and El Jardin de los Senderos que se Bifurcar by 25-year-old Mexican composer Carlos López Charles, who was invited to join the programme after Denys Bouliane met him during a workshop in Mexico City on the NAC Orchestra’s United States and Mexico Tour in November 2003.  These three works are performed by ensembles of l’Orchestre de la Francophonie canadienne conducted by Jean-Philippe Tremblay.

The programme continues with Denys Bouliane’s Contredanse du silène Badouny (1998) performed by solo pianist Brigitte Poulin; Alexander Raskatov’s Abgesang (2000), performed on marimba by Reynaliz Herrera, another young talent discovered during the Orchestra’s United States and Mexico Tour; Raskatov’s Dolce far niente (1991) for cello and piano; and Raskatov’s Sentimental Sequences (1986) performed by an ensemble conducted by Denys Bouliane.

The “Celebration of Future Classics” concert on Saturday, June 26 opens with the Canadian premiere of Smaller Knives by 26-year-old Young Composer Programme participant Geof Holbrook, from Guelph, Ontario, for a quintet of NAC Orchestra musicians and piano; the Canadian premiere of Consolation (1989) by Raskatov for solo pianist Brigitte Poulin; and the Ottawa premiere of Raskatov’s Litania (1994) for 15 players conducted by Denys Bouliane.

The second half features the Trio Fibonacci, a Montreal- and Brussels-based new music ensemble, performing two works: the world premiere of a new work by 27-year-old Young Composer Programme participant Niklas Kambeitz from Victoria, British Columbia, and the Ottawa premiere of Qualia sui (2001-02) by Denys Bouliane.

Denys Bouliane is one of Canada’s busiest composers, dividing his time among Montreal, Quebec and Cologne. He has been Professor of Composition at McGill University in Montreal, and Music Director of the McGill Contemporary Music Ensemble since 1995. He is also Artistic Coordinator for the Montreal MusiMarch Festival as well Co-Director with Walter Boudreau of the international Biennale Montréal/Musiques Nouvelles (MNM). In March 2002 at the launch of the NAC New Music Plan, the National Arts Centre named Denys Bouliane as one of three recipients of the $75,000 NAC Composers Awards, along with Gary Kulesha and Alexina Louie. His commissioned work Snow is White but Water is Black was performed in every city on the NAC Orchestra’s United States and Mexico Tour. Bouliane participated in the Tour, presenting a series of composition workshops as part of the Orchestra’s education and outreach.

Alexander Raskatov was born in Moscow and completed his studies at the Moscow Conservatory. He is a member of the Russian Contemporary Music Association, with particular interest in vocal and instrumental chamber music, and symphonic sonorities. He has been composer-in-residence at Stetson University, USA, and Lockenhaus, Austria. Described by Alfred Schnittke as “one of the most interesting composers of his generation”, Raskatov has received commissions from Gidon Kremer, the Sabine Meyer Wind Ensemble, The Hilliard Ensemble and the Schoenberg Ensemble, among others.

The first “Celebration of Future Classics” takes place on Wednesday, June 23 at 19:30 in the University of Ottawa’s Tabaret Hall with tickets at $5.00. The second concert is on Saturday, June 26 at 19:30 again in Tabaret Hall, with tickets at $10.00. Tickets are on sale now at the NAC Box Office or NAC website at www.nac-cna.ca, or through Ticketmaster at (613) 755-1111. Tickets can also be purchased the night of each concert at Tabaret Hall, located at 550 Cumberland Street. For more information about the NAC’s Summer at the Centre programming, which includes the public events of the Summer Music Institute, visit the NAC website at www.nac-cna.ca.

For more information please contact:
Jane Morris, Marketing Officer,
National Arts Centre Orchestra
(613) 947-7000, ext. 335
jmorris@nac-cna.ca