September 20, 2006 -

Ottawa, Canada -- The National Arts Centre today announced programming for the 10th anniversary NAC Gala concert taking place on Wednesday, September 27 in Southam Hall at 18:30 preceded by a reception in the Foyer for all patrons at 17:30. NAC Music Director and world-renowned instrumentalist Pinchas Zukerman shares the stage with legendary pianist Emanuel Ax; Yo-Yo Ma, the most famous cellist in the world today; Canadian Celtic fiddling sensation Natalie MacMaster; and Gil Shaham, one of the brightest stars in the next generation of violin virtuosos – together with the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Joining this assembly of musical royalty (who have two dozen Grammy Awards to their names), are young artists Jan Lisiecki, an 11-year-old Calgary pianist, and NAC Orchestra violinist Jessica Linnebach. Tickets to the Gala have been sold out since April, but those still interested should check for last minute returns.

The Gala is presented by TELUS in association with Sun Life Financial, Bruce Power and True Energy Trust with the support of other Gala sponsors A&E;, Enbridge Inc., RBC Financial Group, Trico Group, TD Bank Financial Group, Scotiabank Group, University of Ottawa, Harmon Foundation, Broccolini Construction Inc., St-Laurent Volvo, MTS Allstream Inc., Emond Harnden LLP, Morguard Investments Ltd. and Oracle.

Pinchas Zukerman will open the concert conducting the NAC Orchestra in the Overture to Wagner’s warm comic opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, after which violinist Gil Shaham takes the spotlight with the Orchestra in two of the best known pieces by virtuosic violinist/composer Fritz Kreisler: Liebesleid (Love’s sorrow) and Schön Rosmarin (Beautiful Rosemary), both in the warm and sweet Viennese waltz style. The full instrumental forces of Orchestra then have the chance to shine in Dvorák’s lively Slavonic Dance in G minor.

The Allegro brilliante (first movement) from Schumann’s Piano Quintet, one of the glories of the entire chamber music canon, gets star treatment at this Gala. It will be in the hands of violinist Gil Shaham, violist Pinchas Zukerman, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Emanuel Ax. The second violin chair will be taken by NAC Orchestra musician Jessica Linnebach, a graduate of the NAC Summer Music Institute which receives funding through the National Youth and Education Trust supported by Gala proceeds.

The second half of the Gala opens with a solo piano performance by another young artist whom Pinchas Zukerman first encountered on the NAC Orchestra’s latest tour to Alberta and Saskatchewan. Eleven-year-old Jan Lisiecki, a student at Mount Royal College in Calgary, has already, at Zukerman’s invitation, dazzled NAC audiences with the Orchestra at a Young People’s Concert and on Canada Day. For the Gala he will perform two short Etudes by Chopin (in C-sharp minor and F major) and Rachmaninov’s famous Prelude in C-sharp minor.

Natalie MacMaster, the pride of Atlantic Canada, will set feet tapping with her feverish fiddling and mesmerizing step dancing in traditional Cape Breton medleys.

The Gala will come to a grand finale with the last movement of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto featuring Gil Shaham, Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax, with Pinchas Zukerman conducting the NAC Orchestra.

The Gala Committee is chaired by Janet Yale, Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs of TELUS, the Presenting Sponsor of the annual Gala, and Founding Partner of the NAC’s National Youth and Education Trust. The Trust is also supported by Sun Life Financial, Bruce Power, True Energy Trust, Michael Potter and Véronique Dhieux, supporters and patrons of the National Arts Centre Gala, and the National Arts Centre Foundation Donors’ Circle. The National Youth and Education Trust is a primary resource for supporting the artistic development of young Canadians through educational resources, professional training, mentoring programmes and young audience performances. The 10th Anniversary Gala’s Honourary Chair is Mrs. Laureen Harper.

There is a pre-concert reception in the Foyer for all patrons at 17:30, followed by the concert at 18:30. Those who have purchased dinner tickets will join Gala sponsors at a post-concert reception with dancing in the Foyer, followed by dinner on the Southam Hall stage.

EMANUEL AX is renowned not only for his poetic temperament and unsurpassed virtuosity on the piano, but also for the exceptional breadth of his performing activity. Each season his distinguished career includes appearances with major symphony orchestras worldwide, recitals in the most celebrated concert halls, a variety of chamber music collaborations, the commissioning and performance of new music, and additions to his acclaimed discography on Sony Classical. He captured public attention in 1974 when, at age 25, he won the First Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Tel Aviv. In 1975 he won the Michaels Award of Young Concert Artists and, four years later, took the coveted Avery Fisher Prize.

YO-YO MA’s multi-faceted career is testament to his continual search for new ways to communicate with audiences, and to his personal desire for artistic growth and renewal. Whether performing a new concerto, revisiting a familiar work from the cello repertoire, coming together with colleagues for chamber music or exploring cultures and musical forms outside of the Western classical tradition, Ma strives to find connections that stimulate the imagination. An exclusive Sony Classical artist, his discography of over 50 albums has won him 15 Grammy Awards. Yo-Yo Ma maintains a balance between his engagements as soloist with orchestras throughout the world and his recital and chamber music activities. He draws inspiration from a wide circle of collaborators.

NATALIE MACMASTER began taking Celtic music to new heights after winning numerous East Coast Music Awards for her traditional Cape Breton recordings. Often referred to as “the busiest woman in the Canadian music business,” MacMaster’s exhaustive touring schedule has taken her from stages in Hawaii to Antarctica, Alaska to Japan, from Scotland to Italy, Germany to the Hollywood Bowl and beyond. Two of her CDs have charted on Billboard’s Top 20 Selling World Music charts. Four of her previous five CD releases have been certified “gold” in Canada.

GIL SHAHAM is internationally recognized by audiences and many noted critics as one of today's most virtuosic and engaging classical artists. He has been acclaimed consistently for his performances with the leading US orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony. Recitals and other orchestral engagements have taken him to music capitals worldwide and he is a regular visitor to summer festivals including Mostly Mozart and the Hollywood Bowl. Awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1990, he has recorded much of the central violin repertoire both solo and orchestral. He plays the 1699 “Countess Polignac” Stradivarius.

PINCHAS ZUKERMAN, the world-renowned instrumentalist and Music Director of the National Arts Centre Orchestra is equally respected as a violinist, violist, conductor, teacher and chamber musician. He is a champion of the NAC’s rapid expansion in education, having founded the NAC’s Summer Music Institute, which last summer assembled 80 talented musicians to study with an international faculty. He has also led six national and international tours with the NAC Orchestra since becoming Music Director, with education playing an ever more important role. This season’s Alberta-Saskatchewan Tour included 98 education events in addition to concerts. All these initiatives are supported by the National Youth and Education Trust.

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