November 09, 2006 -

Ottawa, Canada -- The Chuckle Bros cartoon team, consisting of National Arts Centre Orchestra violinist Brian Boychuk, his brother Ron Boychuk and Ottawa artist Ronnie Martin, have had their comic strip picked up for syndication by Torstar Syndication Services. As of this week, their hilarious single-frame cartoons will appear in major newspapers across Canada including the Ottawa Citizen, the Toronto Star (weekend), the Regina Leader Post, the Edmonton Journal, the Calgary Herald, the Victoria Times-Colonist and the Charlottetown Guardian.

Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Brian Boychuk began studying music at the age of six, going on to win numerous festival and musical competitions. In 1975, he became one of the youngest concertmasters in the history of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and shortly thereafter was appointed concertmaster of the Regina Symphony. In 1978 he joined the ranks of the NAC Orchestra. Mr. Boychuk has been on faculty at the Conservatoire du Québec, is a past concertmaster of l'Orchestre chambre de Hull, and was a long-time member of the internationally-acclaimed ensemble Thirteen Strings of Ottawa.

For years, Brian toyed with the idea of starting a comic strip with his brother Ron, who still lives in the Boychuks’ hometown of Regina, Saskatchewan. In 2003, Brian finally decided to do something about it and started writing down his ideas. Within a few short weeks, the duo had amassed several hundred written-out cartoons. Finding an artist who could bring their concepts to life was the next step, and the pair spent months searching local art schools and the Internet before stumbling by accident across Ronnie Martin, a small business owner in Ottawa.

Last season, the National Arts Centre hosted a book launch for the Chuckle Bros’ first book entitled, “On The Road – First Edition Collection”. For the past two seasons, their cartoon has been running regularly in The Low Down to Hull and Back News and in the National Arts Centre Orchestra’s newsletter, Presto!.

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