March 23, 2005 -

Ottawa, Canada -- An exhibit of artwork created by children from three provinces for the National Arts Centre Orchestra’s recent British Columbia Tour is on display in the Foyer of the NAC. The exhibit includes a selection of photographs by tour photographer Fred Cattroll which are displayed together with testimonials from numerous teachers touched by the NAC Orchestra’s outreach in British Columbia. To complete the exhibit, there are several canvases which NAC Orchestra violinist Edvard Skerjanc painted from sketches he created during the BC Tour.

The NAC Orchestra’s British Columbia Tour, supported by major partner CN, included 95 teaching events in addition to the Orchestra’s public concerts. The 24 photographs on display capture many of these activities and other highlights of the highly successful Tour.

The children’s art on display reflects their creative response to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons for two of the tour’s education events. “Music Bridge” used the latest in Broadband technology to link children from Connaught School in Ottawa, Bishop Abraham School in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and Stride Community School in Burnaby, BC. Students from the Ottawa and Newfoundland schools both included large paintings in their “Music Bridge” presentations, and these have now been brought to the NAC to share with the public. Additional artwork came from Kelowna, BC, where children from Rosevalley Elementary School and South Rutland Elementary School created paintings for the Vivaldi and the Four Seasons student matinee by the NAC Orchestra conducted by the NAC’s Principal Youth and Family Conductor, Boris Brott.

Violinist Edvard Skerjanc has been a member of the National Arts Centre Orchestra since 1990. He is also a gifted and versatile visual artist who has studied at a number of private and state-sponsored academies, and with Charles Reid in New York and with Ottawa’s Robert Hyndman.

He has had exhibits of his art in 1997, 1998 and 2002 and he won a first prize in the category of miniatures at the Gibson Gallery, London, Ontario, in 1999. During the NAC Orchestra’s BC Tour, Skerjanc created a number of sketches, and on his return he developed some these into finished watercolours and canvasses, a sample of which are on display.

The children’s art will be on display in the Foyer of the NAC until April 12. The photographs and paintings by Edvard Skerjanc will remain until April 22.

The National Arts Centre Orchestra British Columbia Tour was supported by Major Partner CN, which has a 90-year history in BC. The National Post was the Tour’s National Media Partner. Special funding for tour educational activities was generously provided by Yamaha Canada, Alcan-Kitimat Works, and donors and sponsors of the National Youth and Education Trust.

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