December 23, 2004 -

Ottawa, Canada -- The dazzling young Vancouver violinist Caitlin Tully, accompanied by pianist Robert Koenig, is the opening recitalist on the National Arts Centre and CBC Radio Two’s Aber Diamond Debut Series on Friday, January 7 at noon in the Foyer of the NAC.  The hour-long recital of music, including Mozart, Chausson, Brahms and Saint-Saëns, is hosted by Eric Friesen and will be broadcast live-to-air on his Radio Two programme Studio Sparks. (Aber Diamond is pronounced “Abber” Diamond).

Admission to the recital is $3.00 with all proceeds going to the NAC Orchestra Bursary Trust Fund. Additional donations to the Fund are greatly appreciated.

Caitlin Tully will perform Mozart’s Violin Sonata No. 17, Chausson’s Poème, Brahms’s Sonatensatz (Scherzo for Violin and Piano), Raminsch’s Aria, Gershwin’s It Ain’t Necessarily So (transcribed by Heifetz), and Saint-Saëns’s Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso.

Caitlin Tully was only 11 when Pinchas Zukerman first heard her in a masterclass during the NAC Orchestra’a Canada Tour in 1999. She was subsequently invited to participate in the NAC Young Artists Programme in 2000 and 2001, and has performed as soloist with the NAC Orchestra. Future engagements include concerts with the Toronto Symphony, Austin Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, Atlantic Classical Orchestra, as well as opening concerts for the Santa Rosa Symphony and the annual Gala concert for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. In addition to recitals in the Chicago and New York areas, Ms. Tully will perform on a six-city recital tour from the West coast to the Midwest, culminating in her recital debut on the Ravinia Festival’s Rising Stars series.

Caitlin Tully has won numerous national and international awards including the National Arts Centre’s New Sun Millenium Award and the Yamaha Horizon Award. She is a three-time winner of the Seattle Young Artists’ Grand Prize medal and two-time winner of the British Columbia Festival of the Arts National Competition. At the age of 13, Caitlin was the youngest ever winner of the Aspen Music Festival’s Nakamichi Violin Concerto Competition. She has been featured on PBS Television with Shari Lewis and on a broadcast of Live From Lincoln Center, with Itzhak Perlman and members of the Perlman Music program.

The Aber Diamond Debut Series showcases talented young musicians from Canada and around the world. The recitals take place in the Foyer of the NAC, and each will be broadcast live-to-air across Canada on Eric Friesen’s new afternoon programme Studio Sparks on CBC Radio Two. On January 7, Eric Friesen will broadcast his full three-hour show from the NAC Foyer from 11:00 to 14:00, with the recital presented in the middle hour at noon. Radio listeners can tune in from noon to 15:00 to hear the recital at 13:00.

Upcoming performers are Chinese pianist Yuja Wang on February 25, Saskatchewan baritone Peter McGillivray on March 18, Israeli-Canadian clarinettist Shalom Bard on April 8, Albertan pianist Lana Henschell on May 6, and French violinist Amaury Coeytaux together with Hungarian violist Béla Horváth on June 24.

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

Jill LaForty, CBC Radio Network Producer
(613) 288-6461