February 24, 2005 -

Ottawa, Canada -- Seats are available to the general public for the National Arts Centre Orchestra Student Matinees for 5- to 9-year-olds on Tuesday, March 1 at 13:00 in English, and Wednesday, March 2 at 10:00 in French. This is a perfect opportunity for families looking for activities during March Break for Quebec schools. Principal Youth and Family Conductor Boris Brott will lead the one-hour concert entitled O Canada! Sounds of Nature in the NAC’s Southam Hall.  Parents are encouraged to discover with their children the entertaining and educational programmes that the Orchestra presents for schools.

The concert explores Canada’s musical landscape while introducing concert-goers to the instruments of the orchestra. With the help of First Nations musician and storyteller Nathalie Picard, an 80-member massed children’s choir, and the Katharine Robinson School of Highland Dancing, the NAC Orchestra will perform a wide range of music from across this vast and varied land. The sections of the orchestra are introduced one by one and then featured in the music played. Children in the hall will be invited to participate throughout the imaginative concert.

Musical excerpts include “Lumberman’s Alphabet” from Kelsey Jones’ Miramichi Ballad, Claude Champagne’s Danse villageoise, Au clair de la lune, a traditional Mi’kmaq Honour Song, Sir Ernest MacMillan’s Fantasy on Scottish Melodies, Malcolm Forsyth’s Atayoskewin, and Paul Halley’s A Song for Canada.

Seating is first come-first served. Tickets for this NAC Orchestra Student Matinee on March 1 at 13:00 (English) and March 2 at 10:00 (French) are all priced at $8.00 and can be purchased in person at the NAC Box Office (Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 21:00).

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