June 23, 2005 -

Ottawa, Canada -- The NAC Young Artists Programme (YAP) of the 2005 National Arts Centre Summer Music Institute is in full swing, and from June 24 to July 2 there are three masterclasses and four concerts plus an all-day Chamber Music Marathon all open to the public for everyone interested in observing how the students learn and how talented they are in performance.

Masterclasses – one-on-one sessions between teacher and student observed by an audience – will take place on June 24 with Hans Jorgen Jensen (cello), June 27 with Pinchas Zukerman and Patinka Kopec (violin/viola), and June 29 with Joseph Kalichstein (piano), all at 19:30 in Freiman Hall in the Perez Building at the University of Ottawa.

Free Midday Concerts at 12:30 featuring participants in the Young Artists Programme (YAP) will take place on June 27 (Reynaliz Herrera, percussion, with guest percussionists and a chamber ensemble), June 28 (YAP string ensembles)and on June 29, (YAP wind ensemble). There is also a fourth midday concert on June 30 featuring Choirs of Unisong from across Canada.  

On July 2 there will be a Chamber Music Marathon, offering an opportunity to see all of the chamber ensembles in their final recitals. The Junior Strings will perform at 10:30, and the Young Artists Programme ensembles will perform in three sets of concerts at 12:00, 14:00 and 16:00 in the NAC Foyer.

The NAC Summer Music Institute is supported by scholarships, private donations, the NAC National Youth and Education Trust, and corporate partners including Galaxie – The Continuous Music Network, Scotiabank and TransAlta.

There are 43 students attending the Young Artists Programme – 22 from Victoria, BC, to St. John’s, NL. in Canada, and the rest from Bulgaria, China, France, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Mexico, Poland, Spain, the United States and Uzbekistan. The NAC Young Artists Programme – created by Pinchas Zukerman in 1999 in order to provide gifted young musicians with training at the highest level in chamber music and individual instruction for strings and piano – expanded last year with the addition of the Junior Strings, and this year has added a wind component.

NAC Young Artists Programme listing:

Friday, June 24 at 19:30
Masterclass
Hans Jorgen Jensen, cello
Freiman Hall, University of Ottawa: $5

Monday, June 27 at 19:30
Masterclass
Pinchas Zukerman and Patinka Kopec, violin/viola
Freiman Hall, University of Ottawa: $5

Monday, June 27 at 12:30
Free Midday Concerts Series
Reynaliz Herrera, percussion
with Jean Desmarais, piano, and Ken Simpson, Tristan Green and Jean-Sébastian Lacombe, percussion
Young Artists Programme string quartet
National Arts Centre Foyer: Free

Tuesday, June 28 at 12:30
Free Midday Concerts Series
Young Artists Programme string ensemble
National Arts Centre Foyer: Free

Wednesday, June 29 at 12:30
Free Midday Concerts Series
Young Artists Programme wind ensemble
National Arts Centre Foyer: Free

Wednesday, June 29 at 19:30
Masterclass
Joseph Kalichstein, piano
Freiman Hall, University of Ottawa: $5

Thursday, June 30 at 12:30
Free Midday Concerts Series
Unisong Choirs
National Arts Centre Foyer: Free

Saturday, July 2 at 10:30, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00
YAP Chamber Music Marathon
Young Artists Programme Junior Strings at 10:30
Young Artists Programme ensembles at 12:00, 14:00 and 16:00
NAC Main Foyer
Individual concerts: $5
Day pass: $12

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