National Academy Orchestra of Canada
Encyclopedia
The National Academy Orchestra of Canada is a professional training orchestra primarily based in Hamilton, Ontario
, Canada. Founded in 1989 by conductor Boris Brott
, it is recognized as a Canadian National School for professional training, and each winter over 400 potential apprentices audition from across Canada for a spot in the orchestra.
The National Academy Orchestra is the orchestra-in-residence—for 16 to 20 weeks—of the 20 year-old Brott Music Festival, Canada's largest orchestral music festival. Young musicians between the ages of 18 and 30 who are studying or are recent graduates of a music program are eligible to apply and audition for one of 45 spots in the annual program.
, Montreal
, Vancouver
, Edmonton
, National Arts Centre
and Canadian Opera Company Orchestra to name a few.
Each season features guest concertmasters and mentors from across the country, guest conductors, and master class
es with internationally-renowned soloists. The performance opportunities range from orchestral, chamber, to solo performance. These are not the only aspect of the NAO's activities - the orchestra also takes part in mock auditions, seminars, and performance classes. The season begins with an intense six-week chamber music session where weekly concerts are coached and prepared by some of Canada's finest pedagogues.
The NAO places particular emphasis on entrepreneurial skills through these master classes and seminars. It also incorporates a real-to-life rehearsal and performance schedule as part of its training program. Mentors have included Pinchas Zukerman
, Richard Roberts, Anton Kuerti
, Richard Dorsey, Alain Trudel
, Lara St. John
, Jens Lindemann
, Jean-Norman Iadeluca, Jacques Israelvitch, Mark Skazinetsky, and Walter Prystawski
. Guest conductors of the NAO have included Zukerman, Trudel, Brian Jackson, Raffi Armenian
, Daniel Lipton and Stephen Mercurio. Artistic advisors and composers-in-residence have included Gary Kulesha
, Omar Daniel
, Alexina Louie
, Srul Irving Glick
and Kelly-Marie Murphy.
, based in Miami, Florida
.
Graduates from the National Academy Orchestra hold, or have held positions with virtually every major orchestra across Canada (e.g. Toronto Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony
, Symphony Nova Scotia
, Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra
, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
, Edmonton Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
) and orchestras across North America and around the world. Many form their own ensembles, go on to be teachers or entrepreneurs across the country.
and an audience of 800,000 as part of World Youth Day 2002
celebrations in Toronto. On August 23, 2007, the NAO performed Mahler's Symphony No. 8 "Symphony of a Thousand"
to a sold-out audience at Hamilton Place's Great Hall. It was only the eighth performance of the massive work in Canadian history and was the summer finale to the 20th anniversary season of the Brott Music Festival.
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, Canada. Founded in 1989 by conductor Boris Brott
Boris Brott
Boris Brott, OC, O.Ont is a Canadian conductor and motivational speaker.Born in Montreal, the son of violinist and composer Alexander Brott and cellist Lotte Brott, and brother of cellist Denis Brott....
, it is recognized as a Canadian National School for professional training, and each winter over 400 potential apprentices audition from across Canada for a spot in the orchestra.
The National Academy Orchestra is the orchestra-in-residence—for 16 to 20 weeks—of the 20 year-old Brott Music Festival, Canada's largest orchestral music festival. Young musicians between the ages of 18 and 30 who are studying or are recent graduates of a music program are eligible to apply and audition for one of 45 spots in the annual program.
Training approach
The program is based on the Mentor-Apprentice approach to learning, and successful applicants are paired in the stands with established professionals from North America's finest orchestras including the TorontoToronto Symphony Orchestra
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario.-History:The TSO was founded in 1922 as the New Symphony Orchestra, and gave its first concert at Massey Hall in April 1923. The orchestra changed its name to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1927. The TSO...
, Montreal
Montreal Symphony Orchestra
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal is a symphony orchestra based in Montréal, Québec, Canada, with Montréal's Place des Arts as its home.-History:...
, Vancouver
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra performing in Vancouver, British Columbia. Over 240,000 people attend its live performances each year. It was founded in 1930 and plays in 12 venues. Its home is the Orpheum theatre. With an annual operating budget of $9.5 million, it is the...
, Edmonton
Edmonton Symphony Orchestra
As the professional orchestra of Alberta's creative capital city, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra presents over 85 concerts a year of symphonic music in all genres, from classical to country...
, National Arts Centre
National Arts Centre Orchestra
The National Arts Centre Orchestra is an orchestra in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada's capital. It is a classically-sized ensemble currently conducted by Pinchas Zukerman.-Description:Since 1998, Pinchas Zukerman has been the Music Director. Mario Bernardi C.C...
and Canadian Opera Company Orchestra to name a few.
Each season features guest concertmasters and mentors from across the country, guest conductors, and master class
Master class
A master class is a class given to students of a particular discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also painting, drama, or any of the arts....
es with internationally-renowned soloists. The performance opportunities range from orchestral, chamber, to solo performance. These are not the only aspect of the NAO's activities - the orchestra also takes part in mock auditions, seminars, and performance classes. The season begins with an intense six-week chamber music session where weekly concerts are coached and prepared by some of Canada's finest pedagogues.
The NAO places particular emphasis on entrepreneurial skills through these master classes and seminars. It also incorporates a real-to-life rehearsal and performance schedule as part of its training program. Mentors have included Pinchas Zukerman
Pinchas Zukerman
Pinchas Zukerman is a world-renowned violinist, violist, and conductor. He is considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th and 21st centuries, and his ongoing 45-year career has seen him perform with the world's best-known orchestras and record over 100 works...
, Richard Roberts, Anton Kuerti
Anton Kuerti
Anton Kuerti, OC is an Austrian-born Canadian pianist, music teacher, composer, and conductor. Since his performance of the Grieg Piano Concerto with the Boston Pops Orchestra at age 11, he has developed international recognition as a solo pianist, particularly focusing on the works of Beethoven...
, Richard Dorsey, Alain Trudel
Alain Trudel
Alain Trudel is a Canadian musician, composer and conductor. He began his career playing the trombone, but has more recently turned to conducting....
, Lara St. John
Lara St. John
Lara St. John is a Canadian violinist known for her performances as soloist with orchestra and in recital.-Childhood:Lara St. John spent her early childhood in the City of London, Ontario...
, Jens Lindemann
Jens Lindemann
Jens Lindemann is a Canadian trumpet soloist now based in Los Angeles. As a trumpet player in the Canadian Brass from 1996 to 2001 he played at major concert venues all over the world...
, Jean-Norman Iadeluca, Jacques Israelvitch, Mark Skazinetsky, and Walter Prystawski
Walter Prystawski
Walter Prystawski, CM is a Canadian violinist.Prystawski studied at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto and with Austrian violinist Wolfgang Schneiderhan....
. Guest conductors of the NAO have included Zukerman, Trudel, Brian Jackson, Raffi Armenian
Raffi Armenian
Raffi Armenian, CM is an Armenian-Canadian conductor, pianist, composer, and teacher. Since 2008 he has been the director of the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal....
, Daniel Lipton and Stephen Mercurio. Artistic advisors and composers-in-residence have included Gary Kulesha
Gary Kulesha
Gary Kulesha is a Canadian composer, pianist, conductor, and educator. Since 1995, he has been Composer Advisor to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. He has been Composer-in-Residence with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and the Canadian Opera Company . He was awarded the National Arts Centre...
, Omar Daniel
Omar Daniel
Omar Daniel is a Canadian composer and pianist of Estonian descent. In 1997 he won the Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music for his Zwei Lieder nach Rilke, a work for soprano and chamber ensemble, and in 2007 he received the K.M. Hunter Artists Award for classical music...
, Alexina Louie
Alexina Louie
Alexina Louie, OC, FRSC is a Canadian composer of Chinese descent who has written many pieces for orchestra, as well as pieces for solo piano.-Biography:Alexina Louie was born in Vancouver and received an...
, Srul Irving Glick
Srul Irving Glick
Srul Irving Glick, CM was a Canadian composer, radio producer, conductor, and teacher.Born in Toronto, Ontario, he received a Bachelor of Music from the University of Toronto 1955, and a Masters of Music , honorary FRCCO...
and Kelly-Marie Murphy.
Similarity to New World Orchestra
The NAO is the only program of its kind in Canada. The only other similar program is the New World Orchestra under Michael Tilson ThomasMichael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is currently music director of the San Francisco Symphony, and artistic director of the New World Symphony Orchestra.-Early years:...
, based in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
.
Graduates
Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony
The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony is a Canadian orchestra based in the twin cities of Kitchener and Waterloo, Ontario. Its home venue is Centre In The Square in Kitchener, Ontario. Music Directors and Principal Conductors have included Raffi Armenian , Chosei Komatsu , Martin Fischer-Dieskau and...
, Symphony Nova Scotia
Symphony Nova Scotia
Symphony Nova Scotia is a professional orchestra based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.Symphony Nova Scotia traces its origins back to several different orchestras, including the Halifax Symphony , the Halifax Sinfoniette , and the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra . Its current structure began in 1983...
, Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra
Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra
The Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra is a professional orchestra based in the Community Auditorium in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. It was founded on 29 November 1960 as the Lakehead Symphony Orchestra, debuting at the Lakeview High School auditorium...
, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Its primary concert venue is the Centennial Concert Hall, and the orchestra also performs throughout the province of Manitoba.-History:...
, Edmonton Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra, based in Calgary, Alberta. The orchestra gives the majority of its performances in the Jack Singer Concert Hall of the EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts...
) and orchestras across North America and around the world. Many form their own ensembles, go on to be teachers or entrepreneurs across the country.
Performance highlights
In July 2002, the NAO was invited to perform for Pope John Paul IIPope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
and an audience of 800,000 as part of World Youth Day 2002
World Youth Day 2002
The 17th World Youth Day 2002 was a Catholic youth festival held from July 23 to July 28, 2002 in Toronto, Canada. World Youth Day is a celebration of faith begun by Pope John Paul II held on an international level every two to three years, and WYD2002 was the tenth such event. It was also Pope...
celebrations in Toronto. On August 23, 2007, the NAO performed Mahler's Symphony No. 8 "Symphony of a Thousand"
Symphony No. 8 (Mahler)
The Symphony No. 8 in E-flat major by Gustav Mahler is one of the largest-scale choral works in the classical concert repertoire. Because it requires huge instrumental and vocal forces it is frequently called the "Symphony of a Thousand", although the work is often performed with fewer than a...
to a sold-out audience at Hamilton Place's Great Hall. It was only the eighth performance of the massive work in Canadian history and was the summer finale to the 20th anniversary season of the Brott Music Festival.