Fallen Canadian soldiers Nathan Cirillo, Patrice Vincent honoured at U.K. concert
Prince Charles to attend National Arts Centre Orchestra's U.K. performance
A joint performance Monday by Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra and London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra will be dedicated to the memories of two Canadian soldiers killed on the home front last week.
- Nathan Cirillo honoured by Canadian orchestra on U.K. remembrance tour
- Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra heads to U.K. for remembrance tour
Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, 24, was standing guard in front of the National War Memorial in Ottawa on Wednesday when he was gunned down by a man wielding a rifle. Moments later, his attacker, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, stormed the Centre Block of Parliament before being killed by Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers.
Two days earlier, a targeted hit-and-run attack in a parking lot in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., ended in the death of 53-year-old Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent.
- Patrice Vincent, soldier killed in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, was 28-year veteran
- Cpl. Nathan Cirillo: How to watch the funeral
The London concert featuring the two orchestras is part of a U.K. tour to commemorate the arrival of the first Canadian soldiers to serve in the First World War in the U.K. in October 1914. The decision to dedicate it to Cirillo and Vincent was made shortly after the attacks took place last week.
The performance will be attended by Prince Charles, the royal patron of the NAC Orchestra's U.K. tour.
As part of the tour, members of the NAC Orchestra also performed in front of a memorial dedicated to fallen Canadian soldiers in central London.
Later in the week the group will give a concert in Salisbury, where thousands of Canadian soldiers trained during WWI. The concert will be broadcast later as part of CBC's Remembrance Day coverage.