Canada's NAC Orchestra begins its season online after coronavirus-related delays
Soprano Jonelle Sills and guitarist Christ Habib will make their debuts with the orchestra on Oct. 31
The coronavirus pandemic has forced orchestras across Canada to scrap their carefully planned concert seasons and act quickly to come up with alternatives.
Earlier in the pandemic, Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra began several online series, including NACO Lunch Breaks and Musically Speaking with Alexander Shelley — the former featuring at-home performances by individual orchestra members and special guests; the latter presenting artists in conversation with the NAC Orchestra's music director.
But the orchestra itself has not been able to convene for concerts, until now.
After setbacks necessitated by the coronavirus's second wave, the NAC Orchestra is now ready to return to the stage for a revised season of live streamed concerts from Southam Hall featuring soloists drawn from CBC Music's annual classical "30 under 30" list.
"These concerts will celebrate the genuine diversity that is alive and flourishing in classical music, they amplify composers from historically excluded communities, and showcase the next generation of Canadian performers," explains Shelley via press release. "It will also bring to the fore trailblazing Canadian composers of the recent past and of today."
Originally announced for Oct. 17, the opening concert in the series will now take place on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 8 p.m. ET, and will feature soprano Jonelle Sills and guitarist Christ Habib making their NAC Orchestra debuts under Shelley's direction. While there will be no audience in attendance, the public is invited to stream the concert free of charge on the NAC's website.
A celebration of Canadian and American composers, the program will include Samuel Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915 and Jacques Hétu's Concerto for Guitar and Strings, with soloists Sills and Habib, respectively. Works by Jocelyn Morlock, Jessie Montgomery, Carlos Simon and George Walker will round out the program.
Upcoming concerts in the series will feature "30 under 30" soloists Hillary Simms (trombonist) and Duncan McDougall (violinist).