Paul Lang informs me, as I step into his office at the National Gallery, that I was the first journalist he spoke with when he came to Canada in 2011, and would now be the last. Both interviews — and several in between — were
It doesn’t get much more traditional at the symphony than a program of Brahms and Schumann. But far from being staid, Wednesday evening’s NACO concert showed how even the most conservative of repertoires can spark and sizzle over the hot coals of imagination and daring. At
The National Gallery of Canada was out of options when it decided to sell Marc Chagall's La Tour Eiffel to keep an unnamed national treasure in the country, Marc Mayer says. The gallery director said, in a hastily organized media scrum in the Great Hall on
In 14 years leading the Victoria Symphony in the B.C. capital, Tania Miller commissioned more than 75 original works of music. It is an impressive number for someone who didn't start out with a conducting career in mind. She has ended her time in Victoria and for
Marc Chagall’s La Tour Eiffel is a wonderful little painting, I trust. I don’t recall seeing it on any of my many visits to the National Gallery of Canada over the years, so if I have seen it, it never struck me as unforgettable or,
Composers write the music and the musicians play it. That's the standard formula, but musicians take on another role more often that you think by commissioning new work and advancing the art form. One such commissioning musician is Rachel Mercer who sits in the principal cello
The Motown legend Diana Ross will be performing at this fall's NAC Gala on behalf of the National Youth and Education Trust which provides youth and education programming across the country. It also supports masterclasses, online activities and youth programming for dance and theatre, as well
By Jordan Omstead A young Ottawa band is looking to bring new life to a timeless genre, and their biggest stage to date will come this summer at RBC Ottawa Bluesfest. Joe McDonald and the Walkin’ Hawks will debut as a blues trio on July 14 at
Ottawa is finally, formally, on the road toward becoming a "a global music city." The impetus is a report prepared by the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition that was developed with financial support from the City of Ottawa and was passed unanimously by council's finance committee on
Margaret Maria Tobolowska is a respected cellist, teacher and co-founder of Ottawa's OrKidstra. Since leaving the National Arts Centre Orchestra in 2011, along with teaching, she has embarked on a flurry of different projects including composing music and recording CDs. Her latest is an homage
