NACO, May 10: Eugene Levy - Music and Humour: TD Canada Trust Family Adventures

Ottawa (Canada) – Canada’s own crazy comedian Eugene Levy joins the National Arts Centre Orchestra for Music and Humour, the final TD Canada Trust Family Adventures concerts of the season on Saturday, May 10 at 13:30 and 15:30 in the afternoon. Eugene Levy and Principal Youth and Family Conductor Boris Brott, with the help of Ottawa actor Pierre Brault, pianist Gabriel Thibaudeau, and the Bangers and Smash percussion duo, will take the NAC Orchestra on a romp through the funny side of music. Meet the many composers who had a well developed funny bone in a concert that will leave you in hysterics! The one-hour bilingual TD Canada Trust Family Adventures with the NAC Orchestra are perfect for kids 5 and up, and their grown-up friends

The concert ticket includes “TUNETOWN”, pre-concert activities in the NAC Foyer organized by Friends of the NAC Orchestra 45 minutes prior to each concert, beginning at 12:45 for the first concert and 14:45 for the second concert. Activities on May 10 include a percussion instrument petting zoo led by students from the Ottawa Youth Orchestra and the University of Ottawa; a display of humorous books from the Ottawa Public Library; a Tongue-Twister bowl; comedy improvisation with the students of Lisgar Collegiate Institute’s Improv Team; a sing-along of funny songs with Music for Young Children; a display of Chuckle Bros cartoons with NACO violinist Brian Boychuk, and a craft station where kids can make their own hippo pencil toppers.

Eugene Levy was one of the founding members of Second City (SCTV) and has appeared as supporting actor in a long string of movies including the American Pie series, three Christopher Guest “mockumentaries” which he co-wrote – A Mighty Wind, Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show – and four movies with Steve Martin including Father of the Bride. He has been inducted twice into the Canadian Walk of Fame – both as a member of SCTV in 2002 and solo in 2006 – and one week prior to the NAC Orchestra concert he is being honoured for Lifetime Achievement at the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards at the NAC where his longtime friend Martin Short will be his presenter.

The concert includes musical selections from Haydn’s Surprise Symphony; Leroy Anderson’s The Waltzing Cat; Big Business both written and performed by pianist Gabriel Thibaudeau, and themes from Hockey Night in Canada and The Simpsons. John Serry’s Waltz will be performed on percussion by Bangers and Smash, and Leopold Mozart’s Toy Symphony will be performed with the help of some young members of the audience. Eugene Levy together with Pierre Brault will provide the hilarious baseball sportscasting for Peter Schikele’s famous take on Beethoven’s Fifth. The concert will also incorporate cartoons by the NAC Orchestra’s own funnyman Brian Boychuk of the internationally syndicated Chuckle Bros comic strip.

All TD Canada Trust Family Adventures feature NACOtron presented in collaboration with Rogers Television. Five television cameras positioned on stage and in the hall capture live video images of the musicians while they are performing, and these images are projected onto a giant screen above the stage allowing the audience to watch the action in close-up.

The Ottawa Citizen is the media partner of the TD Canada Trust Family Adventures with the NAC Orchestra.

Tickets for Music and Humour with Eugene Levy on Saturday, May 10 at 13:30 and 15:30, including TuneTown Pre-Concert Activities, are $12.00 for children and $20.00 for adults (including GST and Facility Fee where applicable). They are on sale now at the NAC Box Office (Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 21:00), and through Ticketmaster (with surcharges) at 613-755-1111. Visit the National Arts Centre’s web site at www.nac-cna.ca.

Groups of 10 and more save 15% to 20% off the regular price of tickets to NAC Music, Theatre and Dance performances. To reserve your seats call 613-947-7000 ext. 384 or email grp@nac-cna.ca.

J.S. Bach Meets the Great Glenn Gould at the next TD Canada Trust Family Adventures with the NAC Orchestra conducted by Boris Brott on February 9

Ottawa (Canada) - The TD Canada Trust Family Adventures with the National Arts Centre Orchestra series continues on Saturday, February 9 with J.S. Bach Meets the Great Glenn Gould at 13:30 and 15:30 in the afternoon with pre-concert activities in TuneTown beginning 45 minutes prior to each concert. Principal Youth and Family Conductor Boris Brott returns to the podium for the bilingual concerts which are perfect for kids 5 and up, and their grown-up friends. He is joined by the brilliant young Calgary pianist Jan Lisiecki, Ottawa's fiddling sensation Sarah Burnell and the Sarah Burnell Band, Stellae Boreales (SuzukiMusic senior string ensemble), organist Thomas Annand, and the Christ Church Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys.

Johann Sebastian Bach (performed by actor Luc Thériault) visits the NAC Orchestra to tell you about his life and times, and of course his music. Audiences will hear musical excerpts from Bach's Magnificat, Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring and the B-Minor Mass performed by the Christ Church Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys; the Suite No. 2 featuring flutist Camille Churchfield; as well as the Brandenburg Concerto No. 5.and Concerto for Two Violins in D minor featuring Stellae Boreales. Star fiddler Sarah Burnell and her ensemble improvise on the Orchestral Suite No. 3. Jan Lisiecki, the 12-year-old piano prodigy who studies at Calgary's Mount Royal College Conservatory and has participated in the NAC Young Artists Programme, has already performed three times with the NAC Orchestra including this series, Canada Day celebrations, and the prestigious 2006 NAC Gala. He will perform Bach's Goldberg Variations as well as the Keyboard Concerto in B-flat major by Bach's son Johann Christian Bach. The concert includes a special appearance on the giant NACOtron screen by Glenn Gould, the legendary Canadian pianist and Bach specialist.

The concert ticket includes "TuneTown", pre-concert activities in the NAC Foyer organized by Friends of the NAC Orchestra 45 minutes prior to each concert, beginning at 12:45 for the first concert and 14:45 for the second concert. The activities and community partners for J.S. Bach Meets the Great Glenn Gould include short recitals by students of the Ontario Registered Music Teachers Association; an Ottawa Public Library book display; a demonstration of how pianos are constructed and tuned with NACO piano tuner Don Côté; a percussion demo with Music for Young Children; an info booth with the Christ Church Cathedral Men & Boys Choir; a craft station to make Bach and Glenn Gould ID tags; an instrument petting zoo with stringed instruments, and a chance for subscribers to meet "Boris the Explorer". After the concert, the audience also has the chance to meet fiddler Sarah Burnell in the Foyer.

All TD Canada Trust Family Adventures feature NACOtron presented in collaboration with Rogers Television. Five television cameras positioned on stage and in the hall capture live video images of the musicians while they are performing, and these images are projected onto a giant screen above the stage allowing the audience to watch the action in close-up.

The Ottawa Citizen is the media partner of the TD Canada Trust Family Adventures with the NAC Orchestra.

Tickets for J.S. Bach Meets the Great Glenn Gould on Saturday, February 9 at 13:30 and 15:30, including TuneTown Pre-Concert Activities, are $12.00 for children and $20.00 for adults (including GST and Facility Fee where applicable) and are on sale now at the NAC Box Office (Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 21:00), and through Ticketmaster (with surcharges) at 613-755-1111. Visit the National Arts Centre's web site at www.nac-cna.ca.

Groups of 10 and more save 15% to 20% off the regular price of tickets to NAC Music, Theatre and Dance performances. To reserve your seats call 613-947-7000 ext. 384 or email grp@nac-cna.ca.

- 30 -

Jane Morris

Communications Officer/Agente de communication

National Arts Centre Orchestra/Orchestre du Centre national des Arts

Telephone/Téléphone: 613-947-7000 x 335

Fax: 613-996-2828

www.nac-cna.ca

www.artsalive.ca

Boris Brott conducts Beethoven at famed Italian concert hall

December 19, 2007

For immediate release

Boris Brott conducts Beethoven at famed Italian concert hall

VERONA, ITALY –Boris Brott becomes the first Canadian to conduct the world famous Arena di Verona orchestra and choir - totalling more than 200 singers and musicians – when he takes to the podium to perform Beethoven's Ninth Symphony this weekend.

The Arena di Verona – built in 30 AD – is one of the best preserved amphitheatres in the world and has become renowned for opera performances by legends like Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi. Brott's performances will take place in the Teatro Filharmonico – the winter venue of the Arena's orchestra, opera and ballet companies.

"It's a thrill to make music here," says Brott. "Musicians here are so physically passionate about their music and they capture the true spirit of the work and share that with each other, the conductor and the audience."

A choir of 120 singers and orchestra of 90 players will be joined by international soloists Anna Katharina Behnk (soprano), Annely Peebo (mezzo), Kurt Azesberger (tenor) and Manfred Hemm (bass).

The performances of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 "Choral" in D minor, op. 125 take place on Saturday Dec. 22 and 23, 2007. Much like Handel's Messiah, Beethoven's Ninth is an annual Christmas musical tradition, particularly in Europe and Japan.

-30-

For more information

Mary Pat Elliott

Community Relations, Brott Music '07

905.525.7664 x.10 or cell 905.512.3789