NACO, July 7-9: NAC Orchestra workshops works-in-progress by seven Canadian composers

Summary: The National Arts Centre Orchestra conducted by Gary Kulesha will workshop new pieces by seven Canadian composers in three different Repertoire Readings from Tuesday, July 7 to Thursday, July 9 at 11 a.m. in Rehearsal Hall B of the National Arts Centre.

The National Arts Centre Orchestra conducted by Gary Kulesha will workshop new pieces by seven Canadian composers in three different Repertoire Readings from Tuesday, July 7 to Thursday, July 9 at 11 a.m. in Rehearsal Hall B of the National Arts Centre. Admission is free and no tickets are required. Admittance to Rehearsal Hall B is via the Stage Door which is on the canal side of the NAC near the ramp under the Slater Bridge.

On Tuesday, July 7, the two works to be heard are Topographie d’un Lieu Imaginaire by Nicolas Gilbert and Rorate coeli for string orchestra by Norbert Palej.

Nicolas Gilbert has composed some 30 works that have been performed in over 15 countries around the world. His numerous awards include the 2008 “Composer of the year” Opus Prize awarded by the Quebec Music Council and eight SOCAN Awards. Topographie was premiered by the Polish Radio Orchestra in June 2006.

Norbert Palej is Assistant Professor of music composition at the University of Toronto. His awards include the Toru Takemitsu Award from the Japan Society in Boston and the Benjamin Britten Memorial Fellowship for the Tanglewood 2000 season, and his works have been performed in Canada, USA, Poland, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Great Britain, and Costa Rica. Currently, he is completing a percussion concerto for Dame Evelyn Glennie, commissioned by Timothy Reynish.

On Wednesday, July 8, you can hear Maya Badian’s Orchestral Arches and Gary Kulesha’s The Rose.

Ottawa-based composr Maya Badian has more than 100 published compositions to her name, and her book titled 100 Canadian Composers from Atlantic to Pacific has become a primary reference worldwide, and she is also the subject of a book by Fred Popovici published in Romania in 2003, and then successfully launched internationally: Maya Badian, Her Life and Her Music - A Privilege to Soar.

Gary Kulesha is one of Canada’s most active and most visible composers and is also a pianist, conductor, and teacher. His music has been commissioned, performed, and recorded by musicians and ensembles all over the world including three recent works for the NAC Orchestra as one of the NAC Award Composers. He is a member of the faculty of the NAC Summer Music Institute as Lead Composer of the Composers Program.

On Thursday, July 9, the final session presents Jordan Pal’s On the Double: Concert Overture for Orchestra, Curtis Perry’s Nausicaä, and Mark Nerenberg’s Piece for String Orchestra.

Toronto composer Jordan Pal is completing his doctorate in composition at the University of Toronto, under Gary Kulesha. His work, which has been commissioned and performed by some of Canada’s leading orchestras and ensembles, includes a commission for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in celebration of the 2010 Winter Olympics and a commission from the NAC in celebration of UNESCO’s International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World.

Kanata-born Curtis Perry is delighted by the opportunity to hear his first orchestral score, Nausicaä, performed by the NAC Orchestra. A senior undergraduate at Carleton University, he made his debut as a composer at a New Music in New Places concert held at Maxwell’s Bistro on Elgin Street in March 2008. He has received honourable mentions from the Toronto Amadeus Choir (2008) and the Canadian University Music Society (2009).

Originally from Edmonton, Mark Nerenberg currently resides in Toronto where he is working towards a D.M.A. in Composition. His compositions encompass a wide range of styles, genres, and techniques, including instrumental music, electronic music and collaborative multimedia works. Mark’s music has been performed in Canada, the United States, and Europe and recently his Piano Trio No. 1 was awarded the inaugural composition prize at the Scotia Festival of Music.

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