ENSEMBLE BIO
Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra is a world-class ensemble of outstanding musicians from across Canada and around the world, under the inspiring leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley. Formed in 1969, the NAC Orchestra gives over 100 performances a year in Ottawa, across Canada, and around the globe, working with diverse artists of international renown, and reaching a wide audience through livestreams, recordings, and extensive education outreach. The Orchestra and Alexander Shelley are active in online teaching and in concert livestreams, enthusiastically championing the work of young Canadian artists, and the music of diverse composers from Canada and abroad.
Music Director Alexander Shelley (Photo Credit: Curtis Perry)
“One of the more audacious orchestras in North America”
The Orchestra breaks boundaries with its regular commissions of new works including the critically acclaimed Life Reflected (2016), and UNDISRUPTED (2021). Its commissions and recordings have won multiple JUNO Awards – Canada’s highest honour in music. The Orchestra has a rich touring history, and in recent years has travelled to the United Kingdom, Europe, China, and across Canada. It made its long-awaited return to Carnegie Hall in April 2022.
Recordings
VIDEOS
Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra Orchestre du Centre national des Arts du Canada Alexander Shelley, Music Director | Directeur musical #NACOrchCNA #AlexanderShelley
In this six-part video series, NAC Orchestra Music Director Alexander Shelley teaches the basics of conducting technique.
Maestro Alexander Shelley, Music Director, Conductor of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, reacts to 4 acclaimed depictions of conductors in film and television.
Co-commissioned by several orchestras including the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis composed his Tuba Concerto in 2021.