National Youth Orchestra of Canada Kicks Off Tour 7/24

In a week, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada's (NYOC) TD Music 50th Anniversary National Tour will be underway! With Maestro Jacques Lacombe at the podium, this three-week venture commences July 24 in London, Ontario, and wraps up August 14 in Edmonton, and includes a visit to the west coast for the first time in five years. This tour follows the NYOC's training period, currently in session in London, Ontario.

World-renowned Canadian tenor, Ben Heppner, will perform at the NYOC's Stratford concert on July 25th. NYOC's Composer-in-Residence, Kati Agocs, will also be featured on the tour; her commissioned work, Perpetual Summer, will receive its world premiere July 28th at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Another Canadian composer, the late Jacques Hétu, will be represented with his work Sur les rives du Saint-Maurice - a work dedicated to Maestro Lacombe.

The NYOC's four self-presented concerts take place at the following cities. All concert except Toronto's are entry by donation, or with a $20 CD purchase.
London, Ontario: July 24 at 7:30, Alumni Hall. www. music.uwo.ca
Kingston, Ontario: July 26 at 7:30, Kingston Gospel Temple. www. kgtchurch.org
Montreal, Quebec: July 20 at 7:30 PM, Notre-Dame Basilica. www.basiliquenddm.org
Toronto, Ontario: August 3 at 8:00 PM, Koerner Hall. Tickets: $40-$20. www.rcmusic.ca

Repertoire for London, Kingston, and Toronto dates: Dukas' "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"; Hétu's Sur les rives du Saint-Maurice; Ravel's La Valse; and Stravinsky's Petrouchka (1947 version).

Repertoire for Montreal date: Shostakovich's Festive Overture; Canadian composer Kati Agocs' Perpetual Summer (commission); R. Strauss' Don Juan; and Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade.

The rest of the tour includes stops in the following cities:
July 25 at 7:30 PM, Stratford, Ontario: Grace Presbyterian Church. Special programme with Ben Heppner.
July 28 at 7:30 PM, Ottawa Ontario: National Arts Centre
August 1 at 7:30 PM, Mont Tremblant, Quebec: Église St.-Jovite
August 5 at 7:30 PM, Nanaimo, BC: Port Theatre
August 8 at 3:00 PM, Vancouver, BC: Chan Centre
August 10 at 6:30 PM, Kelowna, BC: Rotary Centre for the Arts
August 14 at 7:30 PM, Edmonton, AB: Winspear Centre

The National Youth Orchestra of Canada is Canada's advanced orchestral training institute for musicians ages 16 to 28. Its mission is to educate, elevate, and empower Canada's most gifted young orchestral musicians. Forty percent of Canada's professional orchestral musicians are alumni of the NYOC. Over the years, the reviews and praise bestowed on the NYOC have been nothing short of amazing. The NYOC was awarded the prestigious title, "the best youth orchestra in the world" at the World Youth Orchestra Conference in Tokyo. In 2010, the NYOC received a JUNO nomination for its 2009 CD/DVD in the category of Classical Album: Large Ensemble or Soloist.

For more information and ticket purchase information, please visit http://www.nyoc.org

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