NACOcast: A Classical Music Podcast

In this episode of the NACOcast NAC Orchestra violinist Carissa Klopoushak interviews two founding violinists, Karoly Sziladi and Elaine Klimasko. They are joined by long time orchestra champion Evelyn Greenberg who was also the original harpsichordist and pianist of the orchestra. Together they share many wonderful memories, from first auditions to fifty years of touring and performing across Canada and the world. This episode of the NACOcast will transport you to the very beginning of this beloved orchestral family. Additional Resources: NACO at 50: Karoly Szilady’s journey full of musical memories NACO on Tour: On the road with the happy warrior Elaine Klimasko Musical memories: Evelyn Greenberg connects NACO and uOttawa The NAC celebrates our 50th anniversary all year long

In this archival episode of the NACOcast host Sean Rice, NAC Orchestra’s 2nd clarinetist, speaks with conductor Peter Oundjian weeks before his retirement as Music Director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 2018. They discuss Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony and Peter shares memories from his student days at The Juilliard School, his first encounter with Pinchas Zukerman and performing with the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

Sean Rice, NAC Orchestra 2nd clarinet, talks with Toronto-based Carrefour* Composer Ian Cusson. They talk about R. Murray Schaffer, Bulgarian women’s choirs, and unrelated studies at the University of Toronto before delving into his chosen career. During Ian’s two year Carrefour residency with the NAC Orchestra from 2017-2019, he was commissioned for two works which received premieres at that National Gallery of Canada and in Southam Hall: Where There’s a Wall for mezzo-soprano and sextet, which featured poetry by acclaimed Japanese-Canadian poet, Joy Kogawa, and Le Loup de Lafontaine, an orchestral suite based on a story from his home town. During this time, he was also jointly commissioned by the NAC Orchestra and the Canadian Opera Company for Dodo, mon tout petit, an aria for soprano and orchestra, which will be included as part of Harry Somers and Mavor Moore’s opera, Louis Riel. An Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre, Ian is currently the Composer-in-Residence for the Canadian Opera Company. * The Carrefour Composer Program is made possible by the Canada Council for the Arts.

In this archival episode from 2016, NACOcast host Sean Rice connects with composer and pianist Timo Andres whose works were performed by members of the NAC Orchestra as part the WolfGANG Sessions. During their conversation Andres discusses the inspiration and structure of his compositions Early to Rise and Safe Travels and describes himself as a very harmonic composer who is obsessed with compositional craft. Philip Glass selected Timo Andres as the recipient of The City of Toronto Glenn Gould Protégé Prize in 2016 and calls Andres as “a brilliant compositional mind with a wonderful sense of interpretation of music.”

Sean Rice, NAC Orchestra’s 2nd clarinetist, chats with Canadian violinist Blake Pouliot. At age fourteen Blake attended the NAC’s Young Artist Program and credits that experience for inspiring him to pursue a career in music. Sean and Blake discuss the pressures of music competitions, his relationship with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and Blake’s passion for French composers. Pouliot’s debut album for Analekta Records featuring works by Debussy and Ravel received a 2019 JUNO nomination for Best Classical Album.

Sean Rice, NAC Orchestra’s 2nd clarinetist, chats with JUNO Award-winning composer Vivian Fung on the occasion of NACO’s performance of her composition, Earworms. Discover when Sean and Vivian first met, what Vivian has been up to in her career and family life, and her inspiration for Earworms, which was commissioned by the NAC and premiered in Southam Hall, with Alexander Shelley, in March 2018. “Earworms… musically depicts our diverted attention spans and multi-tasking lives.”

December marks the start of the application process for the NAC’s annual Young Artist Program (Y.A.P). To highlight this wonderful training program, Charles ‘Chip’ Hamann, Principal Oboe, NAC Orchestra and YAP faculty member guest hosts this episode of the NACOcast. Chip speaks with members of the 2018 YAP Wind Program about their experience being immersed in music playing, masterclasses and networking with exceptional like-minded young artists.

Sean Rice, second clarinetist of the NAC Orchestra, and Jessica Holmes, Postdoctoral Scholar of Musicology, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) met in September 2018, in the middle of the 2018 Festival Focus which saw the NAC Orchestra perform all nine of Beethoven’s symphonies. Jessica, formerly a cello performance student, has spent the last few years focusing on music history, and her specialty is now Music and Disability, with a unique expertise in music and deafness. Very appropriate for a Beethoven festival, and for the current times. Jessica is working on a book tentatively titled Music and the Margins of Sense. Find out more in this fascinating podcast conversation!

Sean Rice, NAC Orchestra’s 2nd clarinetist, and NAC Music Director Alexander Shelley complete their three-episode series on Beethoven’s nine symphonies for the 2018 Beethoven Focus Festival. The seventh symphony’s funeral march starts off the conversation. The 1813 premiere of the work featured an encore of the funeral march. What made it so significant? The eighth symphony was “much better” in Beethoven’s opinion than the seventh. The harmonic architecture of its first movement is rather unusual for the day, while the next two movements are very classical. The short, quick and witty fourth movement harks back to the first movement. But the ninth… The ninth symphony is of a scale that he had never before undertaken. Sean Rice and Alexander Shelley discuss this marvelous work beginning by its last movement, and lay out the political climate in Vienna at the time, making a connection between the ninth and Beethoven’s influences. “Be embraced, you millions: this kiss is for the whole world”.

Sean Rice, 2nd clarinetist of the NAC Orchestra, and Alexander Shelley, NAC Music Director, discuss Ludwig van Beethoven’s first three symphonies, putting them in context with Mozart’s and Haydn’s large volume of works. Why are Beethoven’s symphonies so significant and important? The 2018 Festival Focus is the perfect opportunity for this discussion. The first symphony is deeply rooted in classical form, quite heavily influenced by Haydn’s teachings and Mozart’s works, with four movements mirroring the expected model and a few extra instruments. The chosen key structure is quite unique and signals Beethoven’s intention of veering off the standard course. The second symphony, written in the spa town of Heilegenstadt, came at the cathartic moment when Beethoven was showing signs of losing his hearing. The third symphony, “Eroica”, dedicated to Napoleon Bonaparte, was an important statement about the common man. Beethoven composed from the last movement to the first, outlining the journey towards a celebration of humanity. Sean and Alexander unravel some historic and musical stories within each of these symphonies, as we begin an exploration of the development of Beethoven through his nine symphonies.

“Every time a child passed through the station, the child wanted to stop, and every time, the adult with them pulled them along on their way.” Sean Rice interviews author Kathy Stinson, illustrator Dušan Petričić and composer Anne Dudley who all had a hand in creating the music performed by the NAC Orchestra’s telling of The Man With The Violin in December 2017. The book and the music were inspired by the real-life story of world-renown violinist Joshua Bell and the National Post's experiment on a January morning in Washington’s subway station.\n\n The Man with the Violin: Suite for Violin and Orchestra is a co-commission with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra. The work was premiered at the Kennedy Center, Washington D.C. in February 2017.

Sean Rice, second clarinetist of the NAC Orchestra, interviews the five apprentices who participated in the NAC's annual Institute for Orchestral Studies in the fall of 2017. They were: Alexander Volkov, violin Gabrielle Bouchard, violin Alisa Klebanov, viola Grace Sommer, cello Talia Hatcher, double bass The Institute for Orchestral Studies (IOS) is an apprenticeship program designed to prepare highly talented young musicians towards successful orchestral careers. It was established in 2006 under the guidance of former Music Director Pinchas Zukerman, and is funded by the National Arts Centre Foundation through the National Youth and Education Trust. Apprentices take a seat in regular NAC Orchestra rehearsals and performances, and get private lessons, coaching and mentorship throughout their apprenticeship.