The musical group, which typically performs at the National Arts Centre in front of a paying audience, will instead perform on a free livestream. The program has been dubbed “Affairs of the Heart” and will feature a quintet of classical works.
Conductor Alexander Shelley has stated that the 2020-21 season will focus on highlighting underrepresented voices, and the premiere will highlight that focus with three works by female composers, including pioneering Canadian Violet Archer. The concert has been advertised as:
“A program with beautiful, contrasting moods showing the NAC Orchestra in all its virtuosity.”
The virtual concert will give spotlight roles to Hillary Simms performing the central role in Henri Tomasi’s Trombone Concerto, and violinist Duncan McDougall, a soloist in Marjan Mozetich’s Affairs of the Heart.
The NAC has been broadcasting concerts in multiple genres as part of its “Friday on the Four” series, and the orchestra plans further broadcasts of both the full orchestra and smaller groups. Virtual concerts like this have become common among all types of musicians, often using means like flyer printing and social media to encourage enthusiasts to tune in.
Affairs of the Heart will stream on the NAC website on October 31.