The NAC Orchestra and The Glenn Gould Foundation Celebrate The Genius of Philip Glass

On Saturday, November 26, iconic American composer Philip Glass will be awarded The Eleventh Glenn Gould Prize at an exclusive concert in his honour, presented by The Glenn Gould Foundation and the NAC Orchestra. The Genius of Philip Glass features the NAC Orchestra led by guest conductor Dennis Russell Davies performing a concert of music spanning the legendary composer's career.

The concert salutes Glass with performances of his symphonic works, including the stunning, Symphony No. 2, as well as his works for chamber ensemble and solo piano.

A prolific artist, Glass has been called "the first composer to win a wide, multi-generational audience in the opera house, the concert hall, the dance world, in film and in popular music - simultaneously" by Ted Page his biographer.

Born in Baltimore in 1937, Glass is regarded as one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. A respected composer with a huge output, his early work is associated with the minimalist movement, although he considers himself a composer of "music with repetitive structures." A self-described "classicist," Glass trained in harmony and counterpoint with French composer, conductor and teacher Nadia Boulanger.

The Glenn Gould Foundation is pleased to announce that Philip Glass has selected the gifted young American composer and pianist Timo Andres as the recipient of The City of Toronto Glenn Gould Protégé Prize of $15,000 (CAD). As part of The Glenn Gould Prize, each Laureate receives $100,000 (CAD) and selects an outstanding young artist who shows the promise of an exceptional lifetime contribution to enriching the human condition through the arts, such as that exhibited by the young Glenn Gould. Andres has received commissions from Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Carnegie Hall, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and as a pianist, he has performed solo recitals for Lincoln Center and Wigmore Hall. Mr. Andres will perform in the November 26 concert, and will be presented with the Protégé Prize by Philip Glass.

"I've known Timo Andres for the last 4-5 years, both as a composer and performer . . . He combines a brilliant compositional mind with a wonderful sense of interpretation of music. I am very pleased to have him present in this very special way at this concert," said Philip Glass.

Tickets to The Genius of Philip Glass go on sale Tuesday, September 6 at 10 a.m. Don't miss this unique event and exhilarating performance, Saturday, November 26 at 8 p.m. at the National Arts Centre. Tickets start at $25 and are available online at Nac-cna.ca.

ABOUT Philip Glass

Through his operas, symphonies, film scores, compositions for ensembles, and wide-ranging collaborations with artists from many disciplines, American composer Philip Glass has had an extraordinary impact on the musical, artistic and intellectual life of his times. A prolific and respected composer, his early work is associated with the minimalist movement, although Glass preferred to speak of himself as a composer of "music with repetitive structures." He has written a large collection of new music for the Philip Glass Ensemble, which he founded in the late 1960s and with which he still performs on keyboards. His operas, including one of his best known works, the landMark Einstein on the Beach, along with Satyagraha, Akhnaten, and The Voyagehave played throughout the world's major opera houses. His repertoire includes music for dance, opera, chamber ensemble, orchestra, experimental theatre and film, including the Academy Award-winning The Hours for which he received a Best Score nomination, and the iconic Koyaanisqatsi. Since the 1960s, Glass has collaborated with artists from pop, rock and world music plus the worlds of dance and film including Twyla Tharp, Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, Paul Simon, Kronos Quartet, David Byrne, Mick Jagger, Ravi Shankar, Laurie Anderson, Robert Wilson, Lucinda Childs and Yo-Yo Ma, to name a few, garnering him a wide, multi-generational audience.

ABOUT THE GLENN GOULD FOUNDATION

The Glenn Gould Foundation honours Glenn Gould's spirit and legacy by celebrating brilliance, promoting creativity and transforming lives through the power of music and the arts with the Foundation's signature activities, including The Glenn Gould Prize. An international symbol of creative excellence, The Glenn Gould Prize - which has been referred to as "The Nobel Prize of the Arts" - is awarded biennially to a living individual for a unique lifetime contribution that has enriched the human condition through the arts. Prize laureates include Philip Glass (2015), Robert Lepage (2013), Leonard Cohen (2011), Dr. José Antonio Abreu (2008) founder of El Sistema, Pierre Boulez (2002), Yo-Yo Ma (1999), Oscar Peterson (1993) and Lord Yehudi Menuhin (1990). For more information visit www.glenngould.ca, follow us on Facebook: TheGlennGouldFoundation or Twitter: @GlennGouldFndn.

ABOUT THE NAC ORCHESTRA

In September 2015 Alexander Shelley began his tenure as Music Director with theNational Arts Centre's Orchestra. Shelley has an unwavering reputation as one of Europe's leading young conductors, notably as Chief conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra and most recently as the Principal Associate Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Formed in 1969 at the opening of Canada's National Arts Centre, the NAC Orchestra gives over 100 performances a year with renowned artists including Itzhak Perlman, Renée Fleming, James Ehnes, Emanuel Ax and Yo-Yo Ma. It is noted for the passion and clarity of its performances and recordings, its ground-breaking teaching and outreach programs, and nurturing of Canadian creativity. In addition to a full series of subscription concerts at the National Arts Centre each season, tours are undertaken to regions throughout Canada and around the world.

Since its inception the Orchestra has commissioned 80 works, mostly from Canadian composers. In 2001 it inaugurated the National Arts Centre Awards for Canadian Composers and the recipients thus far have been Denys Bouliane, John Estacio, Peter Paul Koprowski, Gary Kulesha, Alexina Louie and Ana Sokolovic.

Previous NAC Orchestra Music Directors include Pinchas Zukerman, Mario Bernardi and Trevor Pinnock. The 2015-16 season features Principal Guest Conductor John Storgårds, Alain Trudel as Principal Youth and Family Conductor and Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly completing the strong artistic team.

In 1999, Pinchas Zukerman founded the NAC Young Artists Program, part of the wider NAC Summer Music Institute, which provides elite training to talented young musicians. Students all over the world are also taught via videoconferencing in the NAC's cutting-edge Hexagon Studio. The NAC Orchestra also created and continues to pioneer education work locally and in indigenous communities in northern Canada.

The NAC Orchestra has made over 40 commercial recordings, including Angela Hewitt's 2014 Juno Award-winning album of Mozart Piano Concertos conducted by Hannu Lintu, and its recent release on Montreal-based label Analekta of Brahms Symphony 4 and Double Concerto, and the forthcoming Baroque Treasury. Many more concerts are freely available through NACmusicbox.ca on the NAC's performing arts education website ArtsAlive.ca. These include many of the 100 new Canadian works commissioned by the NAC Orchestra in its 45 year history.

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