The music, and the audience, return to 'transform' the NAC

The joy of sharing music returned to the National Arts Centre Friday night in Ottawa.

TheNAC Orchestra (NACO) kicked off its 2021-22 season in front of close to 300 physically distancedbut delightedaudience members who have waited18 months to take their seatsin Southam Hall.

Musicians have cravedthe communal live music experiencethroughout the pandemic, according toNACO music director Alexander Shelley.

"What we've missed most is the direct contact with the audience in the hall," said Shelley,who described the relationship as a circle.

"It transforms a performance.If we play something we feel the feedback of the audience, we sense their engagement ... we've missed it."

Live performances do require orchestra members to wear masks andthey are spaced across the stage.

The physical distance betweenthe conductor and other musicians, who typically sit close to hear each other and shareeye contact,has posed new challenges for the ensemble.

"A lot of the instincts and the intuition that musicians have spent tens of thousands of hours honing and developing, they can no longer rely on," said Shelley.

"They need to use different skills, looking more and guessing more."

Singers heard, but not seen

The members of Studio de musique ancienne de Montral, a choral group directed by Andrew McAnerny, also stood two metres apart onthe hall's highest balcony, peering down on the stage far below for direction.

"It's an interesting place to sing from," said McAnernyof the vertigo-inducingperch.

"You are very high up and you're looking straight down.Shelley looks right up and leads us butwe are as far away as possible from the conductor. "

The choir performed ana cappella work "Ashes" to commemorate the events of 9/11, which was one of the themes of the night's music program.

NACOprincipal trumpet Karen Donnellyalso welcomed back the audienceby performing her own composition for solo trumpet, while the night's program also featured orchestral work by Juno award-winning composer VivanFung, and the finaleTchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4.

Diverse voices introduced

The upcoming season should reflectthe social, political and emotional issues that have emerged during the pandemic, Shelley says, with a message of hope embedded in the music.

To reflect on issues such asBlack Lives Matter, the Me Too movement, andthe discovery of bodies at former residential schools, he hopesto bring new voices and perspectives into the dialogue.

"We focused on diverse voices, bringing onto our stage composers, performers who have traditionally not been part of the canon," said Shelley.

The vast Southam Hall, which can hold 2,000, hosted only a portion of that on Friday night witheach patron masked.Tickets were purchased in advance inpods of fourwitheach groupseparated by twometres.

The NAC did not require proof of vaccination andthe centre says itwill wait until Ontario launches itsvaccine passport program on Sept. 22.