NAC Broadband Workshops

The National Arts Centre (NAC) in Ottawa was officially opened on June 2, 1969.  The arts facility was designed by Fred Lebensold, one of North America's foremost theatre architects at the time.  The NAC was created to be the centre of Canada's arts scene and in my view, that is quite true.  I have had much contact with the arts centre throughout my life: attending operas, ballets, youth centered concerts, backstage tours, private banquets, and of course, eating at the NAC's high class Le Café restaurant.

            

Since its inception, the NAC has created and maintained various educational programs across Canada to stimulate interest in the arts (music, drama, & art) by having its professional orchestral musicians work with students of all ages.  One of these initiatives is the Music Alive Program (MAP), centered in the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and the territory of Nunavut.  The program was started in 2005 and later expanded to Nunavut in 2010.  The program's teaching methods are slightly tweaked in each of the provinces & territory but the overall goals are the same.  In Nunavut, the main goals of MAP are: music education for children & youth; music making in the community; building capacity among educators & musicians; preserving & celebrating local culture; and showcasing northern artists.

            

During my discussions with Geneviève Cimon (NAC Director of Music Education & Community Engagement) and Natasha Harwood (NAC MAP Administrator) back in mid-March, we decided that following the composition workshop, we would hold three broadband workshops for trumpets, clarinets, and fiddles on the week of April 23rd.  I tried to get sessions for flutes, saxes, and percussion but the NAC musicians wouldn't be available during that time.  The fiddle workshop was organized for Darlene Nuqingaq's Iqaluit Fiddle Club which includes young children from the Aqsarniit & Nakasuk middle schools. 

            

The trumpet session on April 23 would be led by the NAC Orchestra's (NACO) principal trumpeter Karen Donnelly, who visited Inuksuk High School in January of this year.  This latest workshop would give her the opportunity to check on the progress of the two female students she taught before. (The Ottawa Citizen published an article about the upcoming sessions on April 19).  The clarinet session on April 24 would be led by NACO's principal clarinetist Kimball Sykes.  The fiddle session would also take place on the 24th, and would be led by MAP fiddle musician Greg Brown.

            

The main & exciting feature of these workshops is they would be conducted via video conferencing over the Internet.  It's like Skype but with a direct connection.  To establish this connection requires several pieces of expensive equipment (camera, microphone, smartboard), the Internet, and a lot of wires.  The NAC sent Martin Jones (Technical Director of the NAC's Hexagon Studio) to Iqaluit to make the necessary preparations. 

            

On Monday, April 23, my two senior trumpeters, Rachel & Newkinga, had the music room all to themselves for the hour-long session with Karen Donnelly after school.  Also in attendance were myself, Martin, Malcolm (technical adviser with Arctic College) and a reporter with CBC Radio North.  With the connection established, introductions were made and the session began.  Karen focused on breathing, articulation, and performance techniques.  Specific examples that were used were scales and the anthem 'God Save the Queen'.  There was a slight one to two second delay in the transmission but it didn't pose a significant problem.      

            

When the session was over, Martin & I spoke with Maurizio Ortolani (Producer, NAC New Media) who was present with Karen about the effectiveness of the connection.  We concluded that overall it was fine but the transmission delay and sound quality needed to be slightly improved for the following workshops.  Thereafter, Newkinga and I were separately interviewed by the radio reporter about the experience.  The recordings were broadcasted the following morning on CBC Radio 1230AM and several staff members commented on how well we spoke.  (I'm still trying to locate the recordings on the CBC Radio website).

            

The clarinet workshop took place during lunchtime on April 24.  Three of my students were present: Anika, Windy, & Karlee.  I believe this was their first time taking part in a video conference of this kind.  Kimball focused on breathing, posture, and fingering techniques because my clarinetists' abilities are beginner to intermediate.  Unfortunately, the first half of the session was hampered by a 2-4 second delay in the transmission, forcing Martin to make a reconnection.  Besides that, the session went well and everyone present learned how to better play the clarinet.

            

I wasn't present for the fiddle session after school because I had to prepare classes for the rest of the week. According to Darlene, it was an eye opening experience for the kids.

            

Overall, the NAC broadband workshops were a success.  The students involved got to connect with professional musicians who taught them how to play their chosen instruments better.  These workshops also showed them that it is possible to pursue music after high school and as a career.  The equipment would be stored in the music room for future broadband connections.  I am very glad that I was able to plan and stage these workshops with the NAC.           

            

The rest of the week was pretty much the same old routine.  I began teaching my Grade 9 guitar classes simple chords (several notes played at the same time) such as, the C, G, G7, D, & D7 chords.  The hardest part for the students is alternating between the chords while playing in time. 

            

For Grade 11 English, we finished the Oral Literature Unit.  Oral literature refers to spoken word  where written literature is read out loud and performed.  This means that the text, a.k.a. script, is mostly written entirely in dialogue.  Stage directions, actions and body movements are written in bracketed italics.  I chose to stay away from Shakespeare and look at one act plays.  One act plays are basically the short stories of drama, lasting up to an hour.  The two classic one act plays we looked at were Sorry,Wrong Number and The Jest of Hahalaba. Their final assignment for next week is to write & submit a 1-4 minute one act play.

            

For Grade 10 music, we looked at more basic theory, such as, accidentals, tones & semitones, and major scales.  Following that we practiced 'O Canada', 'Eye of the Tiger', and the 'Mission: Impossible Theme'. 

            

And lastly, the ruin of the Creekside Village house that burned down in February has been fully cleared.  All that is left is an empty brown lot.  In time, a new row of houses will be built.