Trip coincides with Greater Philadelphia Trade Visit to Canada,
supporting opportunities for minority-owned small and medium-sized businesses in Philadelphia and Canada
Residency also includes master classes and side-by-side performances with students of the Ottawa Youth Orchestra Academy
and free performance for Ukrainian refugees
(Philadelphia, July 13, 2022)—Musicians of The Philadelphia Orchestra will perform with members of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra at Ambassador David L. Cohen’s residence in Ottawa in a private event that intersects with a business mission promoting trade and learning between Philadelphia and Canada. As part of The Philadelphia Orchestra’s ongoing work to foster people-to-people exchange through music, the visit by a string quartet will also include master classes, sectionals, and side-by-side performances with student musicians of the Ottawa Youth Orchestra Academy and a free performance on July 20 for Ukrainian refugees at Café Ukraine, a drop-in center where refugees can meet and support one another, share coffee and stories, and seek resources to help them adjust to life in Canada.
“The extraordinary U.S.-Canada relationship goes far beyond treaties and trade. The strength of the relationship lies in the strong people-to-people ties that connect our two countries,” said Ambassador David L. Cohen. “The visit by The Philadelphia Orchestra delegation will serve to further strengthen those ties through music. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to connect some of Philadelphia’s finest with their counterparts in Ottawa to create beautiful music, share skills, and spread joy.”
“The bond between Canada and the United States is reflected in the deep connections that The Philadelphia Orchestra has with our neighbor to the north, from our Canadian Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin to the fact that the Orchestra’s first transcontinental tour in 1936 was to Canada,” said Matías Tarnopolsky, president and CEO of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center, Inc. “Celebrating our deep connections through music in this way is profoundly important. We are grateful to Ambassador Cohen, himself a Philadelphian, and his staff at the US Embassy in Ottawa for extending this heartfelt invitation.”
Musicians representing The Philadelphia Orchestra on this visit are:
Daniel Han, violin
Mei Ching Huang, violin
David Nicastro, viola
Hai-Ye Ni, cello (Principal Cello)
Musicians representing the National Arts Centre Orchestra are:
Jessica Linnebach, violin (Associate Concertmaster)
Mintje van Lier, violin (Principal Second Violin)
David Goldblatt, viola (Assistant Principal Viola)
Julia MacLaine, cello (Assistant Principal Cello)
Musicians of The Philadelphia Orchestra will perform works by Dvořák and Florence Price. Musicians of the National Arts Centre Orchestra will perform a work by Carmen Braden, a composer from Canada’s sub-arctic region. The quartets from both orchestras will perform together the first movement of Mendelssohn’s String Octet.
The Greater Philadelphia Trade Visit to Canada is a joint effort between the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia and newly appointed U.S. Ambassador to Canada David L. Cohen, sponsored in part by the Philadelphia Foundation. The mission will convene on July 19 to develop trade opportunities and business relationships between Canadian and Philadelphian minority-owned small and medium-sized enterprises. During the day, members of the delegations will participate in a series of panel discussions. Participants from Philadelphia include members of the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce executive committee, representatives from the Philadelphia-area Asian American, African American, and Hispanic Chambers, and members of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center, Inc.’s Board of Directors, Osagie Imasogie and Erika James, as well as Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center, Inc. President and CEO Matías Tarnopolsky.
Support for this visit comes from the Arts Envoy Program of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and the Association of American Voices. The Arts Envoy Program engages American artists and arts professionals in cultural exchange programs and shares the best of the U.S. arts community with the world.
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About The Philadelphia Orchestra
About Yannick Nézet-Séguin
About the 2022–23 Season
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CONTACT:
Ashley Berke
267.250.5148
aberke@philorch.org