The National Arts Centre (NAC) have recently announced that Alexander Shelley, Music Director of the NAC Orchestra, has agreed to extend his contract for four years, from September 1, 2019 to August 31, 2023.

Since Alexander joined as Music Director in 2015, the NAC Orchestra has strengthened its national role and focus on Canadian creation and artists, in addition to receiving acclaim for Alexander's exceptional talent as a conductor and communicator.

“I am thrilled to extend my contract with the NAC Orchestra,” said Alexander. “The past three years have been enormously rewarding, and I’m so proud of what these incredible musicians and I have achieved together. We’ve toured from coast to coast to coast. I’ve hugely enjoyed meeting, working with, and learning from people throughout Canada. As the NAC is reborn inside and out, I’m looking forward to more wonderful projects championing Canadian creation with this superb ensemble.”

Since coming to the NAC, Alexander has worked tirelessly to program outstanding concerts, showcasing some of the finest artists in classical music, and develop extensive initiatives in the areas of artistic creation and music education. Highlights of his tenure so far include
welcoming world-renowned guest artists Diana Krall, Emanuel Ax, and Joshua Bell for performances with the NAC Orchestra; the recording and release of four albums of new works with Montreal label Analekta, namely Life Reflected, Encount3rs, New Worlds, and The Bounds of our Dreams (to be released in September 2018); the epic Canada 150 Tour which saw the Orchestra visit, perform and engage with communities across Canada; as well as commissioning 13 new Canadian works including Life Reflected and Encount3rs.