“On Tuesday, after 22 years as the National Arts Centre Orchestra’s managing director, Christopher Deacon took over as the NAC’s president and chief executive,” writes Peter Hum in Wednesday’s (6/13) Ottawa Citizen (Canada). “He is the first person in the NAC’s 49-year history to have been promoted from within the organization to its top post. ‘Je suis flabbergasté!’ a jovial Deacon told … colleagues and supporters…. Deacon takes over at the NAC following Peter Herrndorf’s celebrated, almost 19-year turn at the helm…. Deacon was … instrumental in realizing what’s been called the most ambitious production in the orchestra’s history, the commissioned multimedia work Life Reflected … which paid tribute to four remarkable Canadian women … last year…. Deacon chaired the NAC committee overseeing its architectural rejuvenation and production renewal projects with a combined budget of $225.4 million…. Fluently bilingual, Deacon … said … he expects to spend more time in francophone artistic communities [and] spoke with pride about the NAC’s advances in presenting the stories of Indigenous people…. Also on Deacon’s mind are the NAC’s initiatives in a digital world…. He noted that orchestra’s musicians are already onboard regarding everything from listeners using social media in Southam Hall to the prospect of streaming performances.”
Posted June 14, 2018
