Brott Music Festival: Postcards from the Sky — Samuel Barber Adagio for Strings; Karl Jenkins Palladio; Morricone Gabriel’s Oboe from The Mission; Edward Elgar Serenade for Strings in E minor, Op. 20; Marjan Mozetich Postcards from the Sky (1998). National Academy Orchestra of Canada, Martin MacDonald, conductor. July 31, 2025, Church of the Ascension, Hamilton, ON.
Hamilton’s Church of the Ascension made a wonderfully atmospheric venue for the Postcards From the Sky concert, part of the Brott Music Festival lineup for this summer. The 175 year-old church was adorned with (electric) candlelight as conductor and Artistic Partner of the Brott Music Festival
Martin MacDonald and the National Academy Orchestra of Canada gave the audience the dreamy, immersive experience they were looking for. The venue, including a sizable first floor, large central balcony, and one of two smaller side balconies, was near capacity with a multi-generational crowd.
The National Academy Orchestra of Canada, the house orchestra and key component of the Brott Festival, is drawn from applicants across Canada, and routinely attracts among the country’s most talented young musicians for its roster. What’s remarkable is how, after a few weeks of rehearsal, the group — on this occasion, stripped down to a 22-person string orchestra — has come together as a cohesive ensemble. Dressed in black, their faces were only partially lit by the small reading lamps on their music stands, adding to the ambience.
Old Favourites: Whether You Know Them Or Not
Karl Jenkins’ Palladio was first on the program, its first oh-so familiar measures eliciting an audible sound of recognition from the crowd.
“It became the most famous piece of music that nobody knows the name of,” said conductor Martin MacDonald when the applause had died down after the performance of the work. It is, of course, the music that has become inextricably linked to diamonds after its use in DeBeers iconic 1994 television ad.
The orchestra’s playing was nicely crisp in the opening, navigating the dynamic and rhythmic changes smoothly. Their energetic interpretation had a lovely restraint in the more lyrical and moodier passages later in the piece. Of note was a solo by the first violinist, who held their own against the full ensemble.
Kelly Lin serves as Assistant Conductor to the orchestra, and she took over the podium for Barber’s sombre Adagio for Strings. The violas played with a notable dark woody tone, and the ensemble as a whole performed with an attention to expression, important in a piece that relies so much on sustained passages to set mood.
Martin returned for the Elgar, which he acknowledged as a standard part of the string repertoire. The program was designed to set the right tone in an atmosphere that took its audience outside of the everyday grind of an urban environment. Elgar’s lyrical, melodic and expressive piece perfectly fit the mood.
Modern Music
Ennio Morricone’s Gabriel’s Oboe from the film The Mission was a personal choice of MacDonald, and one brought over from a previous concert of movie music.
“It was the first film score that really took me — it grabbed me by the heart,” MacDonald said.
Oboist Marie-Bianca Lebeault, a member of the National Academy Orchestra of Canada, joined the strings as the soloist. Her repeated melody rose confidently against the orchestra’s accompaniment.
The concert finished with the namesake of the event — Postcards from the sky by Canadian composer Marjan Mozetich. It’s a work in three movements that begins with the idyllic and peaceful Unfolding Sky, exemplified in a gorgeous solo cello passage. It’s a kind of tribute to watching the clouds; the layered melodies creating an effect that is sweeping and delicate in sensibility. The orchestra made nice work out of the music’s interweaving changes in melody and rhythm with a subtle touch.
The second movement, Weeping Clouds, adds an almost spooky flair to the piece. With a thick, moody tone, the double basses shone in an expressive passage. The third and final movement, A Messenger, brings back a note of hope via its cinematic sense of harmony.
Final Thoughts
The orchestra played with an assured sense of both technique and expression. Maestro MacDonald has a deft touch with the emerging musicians that make up the National Academy Orchestra of Canada, and an approach that matches their energy and enthusiasm.
We can look forward to seeing these young musicians showing up on concert bills in the years to come.
- Find remaining performances for the Brott Music Festival this year [HERE].
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