National Music Centre

The National Music Centre or NMC, is a non-profit organization located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The new building located in the neighborhood of the Downtown East Village, Calgary is set to open in spring 2016.

History

The National Music Centre and its collections origins can be traced to the installation of a pipe organ (known as the Carthy Organ) in Calgary’s Jack Singer Concert Hall in 1987.[1] This installation of this instrument was the genesis of the International Organ Festival and Competition operated by TriumphEnt from 1990 to 2002.[2] It also subsequently inspired the creation of a new organization known as the Chinook Keyboard Centre, which began developing a collection of keyboard instruments in mid-1996.

Chinook Keyboard Centre was soon renamed Cantos Music Museum and expanded the scope of its collection beyond keyboard instruments to include electronic instruments and sound equipment beginning in the year 2000, it also began to offer limited programming in the way of gallery tours and concerts.

In 2003, TriumphEnt and Cantos Music Museum joined forces to become the Cantos Music Foundation, and expanded its presentation of music programs using the collection and gallery spaces. In 2005, an exhibition commemorating 100 years of music in Alberta to mark the Centennial planted the seed to expand the organization’s scope to chronicle, celebrate, and foster a broader vision for music in Canada. In February 2012, Cantos became the National Music Centre.[3] The National Music Centre broke ground on February 22, 2013.[4]

New National Music Centre

The new $168 million NMC building designed by Portland architect Brad Cloepfil, will be a 160,000 square-foot facility in Calgary’s East Village. With interactive education programming, artist incubation, engaging exhibitions and performances daily, NMC’s new space will showcase the collection, which includes over 2,000 rare instruments and artifacts including the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, the TONTO synthesizer, and one of Elton John's pianos, along with the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame collections.[5]

The National Music Centre facility will also include the historic King Edward Hotel to operate as a seven nights a week live music venue.[6]

Currently, The National Music Centre offices and gallery are located at 134 - 11 Avenue S.E in the historic Customs House building.[7] December 28, 2014 will be the last public tour at the current site as the gallery will shut down to begin the move to the new centre in the East Village.[8]

The final steel beam of the new National Music Centre structure was set into place on December 12, 2014[9]

References

External links

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