Bond and Beyond

Michelle Merrill, conductor

Michelle Merrill has been inspiring audiences with her sharply detailed and vibrant performances. A passionate and dynamic artist, she served four years as the Associate Conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, where she also carried the title of Phillip and Lauren Fisher Community Ambassador. In addition to her growing guest conducting schedule, Ms. Merrill currently serves as Music Director of the Coastal Symphony of Georgia, where she has ignited the growth and expansion of the orchestra’s offerings both on and off the stage.

Ms. Merrill’s most recent and upcoming engagements include the Orchestre national d’Ile-de-France, National Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Opera, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Toledo Symphony Orchestra, Sarasota Orchestra, West Virginia Symphony, Symphoria (Syracuse), Princeton Symphony Orchestra, and the Round Top Music Festival Institute. In past seasons, she has conducted concerts with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Louisiana Philharmonic, Orlando Philharmonic, Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera, Boise Philharmonic, New Music Detroit, and the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, where she formerly served as Assistant Conductor.

Michelle Merrill is a proud recipient of a 2016 Solti Foundation US Career Assistance Award as well as the prestigious 2013 Ansbacher Conducting Fellowship as awarded by members of the Vienna Philharmonic and the American Austrian Foundation.

Rebecca Noelle has had the privilege to try her hand at almost every musical style she's wanted to over the years, but it’s her searing vocal range, and captivating vulnerability that has set this stunning singer apart. With a vocal texture that is simply unforgettable, Rebecca expresses an honesty both lyrically and musically, that nurtures the connection between audience and artist. With a career spanning 20 years, Rebecca has shared bills with artists such as B.B. King, Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy, Norah Jones, Bonnie Raitt and even P!NK. She's graced stages across North-America, the U.K., Asia, Europe, Africa & even the North Pole. After more recently making waves as the 1st runner-up on TVA's La Voix (The Voice : Canada), The Jacksons invited Rebecca to be a guest vocalist during their Canadian tour. Rebecca is currently writing her 3rd solo album in both official languages, which is set to be released in the spring of 2023. She also records and/or performs with her electronic duo: The Stellasonic, motown big- band: The Commotions, pop-art troupe: The PepTides, and bucket-list tribute show: Decades of Bond.

Soprano and singer/songwriter Charlotte Siegel is a member of the Canadian Opera Company's Ensemble Studio and made her debut as Second Lady in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, and as Manon in Ian Cusson's Fantasma for the COC.  She studied voice with Dominque Labelle, Frédérique Vézina and John MacMaster and holds Bachelors and Masters degrees from the University of Toronto and McGill University, respectively. Charlotte was a Buffalo/Toronto District winner for the 2021 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and she made CBC’s 2021 list of “30 Hot Classical Musicians Under 30”.  Her upcoming engagements include Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with the MGSO in Montreal, and Tosca Cover (Tosca) and 2nd Apparition/Lady-in-Waiting Cover (Macbeth) for the Canadian Opera Company.  Other performance credits include Rose Maurrant (Street Scene), Nancy (Albert Herring), Elle (Knoxville: Summer of 1915), and Mère Marie (Dialogues des Carmélites) with Opera McGill. Charlotte is a co-founder and co-director of the Toronto based non-profit the Marigold Music Program, which aims to close the accessibility gap between marginalized youth and music education.  

Manon St-Jules has had a bilingual career since graduating from the National Theatre School. She has worked with theatre companies large and small in Toronto (Canadian Stage, Festival of Classics, Theatre Direct, Pleiades), Montréal (Denise-Pelletier, Centaur, Segal Centre, Usine C) and Sudbury (Sudbury Theatre Centre, Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario), appearing in both classical and contemporary works. In Ottawa, she has performed with the National Arts Centre (NAC) English Theatre, Great Canadian Theatre Company, Arts Court, Théâtre Catapulte and Rouge Écarlate Theatre. She has hosted NAC Orchestra concerts, the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Gala, and many other events across the country. She has held dramatic and comedic roles in film, television, commercials, and various multimedia projects. She was notably in the cast of Eaux turbulentes (ARTV and Radio-Canada) and the feature film Noël en boîte, and was seen in three seasons of the series Amélie et Compagnie (TfO). In addition to her voice work, Manon is also a theatre translator and scriptwriter. She has participated in the series Tout Sexplique (UnisTV) and Love et Lajoie (TfO) which will be broadcast in January 2022.

Since its debut in 1969, the National Arts Centre (NAC) Orchestra has been praised for the passion and clarity of its performances, its visionary educational programs, and its prominent role in nurturing Canadian creativity. Under the leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, reaching and representing the diverse communities we live in with daring programming, powerful storytelling, inspiring artistry, and innovative partnerships.

Alexander Shelley began his tenure as Music Director in 2015, following Pinchas Zukerman’s 16 seasons at the helm. Principal Associate Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and former Chief Conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra (2009–2017), he has been in demand around the world, conducting the Rotterdam Philharmonic, DSO Berlin, Leipzig Gewandhaus, and Stockholm Philharmonic, among others, and maintains a regular relationship with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie and the German National Youth Orchestra.

Each season, the NAC Orchestra features world-class artists such as the newly appointed Artist-in-Residence James Ehnes, Angela Hewitt, Joshua Bell, Xian Zhang, Gabriela Montero, Stewart Goodyear, Jan Lisiecki, and Principal Guest Conductor John Storgårds. As one of the most accessible, inclusive, and collaborative orchestras in the world, the NAC Orchestra uses music as a universal language to communicate the deepest of human emotions and connect people through shared experiences.

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