Simone Deneau, the founding producer of NAC Presents, is retiring after an almost 40-year career working at the National Arts Centre.
Deneau first joined the NAC as an usher, and has worked in a variety of roles, such as assistant director of patron services, before being nominated as a producer.
NAC Presents is an all-Canadian singer-songwriter series that launched five years ago and allows artists to move up the ladder of success through a full-blown marketing experience on the country’s national stage.
Deneau has programmed nearly 300 performances over the years on the four stages of the NAC, according to a news release announcing her retirement.
The series includes 50 concerts per year.
After being in the producer role for five years, Deneau says she is looking forward to some extra family and travel time and the opportunity to try new things.
She recalls artists that the series has welcomed such as Lynn Myles, Kalle Mattson, Sound of Lions, and Ian Tamblyn.
“She has contributed tremendously to the NAC and the arts in Canada and she now deserves to enjoy the next chapter of her journey with loved ones,” Marie-Chantale Labbé-Jacques, the spokesperson for NAC Presents, said via email.
“Simone built this Canadian singer-songwriter series from the ground up,” she added.
Labbé-Jacques says that Deneau helped her discover a range of excellent music and has developed a great relationship with audiences in the Ottawa-Gatineau region.
“A significant portion of NAC Presents audiences are from Centretown,” Deneau said. “They appreciate being able to attend performances with the option of leaving their car at home. As urban residents of a national capital, they are in tune with the Canadian contemporary music scene, and their varied demographic is exactly the audience we are looking for.”
Deneau says the amazing performances she was able to see and the talented singer-songwriters she was able to work with came with a few funny moments.
She says a moment she will never forget was when she had a pitcher of water emptied on her head by a person who was angry about having to wait to get in to a performance.
Xavier Forget, associate producer, recalls Deneau putting together the NAC Presents team and being selected first as her associate.
He says in the beginning not everyone was convinced that NAC Presents was even possible because an all-Canadian series was not seen as sustainable.
“We were quite proud of ourselves the first time we presented,” he said. “We weren’t sure how people would react. Just being there in that room to feel how great the listening was, how great the audience was. We even had to stop between two songs and say, ‘Are they still there?’”
“I really enjoyed working with her all these years; creating the series and establishing the vision. It was fantastic to be there and see the success. It’s all due to her leadership and her vision.”
Forget says after all the years working with Deneau, the relationship with the audience was always at the top of her mind.
“I’m always going to be thankful for what she’s done. I think we will continue with the vision and we will definitely re-invite her when we open the new stage in July 2017. She’ll have the first seat to experience that from an audience perspective with her husband,” he said.
The NAC will be undergoing a historic $110 million renovation funded by the Government of Canada to be completed by Canada Day 2017, according the art centre’s website.
Labbé-Jacques says a national search to fill Deneau’s position will begin soon and they are hoping to have someone in place by this fall.
“The NAC Presents series is now a well-oiled machine, thanks to Simone’s legacy, and the team is looking forward to many more years of great music,” Labbé-Jacques said.