As a little girl, what did you want to be when you grew up? RT: When I was really young I would dance around the living room while my older sisters played the piano. Like many little girls at the time, I fancied becoming a ballerina. What kind of musical background did you have and what instruments did you play? RT: My parents met singing in a choir. My whole family (six siblings) would sing in the car as we…
Cello. What was your entertainment choice on the first Friday night of April? For wife Elaine and me, we chose to hang out with a bunch of familiar faces who we’ve never met, don’t know any of their names, and possibly have absolutely nothing in common with. Sounds crazy, but this group has a way of stirring our emotions and putting a dash of allegro in our stride. This group would be none other than the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra (OSO)…
Based on global events garnering outrageous headlines, perhaps a more accurate name of Friday night’s show at Kelowna Community Theatre might have been “From Russia with Love.” I mean that in a positive way. The only operatives peddling influence on this delightful evening were the musical tacticians in the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra (OSO). Led by Music Director Rosemary Thomson, the OSO presented its “Masterworks IV – Colours of Russia” showcase to a sold-out house. The orchestral compositions were mostly upbeat…
Have you ever had the experience of watching a movie or television drama and saying to yourself “I’m not really following the plot but like what I’m seeing?” That was me exactly on the first Tuesday night of March at Kelowna Community Theatre. In town for a one-night floor routine was the Alonzo King LINES Ballet from San Francisco. Based on this touring group’s reputation and global rave reviews, wife Elaine and I viewed this opportunity as a chance to…
The third Friday of February at Kelowna Community Theatre was the whole enchilada as the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra (OSO) got spicy and performed Masterworks III – Latin Fiesta. This night of colorful instrumentation and syncopated rhythms paid homage to Romance-speaking countries like Spain and regions such as Latin and South America. For a nearly packed house hungry for multi-cultural cuisine, there was a full menu on stage that featured three appetizing entrees: flutist (or flautist) Christie Reside on loan from…
“Roll over Beethoven and tell Tchaikovsky the News.” Remember that lyric from a 1956 Chuck Berry song that was also covered by the Beatles and Electric Light Orchestra?! Berry penned that line in reference to how classical composers would “roll over in their graves” upon hearing that classical music had given way to rock-and-roll. There wasn’t a hint of Led Zeppelin or anybody rolling over on Friday, January 20th at the first concert of 2017 at Kelowna Community Theatre. Instead,…
Well that was different, in a musical confluence kind of way. I had little idea what to expect on Friday night November 18th when Elaine and I strolled into Kelowna Community Theatre for a production called Madmen Across the Water. The playbill’s mixed bag of performers was advertised this way – the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra (OSO) was the marquee act and would play the classic songs of Elton John, featuring guest artists Jeans ‘n Classics (musicians who fuse rock and…