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Tag: Rosemary Thomson

Okanagan Symphony Orchestra Flies High Performing the Music of Harry Potter

Okanagan Symphony Orchestra Flies High Performing the Music of Harry Potter

On the last Sunday of October, the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra (OSO) magically transformed itself into a spellbinding 4-H Club and saluted the wondrous wizardry of Harry, Hermione, Hedwig, and Hogwarts. That was the scene, three days before Halloween 2018, as Kelowna Community Theatre had a packed cauldron for an afternoon matinee of the OSO Family Special: The Music of Harry Potter. As expected, there were bewitching costumes worn by orchestra members as well as Musical Director Rosemary Thomson channeling Professor Sybill…

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Okanagan Symphony Orchestra Brings its A-Game for the Three B’s

Okanagan Symphony Orchestra Brings its A-Game for the Three B’s

On the last full day of Summer 2018, the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra (OSO) kicked off its 59th season with a splendid triple-threat rendition of “Bach to the Future” at Kelowna Community Theatre. Actually, Bach was just the first German composer out of the barn on this rainy Friday evening. His works were followed by those of Beethoven and Brahms and culminated in the concert’s marquee banner, OSO: The Chase Wines Masterworks I – the Three B’s! These Three B’s were…

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Okanagan Symphony Orchestra Gets Slean and Mean

Okanagan Symphony Orchestra Gets Slean and Mean

Big ups to the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra (OSO) for sharing the Kelowna Community Theatre stage on the first Saturday night of April with a Canadian songstress who absolutely captivated the house with a mezzo-soprano vocal style I’d define as good “Slean” living. All puns aside, Saskatchewan’s Sarah Slean was the guest artist who describes herself as a dare-to-dream Renaissance woman, singer-songwriter, keyboardist, poet, visual artist, and occasional actress. She pretty much put all those creative skills on display during a…

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Handbells Highlight The Okanagan Symphony Orchestra’s Ringing In of the Holiday Season

Handbells Highlight The Okanagan Symphony Orchestra’s Ringing In of the Holiday Season

Question:  What do you get when you cross OSO with OHC on a FRI night at KCT three days before XMAS? Answer:  One joyous Christmas symphony and handbell chorus hallelujah expertly boxed, wrapped, and clanged before a packed house. Translation – the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra (OSO) and Okanagan Handbell Chorus (OKC) teamed up on the Friday before Christmas at Kelowna Community Theatre for a two-hour holiday mash up that was a newborn-king-inspired joy to the world. O Holy Night, the…

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Okanagan Symphony Orchestra Spooktacular Was a Macabre Mash of Treats

Okanagan Symphony Orchestra Spooktacular Was a Macabre Mash of Treats

They did the mash…….they did The Monster Mash……. it was an Okanagan Symphony Orchestra and Chorus smash…..it caught on in a flash. Good goblins, that was a frightfully good Halloween SPOOKtacular performed with devilish depravity at Kelowna Community Theatre a few nights ahead of trick-or-treaters taking over the streets. The sold-out house was treated to a Saturday night special 2-for-1 deal that saw the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra and OSO Chorus performing together on one stage. Saying the KCT stage was…

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Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Raises the Roof with a Spectacular Performance

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Raises the Roof with a Spectacular Performance

That, my friends, was a professional symphony performance I will never forget. On the final Friday night of September, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) made a tour stop in Kelowna and absolutely positively blew the roof off Kelowna Community Theatre. Typed words cannot accurately express what took place inside the old barn as the VSO packed its 71 full-time musicians onto the stage and went on an amazing orchestral journey from first salvo to last bow. The Okanagan Symphony Orchestra…

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Manitoba Chamber Orchestra Says Cello to Kelowna

Manitoba Chamber Orchestra Says Cello to Kelowna

It was Manitoba in the house at Kelowna Community Theatre on the final Thursday night of September. Thanks to an invitation from the Kelowna Community Concert Association, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra (MCO) made a tour stopover in the Okanagan to perform a delightful mix of contemporary and classic concertos. Adding silky tone and technical prowess to the program was guest cellist Ariel Barnes, a Vancouver native who dazzled the packed house with smooth solos under the baton expertise of Music…

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Ballet Kelowna and Okanagan Symphony Orchestra Get an Early Start on Sesquicentennial Celebrations

Ballet Kelowna and Okanagan Symphony Orchestra Get an Early Start on Sesquicentennial Celebrations

World premieres in Kelowna. They were super suite.         On the first Thursday of May, Kelowna Community Theatre was the gracious host site of several world premieres all neatly choreographed and composed into a visual parade of ballet and music. On this balmy eve in front of a packed house, Ballet Kelowna and the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra (OSO) joined forces to present Canadiana Suite: A Sesquicentennial Celebration and tribute performance in honor of Canada’s 150th anniversary. Yeah,…

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Q+A With Okanagan Symphony Orchestra Music Director Rosemary Thomson

Q+A With Okanagan Symphony Orchestra Music Director Rosemary Thomson

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…

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Okanagan Symphony Orchestra Sets Tone for Colours of Russia

Okanagan Symphony Orchestra Sets Tone for Colours of Russia

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…

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