Concert Season
Past Concerts
Concert Season
2008-2009 Season Reviews & Letters
IN A FRENCH CAFE, October 24-26, 2008 with The Bergmann Duo, piano; Bill Richardson, narrator; Night Owl Community Orchestra, Sheila French, director
Programme: Concerto for Two Pianos, Francis Poulenc; Carnival of the Animals, Camille Saint-Saens; Cancioneros, Jose Evangelista; Bolero, Maurice Ravel
REVIEWS
Symphony Off to a Great Start, Kelowna Daily Courier, editorial ~ "Music lovers who haven't been to the symphony in a while should get out to one (or all) of the next concerts. You will see and hear something exciting... <Read more>
Symphony Opener a Blast, Kelowna Daily Courier ~ "The Bergmann Duo doing Poulenc with panache,...finesse...precision and technique,.... Bill Richardon's own witty Nashian narrative, ....Rosemary Thomson trading her baton for the cello in the romantic swan movement....all in all a memorable event"... <Read more>
Penticton WesternNews, review ~ "Shouts of Bravo from the audience proved how exciting it was to experience Ravel's mesmerizing masterpiece (Bolero) live..." <Read more>
Symphony Hits a High Note, Penticton WesternNews, Letter to the editor ~ Bravo to the OSO for making it here against all odds(with the Summerland road closed) and entetaining us so well..." <Read more>
Vive l'Orchestre, Vernon MorningStar ~ "Evangelista's Cancioneros, delicately and intimately played by the OSO players, fused Middle Eastern themes with a powwow pulse...It's Bolero, for God's sake, Bring it on! And they did. Exuberant. This was Thomson's Bolero...." <Read more>
And in response to audience request, Bill Richardson is happy to share his unique narration for "The Carnival of the Animals" with us here.
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION, November 21-23, 2008, with Jenavieve Moore, soprano; John David Jasper, baritone; Steven Philcox, piano; Musaic Chorus, Tom Klassen, director; Leslie Turner, mezzo
Programme: Celebration and Reflection, Ernst Schneider; Piano Concerto in G, No. 17, K453, W.A. Mozart; Symphony No. 35 in D, K385, W.A. Mozart; Mozart Arias: La ci darem la mano & Deh! vieni all finestra from Don Giovanni ~ Laudamus te from Mass in C minor, K427 ~ Deh vieni no tardar from The Marriage of Figaro ~ Ein Vogelfanger & Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa from The Magic Flute; Ave Verum Corpus, K618, W.A. Mozart; Regina Coeli, K276, W.A.Mozart
REVIEWS:
OSO Serenades Penticton with Mostly-Mozart Program, Kelowna Daily Courier ~ "current and former residents performing with skill and heart to make the Okanagan basin proud..." <Read more>
Penticton review ~ Last Saturday Penticton was treated to a sold out Centennial Celebration at the Cleland Theatre showcasing local talent who have gone on to burgeoning musicial careers. <Read more>
Vernon review ~ For its second concert this season, the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra celebrated Penticton's 100th birthday at the Vernon Performing Arts Centre Sunday night. You might say the candles on the cake were in the form of three accomplished and still growing young Pentictonite musicians flown in from around the continent, one local composer, two soloists, and the Musaic choir. The good luck candle? That was Mozart... <Read more>
FESTIVAL OF CHRISTMASTIDE, December 19-21, 2008, with Susan Aylard & the Cats and the Fiddle Band; Okanagan high school choirs
Programme: Christmas Music for Orchestra, John Cacavas; The Bird of Dawning Singeth All Night Long, Jean Coulthard; Quiet Eve, Frederick Schipizky; Beggerman, arr Cats & The Fiddle; The Toast, traditional; Allenvale Medley, arr Scott MacMillan; Les Patineurs (Skaters' Waltz), Waldteufel; What Child is This?, arr Aylard;Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire,Torme/arr. Sherwood;
'Twas the Night Before Christmas, Darby/Moore/Simeone;
Christmas Jig, arr Aylard/Dunn; Traditional carols: O Little Town of Bethlehem, Away in a Manger, Jingle Bells, Angels we have Heard on High
REVIEWS
Message in Music Brightens this Time of Year, Kelowna Daily Courier, editorial ~ "The OSO's Festival of Christmastide was a perfect example of how music, no matter the style or format, can pull people along in unity..." <Read more>
Hidden in Plain Sight, Penticton WesternNews, letter to the editor ~ " If I have anything to do with it, they may need a second night (next year) after I get through telling everyone how enjoyable it was..." <Read more>
Symphony Spoils Us All, Vernon MorningStar ~ "They might as well have served us cake..cellos decked with tinsel, women laced with red...Aylard's finest moment was her solo jig fusion of Christmas carol and classic virtusos in her arrangement Christmas Jig. It was her musical wizardry at its best with a fine haunting finish on the penny whistle. <Read more>
INSPIRATIONS, January 31-February 1, 2009, with James Campbell, clarinet; Aura Chamber Choir, Imant Raminsh, director; Dawn Mussellam, soprano
Programme: Symphony No 1 in D major Op 25 (Classical Symphony), Sergei Prokofiev; Concerto for Clarinet in A, K622, W.A. Mozart; Masques et Bergamasques, Gabriel Faure; Prairie Dawn, Stephen Chatman; Missa Brevis, Imant Raminsh
REVIEWS:
Campbell, Raminsh Shine in Super Concert, Kelowna Daily Courier ~ "James Campbell, Canada's King of the Clarinet and arguably one of the world's greatest exponents of the instrument...phrasing, breath control and dynamic range were fantastic...an unforgettable aesthetic experience" and Raminsh, one of Canada's most influential and gifted composers..." <Read more>
A Night to Treasure, Vernon Morningstar ~ "The intricate artistry of James Campbell was transcendent", "the orchestra, (Aura Chamber) Choir and soloist did a remarkable job" on the local premiere of Raminsh's Missa Brevis. <Read more>
PASSIONATE FRIENDS, February 27-March 1, 2009, with Arnold Choi,cello
Programme: Spirit Trail, Allan Bell; Symphony No 3 in F major, Op 90, Johannes Brahms; Concerto for Violincello in B minor, Op 104, Antoine Dvorak
REVIEWS:
OSO Presents Superlative Concert, Kelowna Daily Courier ~ "Thank you, Rosemary Thomson, for bringing warmth Friday to the Kelowna Community Theatre on a cold and bleak February night. It was the penultimate concert of the season for our Okanagan Symphony Orchestra...It was one of those performances where the soloist (Arnold Choi) knocks the ball right out of the park..." <Read more>
Cellist Bows to Friendship, Vernon Morningstar ~ "In the beginning of 1725 was the cello. And the cello was with God, and the cello was God. And the cello became music and dwelt among us...(OSO) trumpet player Jim Howie warned us that (Arnold) Choi would deliver Dvorak right into our souls. And with a little help from his friends, he did..." <Read more>
Penticton WesternNews, review ~ "Arnold Choi's virtuosic scale and arpeggio passages and trills, performed with clarotu and rich dynamic shadings...earned many shouts of bravo and a standing ovation..." <Read more>
ORCHESTRA FATHERS, April 4-5, 2009, withYi-Jia (Susanne) Hou, violin
Programme: Symphony in C major, No 69 (Laudon), Joseph Haydn; Violin Concerto in E minor, Op 64, Felix Mendelssohn; Symphony No 3, Op 56 in A minor (The Scottish), Felix Mendelssohn
REVIEWS:
Season Finale a Grand Conclusion, Kelowna Daily Courier ~ "Susanne Hou's technique is superior and the tone she elicits from the Guarneri del Gesu violin is sumptuous..." <Read more>
Lost for Words, Vernon Morningstar ~ "The audience didn't stand in ovation. They jumped from their seats when she (Hou) finished playing Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto...I still haven't landed to find the words..." <Read more>
ITALIANISSIMO! May 10, with Quartetto Gelato
Programme: Overture to La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie)- Rossini; Tango del Mare, N. Salerno; Cinema Italiano (incl. Amarcord, Il Postino, Cinema Paradiso, Il Padrino, La Vita e Bella, etc.), arr. Howard Cable; Volare, Domenico Modugno,arr. Berger/Levkovitch; Konzertstuck, C.M. von Weber/arr DeSotto/Sevastian; Overture to an Italian Comedy - Benjamin; Theme and Variations, Rossini, arr. Sevastian; Canto a Voce Piena, Astro; Al Di La, Donida, arr. DeSotto/Sevastian; The Clown of Venice, Charles T. Cozens; Czardas, Vittorio Monti, arr. Quartetto Gelato/Vena;O Sole Mio, di Capua, arr. Howard Cable
REVIEWS:
Quartetto Gelato and the OSO team up for a great season finale, Kelowna ~ "Quartetto Gelato came to Kelowna touted as "a dazzling ensemble who enchant audiences with their exotic blend of virtuosity, passion and charisma". They lived up to every superlative..." <Read more>
