OSYO Special Projects
ReStorechestra
The Key of Possibility premiere November 22, 2022
In early 2022, Jack Shaw, Director of Marketing for Habitat for Humanity Canada approached the OSO about featuring the Okanagan Symphony Youth Orchestra in their holiday fundraising campaign for 2022. He shared that the holiday messaging was going to be about music and how it connects to their mission. “Our main campaign video tells the story of 3 Habitat homeowner families from across Canada, through their connections to music. As part of the narrative, we want to create a unique video for ReStore in partnership with OSYO.”
Arranged in the spacious storefront of Kelowna’s ReStore on Enterprise Drive, the 50-player strong OSYO — dubbed the ReStorechestra — was video recorded performing George Bizet’s “Farandole” from the L’Arlesienne Suite No. 2. It’s an exciting piece with driving brass, nimble winds and dancing strings that put the talented young musicians through their paces, delivering an A-game performance.
Habitat ReStore is a social enterprise retailer that accepts and resells donations of new and used furniture, appliances, décor, and home improvement building materials. All profits from operations fund Habitat for Humanity. Habitat ReStore makes it possible to have a safe and decent place to live for many families across Canada.
You can support the 2022 Habitat for Humanity Canada national holiday campaign here. https://www.habitat.ca/orchestra
Want to learn more about the project?
Apollo Initiative
Apollo premiere May 7, 2021
The Apollo Initiative is a collective of British Columbia youth orchestras that recorded a new work by Canadian composer Jordan Nobles in 2021. The participating ensembles in the initiative were: Coquitlam Youth Orchestra, Greater Victoria Youth Orchestra, Langley Community Music School Orchestra, Okanagan Symphony Youth Orchestra, Surrey Youth Orchestra, and the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Each orchestra oversaw the recording of their parts, with recordings taking place in small sections or individually at home, as COVID safety protocols allowed per location. All video and audio files were then submitted to Nobles, who stitched the pieces together to create one beautiful and cohesive performance.
The over 350 student musicians, 6 conductors and one Juno Award-winning composer combined their talents for a joint virtual performance to raise funds in support of youth mental health, under the auspices of the Canadian Mental Health Association, BC Division (CMHA BC). The goal of $10,000 was raised through the premiere, which occurred on BC Youth Mental Health Day, Friday, May 7, 2021.