Okanagan Symphony
Youth Orchestra

The Okanagan Symphony Youth Orchestra (OSYO) is a year-long rigorous orchestral educational program for self-motivated young musicians to play challenging and rewarding orchestral music and improve their rehearsal and performance skills. As well as presenting its own biannual concert series, the program provides opportunities to work with OSO musicians in a series of sectional-based rehearsals, participate in a composition program, hone skills through masterclasses and participate in other OSO community engagement programs as opportunities present themselves.

The Okanagan Symphony Youth Orchestra began as the Youth Symphony of the Okanagan in 1988, founded by renowned composer, Imant Raminsh. Over the last thirteen years, the program has been nurtured and expanded by co-conductors Dennis Colpitts and Rosemary Thomson.

As we start the program’s 35th season, we welcome conductor Zeena Zaiyouna. The OSYO program is the flagship of the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra’s community engagement programs.

In honour of the OSYO’s founder, the Imant Raminsh Scholarship was established in 2013 to be awarded annually to a graduating student pursuing music at the post-secondary level. Information regarding the scholarship is available each spring.

If you have any further questions about the OSYO please contact: [email protected]

The OSYO is thankful for the support of these 2023-2024 sponsors:

OSYO Program Sponsor

Composition Program Sponsor

Support the OSYO

Three ways to support the Okanagan Symphony Youth Orchestra:

OSYO Mentorship Fund

The Mentorship Fund was established in 2019 by June Nicolay in honour of the passing of her husband Dietz Nicolay to support student bursaries, sectionals, and specialized activities of the OSYO.

Chair Sponsorship Program

The OSYO Chair Sponsorship Program personalizes your youth orchestra experience and brings a new perspective to the music you love.

OSYO Program Support

Registration fees do not fully cover the operating costs associated with the youth orchestra program. Your additional support ensures that valley music students get a rigorous orchestral education.

Imant Raminsh

A resident of Coldstream, BC, Imant Raminsh’s influence as a musician, composer and conductor cannot be understated.

Imant held the position of Principal Second Violin with the OSO from 1977 to 2016. He is the founding conductor of the Prince George Symphony, the Youth Symphony of the Okanagan, NOVA Children’s Choir, and AURA Chamber Choir. His compositions have been performed on six continents by such ensembles as the Vancouver, Edmonton, Hamilton, Toronto, Okanagan, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick Symphonies, the Vancouver Chamber Choir, the Tafelmusik Baroque Chamber Choir, the Tokyo Philharmonic Chamber Choir, the Stockholm Chamber Choir, the Finnish Radio Chamber Choir, Ave Sol (Latvian Chamber Choir), and many others. His music has been heard in such world-renowned halls as Carnegie Hall (New York), Tchaikovsky Hall (Moscow), the Orpheum (Vancouver), Canterbury Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Notre Dame (Paris) and Santa Maria del’Fiore (Florence).

Raminsh has also pursued studies in geology and biology and worked for many summers as a naturalist/interpreter in BC provincial parks.

In 2019 Imant Raminsh was appointed to the Order of Canada.

Dennis Colpitts
Former OSYO Co-conductor

A graduate from the UBC Department of Music (1976), Dennis Colpitts has taught music in the Lower Mainland and Okanagan at all levels of the school system. His blended major of trumpet, voice and conducting have enabled him to participate in a wide variety of musical opportunities including the Vancouver Cantata Singers, the Phoenix Chamber Choir, the Okanagan Festival Singers and the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra. He conducted the Kelowna City Concert Band from 1992 to 2000 and led the orchestra of Trinity Baptist Church from 1998 to 2008. Mr. Colpitts has been second chair in the horn section of the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra since 2002 and plays trumpet in the OSO Brass Quintet (aka Fish On Five) and the Michael Garding Big Band. In 2011 Mr. Colpitts retired from 34 years of teaching and returned as conductor of the Kelowna City Concert Band. He also conducts the OSO Wind Ensemble for the UBC Okanagan’s convocation ceremonies each year, co-conducts the Okanagan Symphony Youth Orchestra with Rosemary Thomson and has been a guest conductor of the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra for concerts including Michael Burgess, Natalie McMaster, the grand opening of the Sparkling Hill Resort and most recently the OSO Christmas program in 2015. Mr. Colpitts is a frequently requested Teacher On Call. Each year he plays the “Last Post” on an authentic World War I bugle for Kelowna’s Remembrance Day Ceremony.

Zeena Zaiyouna
OSYO Conductor

Zeena Zaiyouna is an orchestral conductor, oboist, pianist, clinician and educator. Together with a Master of Lifelong Learning (M.Ed.) from Denmark and a degree in oboe performance from Queen’s University, Zeena has served as the Assistant Conductor of the Ontario Pops Orchestra and has taught music and performance at all levels of the school system. This includes directing the Symphonic Band for the Canadian Independent Music School Festival (2019) at Roy Thomson Hall.

Zeena's musical background includes piano improvisation and studying orchestral conducting with Maestro Andre Presser in Holland and Maestro Harold Faberman at Bard College in New York state. She has performed oboe and English horn with orchestras, including the Greater Toronto Philharmonic Orchestra, Ontario Pops Orchestra, Harthouse Orchestra, Counterpoint Orchestra, and Kindred Spirits Orchestra. She is also a Toronto and Ontario Arts Council recording artist recipient.

As an arts advocate for youth leadership and mental health, Zeena has trained teachers on four continents, sharing innovative aspects of play-based learning and trauma-focused arts programming. This includes emergency education and psychosocial support training in Liberia, Africa, and implementing an outdoor creative learning workshop at Toronto Metropolitan University for undergraduate students during the pandemic.

Inspiring youth to awaken to their fullest potential through performance and musical expression is at the heart of Zeena’s passion and philosophy as an educator. Zeena is the newly appointed Conductor of the Okanagan Symphony Youth Orchestra and works as a clinician, studio musician and ensemble teacher in the Okanagan Valley. 

Okanagan SymphonyYouth Orchestra