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Concert Season

2009-2010 Season Reviews & Letters

Masterworks I - Big Bang
October 16-18, 2009
Prelude to Die MeisterSinger, Wagner; Romantic Concerto, Schneider; Symphony No. 5, Tchaikovsky; Enigma Variations IX: Nimrod, Elgar
Guest: Arnold Draper, piano

Vernon - Big Bang ~"nothing like Wagner to wake up the music after a hot Okanagan summer... Edmund House on a single French horn was positively debilitating...The horn assembles you in its call...You had me at the second movement (of the Romantic Concerto). It opened with a slow penetrating conversation between Schneider, pianist Arnold Draper and myself... 
I don't know how you could have improved on Sunday's show" ~ Read more in the Oct Vernon review
Penticton - Symphony Starts New Season ~ "We are blessed to have outstanding musical talent right here in the Okanagan. Popular Kelowna pianist Arnold Draper performed Ernst Schneider's Romantic Piano Concerto...played with lovely lyrical melodic lines and executed energetic surging chord passages with ease and bravura" ~ Read more in the Oct Penticton review
Kelowna -50th Symphony Season Starts with a Bang ~"Ms. Thomson has achieved a rapport with the group and conducts them with aplomb and artistry....Schneider's Romantic Concerto more than lived up to expectations... given a fantastic performance by our own Arnold Draper...exceeded the challenge by his brilliant pianistic work" ~ Read more in the Oct Kelowna review

Masterworks II - Masters of Melody
November 21-22, 2009
The Schubert Birds, Colgrass; Concerto for Flute, Harp & Orchestra, Mozart; Symphony No. 3, D200, Schubert
Guests: Lorna McGhee, flute; Heidi Krutzen, harp

Kelowna ~ Symphony Nearly Flawless ~ The music of Mozart is unmistakable, full of grace, charm, wit and joy.. The soloists Heidi Krutzen, harp and Lorna Mc Ghee, flute, both from Vancouver, were outstanding. They captured the style completely and made it sound simple. They tackled the virtuoso passages with ease, playing as one...with the overall musicality of their playing gave us a memorable experience...The entire evening was an emotional high, due largely to the expressive conducting of Rosemary Thomson, which, at times, left me breathless." ~Read more in the  Nov Kelowna review
Vernon ~ Here's to Symbiotic Friendships ~ "they made the piccolos and violins into birds. Even the horns had some nice bird moments... McGhee on her flute sustains high notes on a feather and Krutzen's captivating warm sound and clean finger work on harp is an art form in itself to watch. She peeks through her regal harp strings as her friend finishes her own phrase with a trill or two. " ~ Read more in the Nov Vernon review

A Piping Hot Christmas
December 18-20, 2009
A Christmas Festival, Anderson; Pipers Entrance and Cape Caval Steam Train; Little Drummer Boy, trad; Messiah Selections: Pifa, Come Unto Him, Rejoice Greatly, Handel; The First Noel, trad.; Amazing Grace, trad; The Road to the Isles, trad; Eine Kleine Wienerfolly, Finley; Sleigh Ride, Anderson; Frosty the Snowman, trad; Hark! The Herald, trad.
Guests: Kelowna Pipe Band, Kristopher Watt, Pipe Major; Tracy Fehr, soprano

Penticton ~ Concert Mixes Bagpipes with Christmas ~ "the pipes could be heard approaching from the distance making their way through the lobby into the concert hall to join the drummers on stage... Thompson stepped down from her podium and sang He Shall Feed His Flock from Messiah together with Okanagan soprano Tracy Fehr. From the same oratorio, Fehr performed the aria Rejoice Greatly, executing the graceful coloratura passages beautifully. Looking stunning in her grey and purple silk robe Fehr also gave an entertaining rendition of Finley's Eine Kleine Wiener Folly," ~ Read more in the Dec Penticton review
Vernon ~ Shepherds Heed the Call ~ " I don't think a bah-hum-bug'er could have survived the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra's sold-out Christmas celebration...The blend of the strings with the pipes was enchanting. Deep, rich and full. I think the conjuring up of such a presentation is nothing short of a gift... Maestra Thomson sang with soprano Tracy Fehr in a selection from Handel's Messiah. Fehr so beautifully added a third selection: "Rejoice O daughter of Zion, for thy king cometh unto thee" ~ Read more in the Dec Vernon review

See more by going to:

http://okanagansymphony.com