Symphony season set to finish with ‘sense of occasion’

At this time of year, I think about beginnings and endings.

There is a wonderful sense of anticipation leading up to the start of an adventure and an equally satisfying sense of accomplishment as the same journey comes to a close.

Each May, the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra (OSO) concludes our season with a grand finale performance. It is usually one of my favourite concerts because we tend to perform big pieces and the feeling on stage is electric and the audience responds with wonderful enthusiasm.

It does make me feel a little bit like a kid heading into the last day of school.

As we approach this final performance of the year, I also look back fondly on the season we have just completed. From our opening night with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, our first Spooktacular Halloween show, the Okanagan Handbell Choir at Christmas, UBC Opera Ensemble ringing in the New Year, our Side by Side with the Okanagan Symphony Youth Orchestra and the incomparable Jens Lindemann, piano prodigy Kevin Chen, Peter and the Wolf and the gorgeous Sarah Slean it has been a jam packed season of wonderful music.

I clearly remember the sense of anticipation that I felt last May as we unveiled our programming for this year and I can hardly believe we have reached the end of the season. Of course, each concert was my favourite — until the next one came along.

Planning each new season is one of my favourite parts of my job as music director. Along with the artistic planning team, I get to dream about all the many possibilities. We start with a bunch of questions: • Which guest artists do we want to present on our stages? Are they available? Can we afford them?

• Which symphony haven’t we played for a while?

• What is the optimum balance between playing the favourite old chestnuts of the orchestral repertoire and trying something new and out of the box?

• Is there a particular event or historical date that we want to acknowledge?

• Is there a community partner or collaborator that we would like to work with?

• What about our kids programming, are we doing all that we can to bring the magic of live orchestral music to all ages throughout the valley?

We design and dream and sometimes argue, and after many months of planning, we gather everything together and, with bated breath, send everything off to the printer, hoping that proof reading the copy for the zillionth time will result in a brochure without a single mistake.

Then, we get to share the results as we unveil the season to you, our community. I think that is the moment when all of those months of planning finally feel real and the shared sense of anticipation for next season begins anew.

Of course, before next season begins, this one must end. We always want the season finale to have a sense of occasion.

This year, that sense of occasion comes from our guest artists, The Gryphon Trio, Canada’s preeminent chamber ensemble, which is celebrating their 25th anniversary.

They have played literally thousands of

concerts together all over the world. From iconic theatres in major centres to humble community centres in remote communities this trio has shared their music with tens of thousands of listeners.

They will be joining the orchestra to perform Beethoven’s fantastic Triple Concerto. Written for violin, cello and piano soloists with the OSO as backup band, this piece is exhilarating to listen to.

We will also perform the 7th Symphony of Antonin Dvofiák. The rustic charm of Dvofiák’s native Czech heritage can be heard throughout the melodies that sing out one after the other seemingly without end. Combined with the infectious rhythms of Czech folk dances this symphony takes listeners on a journey from tenderness to triumph.

I hope that you will join us for this wonderful season finale.

I invite you to share in our sense of accomplishment as we draw this season to a close, and our sense of anticipation as we share all of the details for the season to come. I can’t wait to get started! Rosemary Thomson is music director for the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra.