The magnificent vastness of the northern landscape is the theme for the Okanagan Symphony’s season finale as they bring together music from current and past composers.
Canadian composer Marcus Goddard — also associate principal trumpet with the Vancouver Symphony — opens the program with his work I Send Only Angels which was commissioned for the VSO in 2007.
The work, which has been described as “a work of shimmering, translucent, winning eloquence,” was received with enthusiasm by audience members, musicians and critics alike.
Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg drew on his native folk songs and dances for inspiration when writing his famous Piano Concerto Op. 16, which premiered in 1869, written when the composer was 25 years old and newly married.
The OSO is also welcoming a guest pianist for the finale. Victoria native Kinza Tyrrell began piano lessons at age four, acquired her AVCM at 15 and went on to study in Salzburg, Austria at 18.
The concert concludes with Jean Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5, a work that attempts to capture the northern moods of nature and the changes in the seasons of his native Finland.
There is also an opportunity to enrich the concert experience by joining conductor Rosemary Thomson for a preconcert talk. Starting an hour before the evening concert, Thomson gives an informal presentation with insights about the music, the composers and the guest artists. Or the audience could join Thomson and the featured artist immediately after the show for afterthoughts, a chance to meet the artist, ask questions and contribute thoughts about the concert.
Admission for these special sessions are free, but donations are accepted.
It all happens on May 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre. Tickets are available from the Penticton and Wine Country Information Centre, 250-770-1470.