Kick out the doldrums when the Okanagan Symphony opens 2015 with Winter Splendour at the Vernon Performing Arts Centre Jan. 18.
“This month’s performance is exactly the type of concert that we need during these long winter months,” said OSO music director Rosemary Thomson. “This show will give you variety with song and violin as our orchestra brings excitement to the stage throughout the evening, bringing the music to life.”
Featured works include the Prince Igor Overture, written by Russian composer Alexander Borodin, which Thomson describes as an energetic and lyrical piece, as well as Symphony No. 6. Op. 74, B minor, the last composition written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky before his death in 1893.
Kelowna-raised violinist Melissa Wilmot is the OSO’s featured artist and will perform the Violin Concerto, written by Coldstream composer and OSO second violinist Imant Raminsh, whose compositions are known for their beauty, melodiousness, and emotional sincerity, said Thomson.
Now based in Houston, Texas, Wilmot has performed extensively across North America as a recitalist, chamber, and orchestral musician. She is a core member of the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra, and has also performed with the Houston Ballet, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and the National Ballet of Canada, as well as the Esprit, Saskatoon, Kamloops and Okanagan symphonies.
Also joining the OSO for Winter Splendour is soprano Eeva-Maria Kopp, who started her career in her native Finland.
Kopp graduated with a master’s in music education and a diploma in opera, and is a prize winner of several national singing competitions.
She has performed with such major companies and festivals as Finnish National Opera, Helsinki Festival, Ilmajoki Festival, Finnish Chamber Opera, and Lapland Chamber Orchestra.
Kopp moved to Kelowna in 2013. While she still occasionally travels back to Europe to perform, she says she is happy for the possibilities that have arisen here, including singing with the Okanagan Symphony as well as with Opera Kelowna.
The OSO’s Winter Splendour takes the stage Sunday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at the Ticket Seller in the Performing Arts Centre. Call 250-549-7469 or visit www.ticketseller.ca.
