As the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 50th anniversary season, it does so as the largest regional orchestra this side of Regina. Putting together upwards of 10 to 11 programs a year while also operating a thriving music school and community programs. But what truly makes the KSO a step above the rest is the scope of what they actually do right here in Kamloops.
“A lot of people still think that orchestras are old, dead white guys, Bach, Beethoven, Mozart,” said Christopher Young, Executive Director of the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra and KSO Music School, during a recent tour of the organization’s spaces at Kelson Hall. “But a lot of what we’re performing, especially at the chamber level, are living composers. These are people writing music today and responding to the world around them.”
And the KSO is living! The orchestra presents grand, full ensemble concerts that immerse the audiences in a wall of sound, and they also put together intimate chamber performances where you get up close and personal with selections of one to five musicians in smaller settings. Both, Young explained, are equally vital.
“To say one is more important isn’t fair,” Young noted. “There’s as much meaning in smaller, intimate experiences as there is in something glorious and grand.”
The diversity goes beyond the music selections. The KSO Chamber Players program brings touring musicians to Kamloops while showcasing local talent. In one recent family concert, a string quartet shared the stage with a local rapper who read from an unreleased book, blending classical and contemporary storytelling. It was, by all accounts, electric.
Programs for young audiences are also central to the KSO offerings. The KSO’s under-five concerts are designed to be joyful, welcoming, and affordable, with tickets priced as low as five dollars. Rather than oversimplifying the music, the orchestra focuses on the presentation, making complex works accessible without sacrificing the artistic integrity of the pieces performed.
“Music is for everyone,” Young said. “Very little of what we do is narrowly defined. Anybody should be able to walk in and feel welcome.”
That accessibility continues through the KSO Music School, which offers private lessons, theory classes, flute ensembles, and more, as well as hands-on educational experiences designed to break barriers and make instruments more accessible. Young talked about how some students got to see how a piano works from the inside and understand better the mechanics behind the sound.
Community-building is at the heart of it all. After some of the more intimate concerts, it’s not unusual to see audience members gathered around musicians, asking questions, examining instruments and getting more connected to not only the music, but the passion and dedication that the musicians bring with them.
“These are moments that spark curiosity and passion,” Young said. “Opportunities and access for families across this community to find that moment in their life.”
The orchestra also balances regional and national connections. Musicians travel regularly from as far away as Winnipeg and Victoria to perform in Kamloops, alongside local artists to bring their talent and passion to the stage at Sagebrush Theatre and smaller, intimate venues, such as the Kelson Hall. It’s a deliberate blend of local and national talents. The sharing of knowledge, ideas, passions, and music is a big part of what makes the KSO special.
Coming up in March, there are a number of different performances that you can check out, such as an interactive Tiny Tots Sound and Colour event which highlights the violin and sound and rhythm inspired by famous pieces of art, to a Soul Diva event featuring soul vocal stylings backed by the KSO, to Celtic Violinists to celebrate St. Patrick, himself.
For those who still imagine symphony as distant or formal, the invitation is simple: Come and listen.
“Did you like it? Were you moved?” Young asked. “That’s really the only question.”