Our next concert is Virtuosic Piano, a performance filled with scintillating virtuosity. We have two performances of this concert; Saturday, April 13 at 7:30 pm in the Oasis Church, part of our Noran Masterworks Series, and Sunday, April 14 at 2:00 pm in The Nexus at First as part of our Salmon Arm Series.

The first half of the concert features two Polish composers, Wojciech Kilar and Frederik Chopin. While Kilar may not be a household name like Chopin, his music has been included in many well-known films, such as “The Pianist”, “Portrait of a Lady”, and Coppola’s “Dracula”. His piece Orawa opens the concert, depicting shepherds of the Tatra Mountains celebrating the end of the grazing season with a lively dance.

Next on the program is Chopin’s Piano Concerto no. 2, one of six works for piano and orchestra he composed between the ages of 17 and 21. Like Kilar’s Orawa, this concerto is heavily influenced by the folk music of Poland.

Joining the KSO to perform Chopin’s piano concerto is guest artist Mathieu Gaudet. Based in Montreal, Gaudet has enjoyed a rich career for over twenty years that has seen him perform all across the country, as well as internationally. He has won concerto competitions at the Glenn Gould School in Toronto, the Harrison Winters Concerto Competition and the Russell Wonderlic Piano Competition in Baltimore, and the Canadian Music Competition in Montreal. Gaudet studied at Johns Hopkins Universty and the University of Montreal, and in addition to being a concert pianist he is also an Emergency Room physician.

Concluding the concert is Louise Farrenc’s Symphony no. 3. Farrenc is a woefully under-performed French composer from the 19th Century. This bold and energetic symphony is a nearly-forgotten masterpiece with a finale as a catchy and memorable as Beethoven’s 5th, and was the only one of her symphonies performed in her lifetime.

Tickets for the Kamloops performance are $42, $10 Youth (under 19), $15 KSOundcheck Members (age 19-34), and can be purchased from Kamloops Live! Box Office at 250-374-5483 or www.kamloopslive.ca.
Tickets for the Salmon Arm performance are $30 $10 Youth (under 19), $15 KSOundcheck Members (age 19-34), and can be purchased from Kamloops Live! Box Office at 1-866-374-5483 or www.kamloopslive.ca, at Wearabouts Salmon Arm, or at the door.

Learn More About The Concert