Kamloops Symphony celebrates Christmas

ARTS/ ENTERTAINMENT — The Kamloops Symphony will be joined by 16-year-old Julien Haynes for Christmas with the KSO.

Haynes is the Kamloops Festival of the Performing Arts Symphony Award winner. He has been studying violin since he could hold one. A regular provincial-level competitor, Haynes also received Best of Festival in Penticton in 2014 and Most Promising Performer in Kelowna. He will join the Kamloops Symphony for the Christmas performance as the violin soloist.

Other young performers will also join Kamloops Symphony musicians on stage. The Kamloops Symphony Music School’s Youth String Orchestra will play alongside professional musicians for all but one piece in the program.

The nine string players who make up the youth string orchestra have played portions of the Christmas performance for the past three years. They attend both group and private lessons at Kamloops Symphony Music School and are high school students ranging from Grades 10 to 12.

Christmas with the KSO is a program designed to celebrate the season. The evening will start off with Philip Lane’s Wassail Dances. It is one of a number of his works themed around the Christmas season. It was originally commissioned by the Gloucestershire Youth Orchestra and premiered in 1973. Lane made a career reconstructing lost film scores and is known for his light music compositions and arrangements.

Haynes will perform two movements from Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1, one of the most popular romantic violin concertos. Bruch began composing at nine years old and wrote over 200 works.

The program will also include songs and sing-along carols with the KSO Chorus.

Christmas with the KSO will run for two performances Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 14 at 2 p.m. at Sagebrush Theatre. Tickets can be purchased from Kamloops Live! Box Office at 250-374-5483 or http://www.kamloopslive.ca.