Plato said it well: “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything”.
I, myself, am passionate about music’s emotive ability to allow us to feel, to feed the soul as we navigate life. And I believe in its power to help us celebrate and heal when we need it most.
Salmon Arm is a diverse and rich community, and we are indeed fortunate that the musicians of the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra regularly perform on our stages. I want to play my part in ensuring that symphonic music is one of the great cultural amenities that our city’s residents continue to enjoy.
The KSO believes in music as a public good that cares for and serves the diverse residents of the BC Interior and amplifies their voices. They invest in communities like ours through the performance of musical works that have stood the test of time (for centuries in some cases) alongside those of contemporary artists, including Canadian musicians and composers.
We have many residents in Salmon Arm who have moved from urban centres and are thrilled to attend KSO concerts here at home. I’m one of those, having moved from Montréal 31 years ago–how time flies!
The KSO, a fully professional and unionized orchestra, is now celebrating its 49th anniversary and has been performing regularly in Salmon Arm for over 17 years. Many attendees don’t know that ticket sales cover less than 40% of the cost of putting on a concert. The bus ride alone costs approximately $2,000 for each Salmon Arm performance.
So, I established this fund with the Shuswap Community Foundation, not only because I love orchestral music, but because I wish for community members in Salmon Arm and across the region to continue to experience these joys now and well into the future.
The KSO’s theme for their 49th anniversary in 2025/26 is “Extraordinary Together.” And in this spirit, I invite everyone to join me in supporting the KSO’s work in Salmon Arm by donating to this fund. Together, we can help deepen the power of music in our community today and sustain it for tomorrow.
