Message from the President

If I said we faced unprecedented challenges in our 2019-2020 season, I would be understating the fact. So, I’ll put it this way: COVID-19 almost brought our organization to its knees in the spring of 2020.

However, with great resilience, determination, and an innovative spirit, we succeeded to conclude the 2019-2020 season and to revise our planned 2020-2021 program. We managed to re-invent ourselves, as many organizations in our arts and cultural sector in Canada and beyond have often done in the past, to become a beacon of hope and positive change. In the midst of the pandemic crisis, we saw future possibilities which we worked to realize.

The artistic leadership strived to keep musicians employed. Our administration kept up communication with our audience. The Board of Directors continued to govern and to keep the organization financially healthy.

We would like to thank many foundations, donors and sponsors, and federal, provincial and municipal government agencies for their understanding and extraordinary financial generosity. We also like to thank our staff for their dedication and their will to soldier through these difficult times.

We give special thanks to our Music Director & Conductor Dina Gilbert and the KSO musicians, who comprise the heart and soul of the organization. Financially, emotionally and professionally, they lost out on the most due their inability to play and perform. All round, we hope the worst is behind us and the best before us.

Concerts and performances provide aesthetic, emotional and spiritual connection between artists and audiences. This connection only happens in real time and space. We are determined to continue such a connection in various shapes and forms in the 2020-2021 season, which will take us to the edge of the future.

Miki Andrejević President, Kamloops Symphony Society