Conflict surrounds Okanagan Symphony Orchestra firing of music director Rosemary Thomson after 16-year tenure
A petition calls for the reinstatement of the maestro who has conducted in Vancouver
Rosemary Thomson.
THE OKANAGAN SYMPHONY SOCIETY has released a statement to the public following the abrupt firing on December 1 of conductor Rosemary Thomson, who has been the organization’s musical director for 16 years. “We will not be disclosing the specific details of the issues that led to the board’s decision to continue the season with guest conductors,” it reads.
More than 2,300 people have now signed an online petition calling upon the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra’s board of directors to reinstate Thomson, who has guest-conducted locally on Vancouver stages. Derril McKenzie, the petition’s organizer, asks the board “to consider the damage this unwarranted decision will create between the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra and their patrons, musicians, youth, disability advocacy groups, Indigenous and other community relationships”.
The conductor, who is among the small percentage of women to lead Canadian orchestras, was set to retire at the end of the 2023-24 season.
Thomson’s legal counsel filed a claim for wrongful dismissal against the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra on Friday.
But the new statement from the OSO Society does little to clear up the reason for the dismissal. “The Okanagan Symphony Society’s focus remains on delivering exceptional music experiences to our communities,” says Judy Burns, the Okanagan Symphony Society’s president, in a statement. “The involvement of our musicians is crucial in both our search for a new music director and our artistic planning for the upcoming season. We will not be disclosing the specific details of the issues that led to the board’s decision to continue the season with guest conductors.”
The statement continues: “We respect the privacy and dignity of all parties involved. Because of confidentiality, we will not be saying anything further about this matter. The Okanagan Symphony will continue its current season featuring guest conductors, guest artists, and our OSO musicians in starring roles. We have undertaken the search for a new music director. We will be sharing our shortlisted candidates at the end of the current season and will feature music director candidate audition performances during our 2024-25 season.”
Thomson has been artistic director of Opera Kelowna since 2020. She was previously resident conductor and chorus master of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and co-conducted the Okanagan Symphony Youth Orchestra alongside Dennis Colpitts for 13 years.
In January of this year, Thomson was a guest conductor at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in a concert celebrating the late maestro Bramwell Tovey. She also visited the city in 2015, when she conducted a UBC Opera Ensemble production of Jules Massenet’s 19th-century French opera Manon featuring the Vancouver Opera Orchestra.
The Okanagan Symphony Players Association, which is made up of the core musicians in the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra, issued an open letter to the public on December 12 requesting support.
“Our orchestra—your orchestra—is a reflection of the people and communities it serves,” writes acting assistant concertmaster Susan Aylard, who’s a representative of the association, in the letter. “It is not one musician. It is not one composer. It is not one soloist. It is not one individual. It is the sum of all of those on stage as well as the administration, the staff, the volunteers, the board of directors, the donors, and the music itself.”
The Okanagan Symphony Orchestra’s current season wraps up on May 12 with pianist Ian Parker in the Mainstage Series concert Bring on Beethoven.
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