Enjoy classical music in the North Okanagan's majestic setting!
Gorgeous lakes (with a chance of spotting Ogopogo ☺), rolling hills with orchards and vineyards, majestic mountains with a range of world-class outdoor activities and epic hiking trails - what a fantastic backdrop for a classical music festival!
The young Vernon Proms festival has quickly become Vernon's signature Summer event. In 2017, it offered a wide range of free and paid events in the warm acoustics of Vernon's All Saints Church: Colour of Song recital with soprano Marie Civitarese and pianist Graham Vink, Sycamore String Quartet's concert, a recital of Viennese music with violinist Cvetozar Vutev and pianist Dimitr Terziev, Early Music Okanagan's free summer concerts with Oko Baroquo period music ensemble, guitarist Alan Rinehart, Chorealis vocal ensemble, Early Music Okanagan soloists, a vocal workshop with soprano Tracy Fehr, Cvetozar Vutev's violin masterclass, and more.
In 2018 we received our first grant and the festival grew rapidly with scheduled 24 events - concerts, workshops, and masterclasses, half of which were free to the public!
In 2020 we are very proud that we were able to find a way to safely run a four-week festival during the COVID pandemic, and go ahead with the 5th annual Vernon Proms! Our 39 festival events included 21 public concerts with live audience, 4 masterclasses, 4 live-streamed concerts, and 10 sidewalk concerts in front of Vernon's senior residences. Our motto was: "Physically Distant; Socially Connected; Musically Inspired", and, with adjusted programming, limited audience numbers, and use of spacious indoor and several outdoor venues, we were able to continue on our mission of keeping Vernon buzzing with the joy and inspiration of live music every year!
The goal of the festival is to attract more people, including kids, to becoming involved in musical amateurism, to bring classical music closer to the audience, and, of course, to entertain our local public and tourists alike!