Awesome Show by Fehr

By Sue Morhun

Special to Okanagan Newspapers

Sometimes it’s easy to overlook the talented musicians who call this region home.

Ironically, it has taken COVID travel restrictions, combined with a slight easing of attendance constraints, to remind local audiences we have exceptional musicians right on our doorstep.

Case in point?

The wonderfully varied presentation of A Classic Christmas offered by Penticton’s lyric coloratura sopraon Tracy Fehr and her three musical friends at the Venables Theatre in Oliver: pianist and composer Wynn Nordlund, cellist and alto Olivia Walsh and soprano Heather Allen.

From the moment the quartet stepped on stage, the audience was in wonderful musical hands, all under the direction of the very accomplished Fehr.

The credentials for each one of these musicians are both impressive and extensive and, in the case of Fehr and Nordlund, international in scope. They all deserve their fine reputations as was confirmed throughout the evening.

Their seasonally-focused repertoire that evening travelled easily through the centuries moving from medieval and renaissance offerings to more contemporary works. Medieval costumes presented a delightful visual setting for both the music and the stories about the music they shared.

The highlights of the evening were many but for this reviewer several stand out: the light and sensitive touch of piano accompanist Nordlund, the rich underschoring of Walsh’s cello in de la Monnoye’s Pat-a-pan and most impressively, Fehr’s voice which is so pure and clear, especially in the upper register.

One couldn’t help but ask for more as the last notes of O Holy Night filled the theatre.

This veritable feast of Christmas music was offered thanks to the efforts of the South Okanagan Concert Society and their many faithful sponsors, all of whom ensure programmes featuring high calibre artists like Tracy Fehr and Friends are both available and affordable.

The Society’s 2021/22 series began in November with Penticton’s highly-regarded Offramp Jazz Sextet followed by Fehr’s Christmas classics. On Jan. 28th, the Society hosts the highly-acclaimed, well-travelled Montreal Guitar trio and then back for a return visit to Oliver on Mar.18 will be siblings Bryand and Silvie Cheng of the Cheng2Duo on piano and cello. These are concerts not to be missed.