Former music director of the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra, Rosemary Thompson, says she has been wrongly dismissed from her post of almost 16 years and she intends to prove it.
“I feel like this whole thing has been really unjust and wrong and I need to stand up for myself,” said Thompson.
“I need to stand up for my professional reputation but plus I had hundreds of people in this community writing to me and they’re outraged.”
On Dec. 1, Thompson was told she had conducted her last concert with the orchestra six months before she was set to retire in May, due to what she says is a clause being invoked in her contract that is reserved for serious offences.
“I thought I didn’t steal any money and I know people have been asking and I promise you I’ve not stolen a dime from the symphony, and I never would.”
Thompson says that her termination has to do with the process of putting together her last show, Amplify, which featured BIPOC artists but she says that OSO is not racist, the difficulties had to do with different working styles.
“It was so exciting to be working with them and bring them together in the Orchestra, but our processes are different so orchestra comes for years, decades, centuries by reading music, you read music, some of these other artists come from a more oral tradition and some cases are more improvisatory,” said Thompson.
“Trying to create parts for the orchestra can be challenging that fit, because they’re not necessarily doing things the same way every time which is very exciting, so it caused some hiccups.”
The president of the Okanagan Symphony Society, Judy Burns, declined Global News’ request for an interview and provided a written statement, saying, “The release of Rosemary Thompson from her contract was done after a thorough examination of the available information. The OSS Board consulted expert advice, evaluated options and performed a careful analysis before making a difficult decision” and cites that the OSS board will not be sharing more information at this time.”
On Wednesday afternoon, members of the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra performed at the Delta Grand Hotel in Kelowna ahead of their Christmas Concerts this weekend.
An open letter from the Okanagan Symphony Players Association, released Dec. 12, reads, “Our Orchestra, Your orchestra, is a reflection of the people and communities it serves. 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.”
A petition circulating since Dec. 7 at www.change.org has collected more than 2,000 signatures to reinstate Thompson, which is what Thompson says she wants, saying she hopes to return to finish her final season with the orchestra.
“Music is my passion, it’s my life,” said Thompson.
While Thompson begins her legal battle with the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra board, she will continue to work with Opera Kelowna as artistic director.
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