Thursday August 25 @ 7:30
ALL-STAR COMEDY GALA
​STARRING RYAN BELLEVILLE
Presented by The Okanagan Comedy Festival
The Okanagan Comedy Festival is proud to present this hilarious gala performance starring Ryan Belleville (Working Moms, Almost Heroes, Comedy Now, Just for laughs and more) joined by comedy headline sensations Damonde Tschritter, Yumi Nagashima and Ryan Short. This line up will have you rolling in the aisles, so come join us for a night of non-stop laughter!

TICKETS - $40
Thursday September 8, 2022
JOHNNY REID
Love Someone Tour
SOLD OUT​
Multi-Platinum, award winning artist Johnny Reid announced more stops on the Love Someone Tour including a stop in Oliver! The tour is set to be one of the longest running artist tours in Canadian history and Reid is making it his mission to connect directly with fans across the country.

The Love Someone Tour started in March and will end at the end in November with Johnny Reid performing over a 120 shows! Love Someone is Reid’s 11th studio album and was released on October 15 via Universal Music Canada. A return to his country roots, the album marks his most inspired collection of songs to date. Complementing the album’s inherent intimacy, the tour will give fans a rare chance to hear Reid live in a highly up close and personal setting as opposed to the major market venues and colossal crowds he typically draws. The past ten years has seen Reid perform to over 1 million people; on this tour, fans can expect an uplifting evening of songs and storytelling with the chart-topping, singer-songwriter.

With an incredible 1.5 million albums sold, Reid is a critically acclaimed singer widely known for his lyrical honesty and musical capability, as demonstrated by an extensive catalogue of hit songs and Platinum selling albums. His illustrious career has also garnered him 26 Canadian Country Music Awards, 6 JUNO Awards and multiple sold-out national arena tours. Reid is also a recipient of the Slaight Music Humanitarian Award and the SOCAN National Achievement Award. His songwriting connects with audiences of all ages from across the globe, inspiring fans with his unique ability to uncover beauty behind life’s ebb and flow.

​“The pandemic has taught me a lot about the value of time. I’ve given a lot of thought about how and where I want to spend my time. I’m really excited to bring this tour to as many places as possible. I can’t wait to reconnect with all of the people that have supported me all of these years in a more intimate concert experience”, said Reid.
Monday September 12 @ 7:00
PASSION SPEECH NIGHT
Oliver Ambassadors
Passion Speech Night is a judged event which features a personal topic speech from each candidate. Speeches will highlight the candidate's interests and passions. We will serve an array of ethnic snacks at intermission to honor the wide diversity of the group.

TICKETS - $5
Friday September 16 @ 7:30
DAVID & KEN
​Improv - Music - Comedy 
Presented by Venables Theatre
TICKETS - $25
​David and Ken’s Comedy with Music is an audience fueled conversational comedy show with real stories, character driven improv scenes and hilarious, spontaneous songs with funky grooves and ripping guitar solos. Come join this playful-absurdist-adventure that will leave you feeling joyful and connected!

David and Ken have toured across North America, Australia and The Caribbean. They’ve also performed at comedy festivals such as: Just For Laughs, BumberShoot, Adelaide/Australia Fringe, Edmonton’s Improvaganza, The Chicago, Seattle, Miami and San Francisco Improv festivals.

Fans of and inspired by Reggie Watts, Flight of the Conchords, Marc Rebillet, Bo Burnham, Tenacious D & the Smothers Brothers they have been fortunate enough to also perform with their improv heroes Colin Mochrie and Ryan Styles.

Get ready for music styles from Radiohead to Reggae with unexpected, clever and often ridiculous lyrics. Who knows, you may get your own personalized love song or help inspire the next catchy anthem about sustainable tofu farms.

David Milchard and Ken Lawson are award winning improvisers, musicians and actors who love making up songs based on your suggestions! David and Ken are members of the Internationally Acclaimed The Comic Strippers, Canadian Comedy Award Winners, Canadian Comedy Award Multi-Nominees, Streamy Award Winners and Nominees & The Second City and Vancouver TheatreSports Alumni. You may have seen them in these TV Shows & Movies: Altered Carbon, Supernatural, Flash, Hater’s Back Off, YouTube’s Convos With My 2-Year-Old (125+ million views), LouderMilk, iZombie, Adventures In Babysitting, Psych, Fringe, Sanctuary, Smallville, Arrow, Tim Burton’s Big Eyes, Robert Redford’s The Company You Keep & The Package.
Saturday September 17 @ 7:30
THE NEW JERSEY JUKEBOX
A Tribute to Frankie Valli &The Four Seasons
Presented by OM Oliver Music & Entertainment
They Are back!!! The New Jersey Jukebox returns with their incredible tribute to The Jersey Boys. This fantastic show sold out when it was here 5 years ago. Make sure you’re inside the house this time before it sells out again.

The New Jersey Jukebox features the music of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons in this re-creation of a Frankie Valli concert experience. The New Jersey Jukebox showcases all your favourite songs from Frankie Valli including the one of a kind classics that have been thrilling audiences for decades, and the most popular singles from the musical, The Jersey Boys. This concert will have you reaching for the high notes as our cast take you on a musical journey with stops at every phase of the careers of Frankie and the boys.

Enjoy a night of timeless classics as the music of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons comes to life. This ultimate tribute show features hits like "Sherry," "Big Girls Don’t Cry," "Walk Like A Man," "Candy Girl," and several others. This show will have you dancing and singing all night long with this talented cast from the high notes to soulful sounds. Take a walk down memory lane with Frankie and the boys. 

​TICKETS
Combine and save! Buy a ticket to both The New Jersey Jukebox on Sept 17 and The Day the Music Died on Sept 18 and pay only $35/ ticket.
Single show tickets - $40
Sunday September 18 @ 7:30
THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED
A Tribute to Buddy Holly and Friends
Presented by OM Oliver Music & Entertainment
Featuring Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, Big Bopper and more, commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the plane crash that took the 3 Rock n Roll legends lives. Get ready for a great mix of 50's and 60's music favorites including the Everly Brothers!
This National Touring Show features Kentucky native Nick Stice, direct from his residency at the legendary Memories Theater in Pigeon Forge, TN. Son of a Grammy nominated gospel artist, Nick was raised in a musical family and has been singing and playing the guitar for much of his life. Regional Credits include Frankie Valli (Thank You for The Music), Bjorn (Abba Tribute), Donny Osmond (Elvis & Friends), Lead Soloist (Live Rock & Roll), Luke Duke (Hazzard County Hoedown), Johnny (Lost in the 50's) & Soloist (The History and Mystery of the Country Music Highway). 
 
The Day the Music Died comes with full band, multi-media, and special guests. Rock n Roll as we know it wouldn’t exist without Buddy Holly. Nick and his full “Rave On” band replicate the bespectacled 50's teen idol and all those great upbeat tempos, a jittery vocal approach and youthful lyrics filled with edgy declarations of love, lust, and heartbreak. The Day the Music Died featuring Buddy Holly & Friends - ONE NIGHT ONLY at Venables Theatre.​

TICKETS
Combine and save! Buy a ticket to both The New Jersey Jukebox on Sept 17 and The Day the Music Died on Sept 18 and pay only $35/ ticket.
Single show tickets - $40                        
Saturday September 24 @ 7:30
JOHN WING
Presented by Train Wreck Comedy
​John Wing, originally from Sarnia, has been a standup comedian for four decades. He has accumulated more than 350 television appearances in Canada and the U.S. He has performed on The Tonight Show, with both Jay Leno and Johnny Carson, Evening At The Improv, Comics, Standup Sitdown Comedy with Robert Klein, as well as two hour-long CBC specials, “John Wing, Fly Me” and John Wing “The Elvis Years”.

John has performed at more than 40 comedy festivals around the world, including ten Just For Laughs Montreal festivals. A regular on CBC radio’s The Debaters, John also had his own radio show for two seasons on CBC, called “Man, Woman, & Child.” In 2013, John was a semifinalist on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.” A regular performer in clubs and on cruise ships, John has travelled the globe bringing his humour with him. He has also published eleven books of poetry, a Memoir of his first 10 years of standup, and in 2021, his first novel, “A Car To Die For”.

John lives in Los Angeles, meticulously maintaining his Canadian citizenship.

TICKETS - $45
Sunday September 25 @ 2:00
SINGING THE '97
Presented by Opera Kelowna
Opera Kelowna is partnering with friends up and down Highway 97 including Venables Theatre to bring an exquisite musical experience to your backyard this September!

The recital series features internationally recognized tenor Colin Ainsworth and renowned collaborative pianist Laura Loewen, who have crafted a program entitled “Ring of Words.” Come and enjoy their performance of popular and acclaimed songs featuring the music of Vaughan-Williams, Finzi, and Hahn.

TICKETS - $40 
​On sale Friday Aug 12 at 9:00am
Opera Kelowna wishes to make the performance accessible to all. Accessible pricing is available with tickets ranging from $5 - $20. Please contact the box office to purchase accessible tickets at 250-498-1626. (Limited accessibly priced tickets available). ​
Wednesday September 28 @ 7:30
CIRQUE ALFONSE - ANIMAL
Presented by Venables Theatre
With Animal, A Farm Story, Cirque Alfonse takes us on a journey of discovery through a series of slightly surreal farm fables served up with a touch of irreverence, impressive virtuosity and the company’s familiar comic touch. In this re-invented agricultural world, the farm is turned upside down and the barn turned inside out!

A gentleman farmer has surrounded himself with some familiar but slightly outlandish creatures: the chickens have teeth, the ducks are slightly menacing and the cows are kicking up a fuss. In this “farm fantasy”, the imagination conjures up stories from childhood, rural life proves to be both energetic and poetic and clichés are joyfully turned on their head.

The clan of family and friends that make up Cirque Alfonse has favoured its multidisciplinary approach where circus, song, dance and theatre all come together, driven by original live music … an irresistible mix of trad and soul that the troupe calls ‘agricultural funk! A production for young and old alike, ANIMAL is the farm gone haywire!

Cirque Alfonse which unites the Carabinier-Lépine family and friends, gets its name from Saint-Alphonse-Rodriguez, its municipality of origin in Lanaudière. The Québec fibre is central to each Cirque Alfonse creations as the troupe draws on national folklore for themes, to which a modern touch is added.
The Alfonse clan has captured the hearts the public in 2011 with its lumber camp in Timber!, and its cabaret electro-traditional cabaret in Barbu in 2014 followed by Tabarnak in 2017. After having toured the globe several times and experienced worldwide success, the troupe returns to give you have an unforgettable time.

TICKETS - Adults $40
Under 19 - $30
Friday October 7 @ 7:30
SIMON & GARFUNKEL - A Musical Celebration
Presented by Om Oliver Music & Entertainment
TICKETS - $45
Simon & Garfunkel – A Musical Celebration! Using huge projection photos and original footage, they perform all the hits including ‘Mrs. Robinson’, ‘Cecilia’, Bridge Over Troubled Water’, ‘Homeward Bound’ and many more. 

The immersive concert-style theatre show chronicles the amazing journey shared by the folk-rock duo, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. It tells the story from their humble beginnings as Tom & Jerry to their incredible success as one of the best-selling music groups of the ‘60’s to their dramatic split in 1970. With more than 100 million album sales since 1965, Simon & Garfunkel’s perfect harmonies and songs that poignantly captured the times made them one of the most successful folk-rock duos of all time.

Mick Dalla-Vee and Michael Sicoly are two wonderfully talented
artists with some awesome credits to their names. Their musical and vocal skills perfectly capture the sound of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel in this beautifully crafted musical presentation.

Mick Dalla-Vee is a musician with a long and storied career in the Canadian music industry most notably for his work with Bachman & Turner for whom he has played bass and been lead singer for over 20 years.

​Michael Sicoly, highly regarded vocalist, has performed on most of the world’s biggest stages. And also happens to be the anthem singer for both The Seahawks and The Mariners and has performed at many of pro sports biggest moments. He has a host of acting credits from a host of movie, TV and radio work.
Monday October 10 @ 7:30
​RUMOURS
The Ultimate Fleetwood Mac Tribute Show - Presented by VaughnCo Entertainment
VaughnCo Entertainment is proud to present “Rumours” The Ultimate Fleetwood Mac tribute show based in Los Angeles, California. The group recreates the legendary band in its youthful heyday from 1975-1979. 
 
“It’s been said imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I say 
THANK YOU!”- Richard Dashut, Record Producer - Fleetwood Mac albums including Rumours, Tusk, Live, Mirage, Tango In The Night, and Time.
 
After finding huge success in Los Angeles, selling out their regular Roxy Theatre performances month after month, the band moved from the world famous Sunset Strip to Casinos, Theatres, and clubs all over Canada and the United States.  

Rumours has meticulously put together a show that spares no detail. From period accurate equipment and costumes to spot on characterizations and musical performances, “ Rumours" takes you back to a time when music was still an unbridled cultural experience and bands weren't afraid to put on a show.  Relive the rock and roll magic with “Rumours” The Ultimate Fleetwood Mac Tribute Show!  

TICKETS - $52​
Wednesday October 19 @ 7:30
KANSAS-LEE
Venables Alive!
Kansas-lee is an honest alt-folk artist with a powerfully dynamic voice and presence. Her songwriting identifies with no genre in particular, but carries a theme of raw authenticity summoned from living a life of total creativity.  She has released three self-produced albums, has toured throughout BC, California, England, and Lanzarote, always delivering an intimate experience of human expression through guitar, piano and voice. 

TICKETS - $15
Venables Theatre presents
ALI HASSAN - "Does This Taste Funny?"
Friday October 21 @ 7:30
TICKETS - $35 
Ali Hassan’s career plans started off as simply as anyone’s: become a chef, get a food show on television, get a second food show on television, be the face of the network and have oven mitts with his face on them. But sometimes things get in the way of your dreams: like your parents’ disappointment, your family of four children and your successful comedy career. 
 
This show is a hilarious exposition of Ali’s journey in and out of the culinary world in which he spent 12 years. Think Eat, Pray, Love....minus the Prayer.

Ali Hassan is a Stand-up Comic and Actor who has performed for audiences across Canada and internationally. He is the host of the CBC Radio stand-up comedy show Laugh Out Loud. Ali is also heard on CBC Radio, NPR and PRX as a frequent guest-host of As It Happens, the arts and culture show ‘q’, and for the past six consecutive years, he has hosted Canada Reads - the annual battle of the books celebrating the best of Canadian literature.  
 
Ali has appeared on the big screen in award-winning films –Breakaway, French Immersion, and as the memorable Lebanese ‘Uncle Stevie’ opposite Sean William Scott, Jay Baruchel, and Eugene Levy in the hockey hit Goon. In 2020, Ali was in the films MySpy, Mafia Inc, and Tammy's Always Dying which had its World Premiere at TIFF 2019. His recent television roles have included Blood & Treasure (CBS), Designated Survivor (ABC), Cardinal (CTV), Odd Squad (PBS Kids), Man Seeking Woman (FXX), Murdoch Mysteries (CBC) and Working Moms (CBC, Netflix).  Television audiences can also see Ali as a recurring guest star on the new CBC sitcom, Run The Burbs.
 
Ali has performed at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal and Toronto's JFL42. Ali also toured across Canada as one of the stars of Just For Laughs Comedy Night In Canada tour, hosted By Rick Mercer.
 
A Canadian Comedy Award nominee, Ali has toured his solo show Muslim Interrupted around Canada to great acclaim. He also took the show to Scotland to perform at the world's largest comedy festival, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  In 2022, Ali begins touring his latest one man show, based on his decade in the food industry, Does This Taste Funny?  In 2022, make sure to check out his book, ‘Is There Bacon in Heaven?’ that comes out with Simon & Schuster.
Sunday November 6 @ 7:30
RIDGE - Performed by The Fugitives
Presented by Venables Theatre
OFTEN CALLED THE “BATTLE THAT MADE CANADA,” VIMY RIDGE RESULTED IN OVER 10,000 CANADIAN CASUALTIES.

Through direct storytelling, verbatim theatre, and live music, Brendan McLeod examines misconceptions and varying perspectives around the battle, while drawing parallels to other formative events in our nation’s past. Featuring inventive musical interpretations of WWI soldier songs, Ridge probes difficult yet necessary questions about how and why we grieve. A vivid, kinetic ride through history, as well as an intimate, personal examination of our connection to the past, Ridge is a visceral work that passionately argues against the exploitation of young lives. 

TICKETS - Adult $35, Under 19 $25
Tuesday November 8 @ 7:30
RELIVE THE MUSIC 50's & 60's ROCK N' ROLL
Presented by Simply the Best Music
TICKETS - $56
“Rock Opera Musical Concert with a Broadway feel mixed in with Dance, Tributes, Videos and Trivia”
A brand new one of a kind show that takes the audience through Music History, Trivia & Memories of the 50’s & 60’s. You will likely learn many things you never knew about these artists. You will see an energetic live band, amazing frontline singers and dancers transforming and re-living thru two decades of music, costumes, trends and dancing along with informative video imagery in the background. 

Performing hits from Patti Page, Dean Martin, Johnny Cash, Fats Domino, Frank Sinatra, Little Richard, The Platters, Bill Haley and the Comets, Elvis, Paul Anka, Patsy Cline, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly, Ricky Nelson, Chuck Berry,  Chubby Checker, Dion, The Four Seasons, The Beatles, Roy Orbison, The Temptations, The Supremes, The Rolling Stones, Sonny and Cher, Neil Diamond, and many more….

The audience will see silhouettes of a band onstage, video will roll in the background with the narrator describing trivia about the upcoming artists prior to each song without mentioning the names.  There will be a pause. The audience is encouraged to shout out their guess of what song is coming up. Let the party begin.
​
We sorted through 20 years of over a thousand songs into one show. The main criteria was to trim it to hit songs that are still relevant and memorable to this day. We made our pick of songs that we feel will never get old.
Saturday November 12 @ 7:30
DANCERS OF DAMELAHAMID
Mînowin
Presented by Venables Theatre
TICKETS - Adults $35, Under 19 $25
The Dancers of Damelahamid’s largest theatre production, Mînowin balances movement, song, and new multimedia design to reflect on Indigenous identity, immersing audiences in a narrative that illustrates moments of connection, understanding, and renewal.

Mînowin (2019) premiered at the National Arts Centre, Ottawa, ON, as part of the Mòshkamo Festival in September 2019, followed by a national tour to the Festival of New Dance (St. John’s, Newfoundland), DanceWorks (Toronto, Ontario), The Cultch (Vancouver, BC), First Ontario Performing Arts Centre (St. Catharine, Ontario), Lawrence O’Brien Arts Centre (Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador). Mînowin also toured to the prestigious Festival Internacional Cervantino in Guanajuato, Mexico.
World Premiere – National Arts Centre Indigenous Theatre, Ottawa, Sept 26-28, 2019

Mînowin illuminates the process of finding direction and explores understandings of organic moments that arise when we connect with one another. These connections breathe new life into our artistic practices and offer critical inquiries with performance spaces.

Through integrating narrative, movement, song, performance, and new multimedia design, Mînowin connects landscapes and Coastal form line with contemporary perspectives of customary Indigenous dance forms. The Dancers of Damelahamid draw from origin stories and explore ways to translate these perspectives through a contemporary lens.
​
Through multimedia elements, this production balances the performance space by adding contemporary reflections of Indigenous identity, immersing audiences in a narrative that illustrates moments of connection, understanding, and renewal.
Thursday November 17 @ 7:30
JAMES MULLINGER IS... BECOMING CANADIAN
Presented by Train Wreck Comedy
TICKETS - $45
James Mullinger has sold out Harbour Station Arena in Saint John, not once, but twice, outselling Jerry Seinfeld, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard and Jeff Dunham!

Mullinger’s stand-up special was picked up by Hulu and Amazon Prime so his tales of life in Atlantic Canada are now being enjoyed by people in Germany, Japan and America.

In April 2018 he sold out Harbour Station a second time, this time beating his own record which made headlines across the pond.
James tours extensively to packed houses across Canada and England. A big-budget movie had been made about his early years in stand up (starring actors from Twilight, Downton Abbey and Notting Hill and comedians such as Jimmy Carr, Gilbert Gottfried, Mike Ward and Pete Zedlacher). It was described by NME as the “funniest film of the year,” “unmissable” by GQ Magazine and “essential viewing. A funny, realistic look at what it takes to become a stand-up comedian,” by the Montreal Times. Watch the trailer here.
​
James is one of Canada’s biggest cheerleaders. He loves it here and spends his time promoting it across the world and raising money for charities and non-profits. James has raised more than $100,000 for Canadian charities. He has also become one of Canada’s top comics, being nominated for both a Just For Laughs comedy award and a Canadian Comedy Award for Best Live Show.
Saturday November 19 @ 2:00
IDEAS BOBERT - Candy Bones Theatre
Family Showtime
​What happens if we deny our deepest dreams and desires? Bobert is a silent character a la Charlie Chaplin who has a little red bird for a heart. His story asks us, what happens if we are to deny our deepest dreams and desires? Teetering on the brink of absolute failure, love-sick Bobert discovers his heart to be more important than he knew. 
​
From award-winning creator and actor Candice Roberts, comes a clown tour de force of comedy and conundrum.  With vintage silent film styling, shadow puppetry, stop motion animation projections, dance and live music, the world of Ideas Bobert is rich with magic and creativity. Like Ginger Rogers meets Mr. Bean on the Muppet show, Ideas Bobert dances with the hilarious absurd. 
 
More about the show and its creator: Ideas Bobert is whimsy and fiction, but for its creator Candice Roberts, it resonates with her truth. Common amongst many comedy artists, Candice has struggled with anxiety and depression. She claims that clown school saved her life. For her, the art of clowning encompasses such fundamental life-skills as connection with oneself and community, creative communication and of becoming comfortable in the discomfort that is the unknown.
​
Clowning for her celebrates the multi-facets of what it means to be human. It is the investigation of what is absurd or confounding about ourselves and society. It is the sharing of vulnerability and honesty and the dissolving of shame through exposure.
Through Ideas Bobert, she hopes to inspire a deep belly laugh, a tender tear and a reminder of how important it is to listen with our hearts and to be in touch with our creative selves. 

TICKETS - $5
Friday November 25 @ 7:30
FRANCIS BAPTISTE
Venables Alive!
Francis Baptiste is an Indigenous songwriter and music journalist from the Osoyoos Indian Band. His recent debut LP, Snəqsilxʷ (Family), features songs in N̓syilxčn̓, a highly endangered language, spoken fluently by only approximately 150 people. The first single from his LP was released in November. A deeply personal record that holds immense cultural weight at its heart, Snəqsilxʷ (Family) finds clarity in an ancient language and invigoration in familiar sounds. Awash in chiming guitar and gold-toned keys, Baptiste's music is alive with a sense of discovery.  

Francis is also a music journalist who writes for Exclaim, Permanent Rain Press, and Vancouver Weekly.

TICKETS - $15
Thursday December 1 @ 7:30
MICHAEL KAESHAMMER
Presented by Venables Theatre
TICKETS - $32
Michael Kaeshammer has invested a lot – countless hours at the keyboard, hundreds of recordings, thousands of live performances, millions of miles in the air and on the road – all in pursuit of a mastery of 12 notes across 88 keys. But for the acclaimed Canadian pianist and singer, there is no set destination, no achievable end point on his path; it’s all about the journey itself, and that journey will always be ongoing.

Over the course of decades as a professional performer, Kaeshammer has developed a signature blend of classical, jazz, blues, and boogie-woogie with effortless pop hooks for a compelling crossover style that’s immediately engaging yet impressively substantial. 

"When I play, I don’t worry about if it’s jazz or pop or classical or whatever; I just play what I hear and let the music decide what it wants to be,” begins Kaeshammer. “Sure, there are different styles, different eras, different approaches, but when you really look at it, it’s all just music based on 12 notes.”

Born and raised in Germany, Kaeshammer began performing club, theatre, and festival stages throughout Europe in his early teens and continued on that trajectory after emigrating to Canada’s West Coast with his family in the mid-‘90s. His first studio album, Blue Keys, dropped in 1996 and spurred a consistent sequence of heralded releases and high-profile international performances. Through it all, the world watched as he grew from child prodigy to full-fledged phenom; from unparalleled pianist to virtuosic singer-songwriter.
Saturday December 3 @ 4:00
THE HISTORY OF MUSIC
​Family Showtime
The History of Music is a fabulous theatrical odyssey that travels through space and time at a thrilling tempo to explore the music of the Western world from pre-historic times to the present day. The show is bursting with energy and combines astounding originality with extraordinary musicianship along with a brassy humour all its own. In The History of Music, an actor helps create the complicity between Buzz’s five musicians and the audience. From the outset to the very end, all find themselves captivated by the rich and colourful theatrical staging that is perfectly integrated with the music. And everything is entirely performed from memory—no music stands in sight to hinder the spontaneity!
Over the past years, Buzz Brass has presented The History of Music show more than 700 times, in 3 languages on 3 continents, gaining rave reviews from teachers, students and journalists alike, in addition to winning numerous awards and accolades.

TICKETS - $5
Sunday December 4 @ 2:00
BUZZ BRASS
Presented by the South Okanagan Concert Society
TICKETS:
Single event - $29
Two or three events - $27.50
Series (4 events) - $100
Students - $2.50
Since 2002, Buzz Brass quintet has been travelling all over the globe to captivate classical music lovers. Whether its concerts consist of brass quintet alone or together with guest musicians, the original artistic propositions it presents leave nobody cold. With over 1,600 appearances to its credit, the ensemble has reached more than 350,000 music lovers throughout North America, Europe and China. The numerous awards and distinctions that Buzz Brass has earned over the years (Opus, ADISQ, and Trille Or) attest to both the quality and the relevance of its musical performances.

​Thanks to numerous innovative programmes, praiseworthy recordings, a unique repertoire and a vision of classical concerts that reaches out to a wide audience, the group now features among the most reputable brass quintets in Canada. Its appearances abroad (Edinburgh’s 2015 Fringe Festival, Beijing’s 2016 Meet in Beijing Arts Festival, New York’s 2018 Chamber Music America, Arts Northwest Conference 2019 and Pacific Contact 2020) enable Canadian musicians’ know-how to shine forth and inspire youths from everywhere to learn music. Buzz Brass has been invited three times in China to present captivating shows for Chinese young people. Its latest productions have had Buzz collaborating with established symphony orchestras such of those of Gatineau, Winnipeg and Quebec City as well as with Ottawa’s National Arts Centre Orchestra.

​Part of the South Okanagan Concert Society 2022/2023 Series:
  • Buzz Brass - December 4, 2022 at 2:00
  • Nicolas Ellis and the Agora Quartet - March 17, 2023 at 7:30
  • Percussiano3 - March 31, 2023 at 7:30 
  • Ladom Ensemble - April 14, 2023 at 7:30
Friday March 17 @ 7:30
NICHOLAS ELLIS and the AGORA QUARTET
Presented by the South Okanagan Concert Society
The Agora String Quartet, composed of young and talented professional musicians, accompanied by pianist and conductor Nicolas Ellis, offers a vibrant, energetic chamber music concert! As artistic director of Orchestre de l’Agora, Nicolas Ellis has developed an extraordinary approach with the audience, developing a strong connection by his presentations. The ensemble has established a strong reputation on the Montreal music scene through its artistic excellence and its numerous community outreach projects such as a monthly concert series at the Prison Bordeaux in Montreal and educational workshops with the Share the Warmth Foundation and many more! Featured on the program, works inspired by folk and nature from composers Ernest MacMillan, Lili Boulanger, Ann Southam, Marcus Goddard and Dvořák’s Piano Quintet No. 2 in A major. 

Part of the South Okanagan Concert Society 2022/2023 Series:
  • Buzz Brass - December 4, 2022 at 2:00
  • Nicolas Ellis and the Agora Quartet - March 17, 2023 at 7:30
  • Percussiano3 - March 31, 2023 at 7:30 
  • Ladom Ensemble - April 14, 2023 at 7:30

​​TICKETS:
Single event - $29
Two or three events - $27.50
Series (4 events) - $100
Students - $2.50
Friday March 31 @ 7:30
PERCUSSIANO3
Presented by the South Okanagan Concert Society
​​TICKETS:
Single event - $29
Two or three events - $27.50
Series (4 events) - $100
Students - $2.50
Percussiano3 is a veritable pageant for the eye and the ear bringing together a myriad of percussion instruments with one piano. The two hands of percussionist Rod Thomas Squance and the four hands of Elizabeth and Marcel Bergmann join together to perform a six-handed musical marvel. With their dazzling array of instruments and brilliant display of virtuosity, Percussiano3 deliver all of the excitement of a percussion ensemble without losing the classical touch of a traditional concert, presenting great masterpieces and unique transcriptions for percussion and piano.

Their repertoire spans across musical styles and periods and includes works by composers like Bach, Schubert, Ravel, Chabrier, Copland, Rachmaninoff, Piazzolla, Brubeck, Saint Saëns as well as their own original compositions. It all began at the Banff Centre for the Arts some 20 years ago, where the musicians first met and performed together over several weeks. Their connection both personally and musically was instant and from that time they have collaborated on a huge variety of musical projects covering a range of repertoire from standard classical to contemporary chamber music, and from jazz to a children’s opera production.

They have recorded for the CBC and for several years performed extensively as members of the award winning Calgary based Land’s End Chamber Ensemble. Their enthusiasm is infectious as audiences experience the dynamic energy and communication of the three friends performing together. The trio enjoys connecting with audiences through their lively performances and engaging explanations, and love taking the time to speak with enthusiastic audience members on stage after concerts.

​Part of the South Okanagan Concert Society 2022/2023 Series:
  • Buzz Brass - December 4, 2022 at 2:00
  • Nicolas Ellis and the Agora Quartet - March 17, 2023 at 7:30
  • Percussiano3 - March 31, 2023 at 7:30 
  • Ladom Ensemble - April 14, 2023 at 7:30
Tuesday April 11 @ 7:30
THE IRISH ROVERS
No End In Sight
Honoured as one of Ireland’s greatest exports by EPIC, the Emmigration Museum in Dublin, these legends of Irish music began last year by hitting Spotify’s VIRAL TOP 50 in both the US and the UK/ Ireland, and ended it with recording a new album, No End In Sight. They included their original 1977 version of The Wellerman, with new verses added, plus a new anthem for our time, Hey Boys Sing Us A Song, which was inspired by frustrations of the last two years. VIDEO: https://youtu.be/vHH5-W3-FTA
 
Canada has been home to The Irish Rovers since the early 60s and their first international hit, The Unicorn. They went on to twenty years of international television shows and many more hits. Millar says, “It’s been a bit odd, being from both Ireland and Canada. At times I’ve felt like a man with no country.” This lead to the song, Band Without A Country from their 2020 album Saints And Sinners which tells the history of this 'band from god knows where!'. VIDEO: https://youtu.be/ly4ubkByY7k
 
The Irish Rovers come to our stage in 2023 for the ultimate night of Irish Music. Get ready for a rollicking night of hits, and hilarious stories from their life on the road!

TICKETS - $55
Friday April 14 @ 7:30
LADOM ENSEMBLE
Presented by the South Okanagan Concert Society
Part of the South Okanagan Concert Society 2022/2023 Series:
  • Buzz Brass - December 4, 2022 at 2:00
  • Nicolas Ellis and the Agora Quartet - March 17, 2023 at 7:30
  • Percussiano3 - March 31, 2023 at 7:30 
  • Ladom Ensemble - April 14, 2023 at 7:30

​TICKETS:
Single event - $29
Two or three events - $27.50
Series (4 events) - $100
Students - $2.50
​Ladom Ensemble combines piano, cello, accordion, and percussion in a unique blend of acoustic chamber and world music that is passionate, sophisticated, and wild. The group met and formed in 2007 while studying music at the University of Toronto. Individual members hail from Alberta (Michael Bridge - accordion), Toronto (Beth Silver - cello), Prince Edward Island (Adam Campbell - percussion), and Ontario by way of Tehran, Iran (Pouya Hamidi - piano). Pouya, the in-house composer, writes original music for the group inspired by Persian and classical fusion but the Canadian spread of the group also reaches across the world and genres as their all-original repertoire incorporates inspirations from Argentinean tango, Serbian folk and dance traditions, Persian classical repertoire, as well as music from the Classical (Bach, Prokofiev) and progressive rock worlds (Radiohead). Ladom doesn’t pretend to represent any one tradition, but rather expresses an authentically Canadian experience. Ladom’s musical identity is combined from many sources and reflects a beautiful new world with a Western classical toolset. They also commission original music by local, Canadian composers such as Elisha Denburg, Igor Correia, Maziar Heidari, Keyan Emami, Saman Shahi, and Afarin Mansouri.
 
Accordionist Michael Bridge who is working on his doctorate in accordion at University of Toronto, brings his whole heart and ballooning talent to the Ensemble, despite being extremely active performing around the world, from orchestras to solo recitals. He has been named one of CBC’s “30 Hot Classical Musicians Under 30” and does over 100 concerts per year. Sock-foot on stage, Adam Campbell (MMus) passes around a twinkle-in-the-eye during performances, and always brings the bottles... as part of his hand percussion toolkit! Cellist Beth Silver (MMus) starts spontaneous jams in between takes, with playful sounds that can only be called ‘fiddling around’. Pouya Hamidi (MMus) usually emerges from rehearsals declaring, “They’re such sweethearts!” In performance and composition, the pianist has a deep love for the music, and a profound humbleness that makes bragging impossible, although warranted. All are active, professional musicians in various contexts.
 
To date, Ladom has toured and enthralled audiences across the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Labrador, and Prince Edward Island. They have completed four major tours in Canada alone: completed a 38-day tour of Ontario and Quebec with Jeunesses Musicales Canada (Fall of 2017), a 3 week tour with Debut Atlantic (Spring 2018), a 3 week tour with Prairie Debut (Winter 2019) and finally another 35-day tour with Jeunesses Musicales Canada (March-April 2019). They have also been presented by Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival. CBC, Radio-Canada, the Whole-Note magazine, and the BBC have featured Ladom in print and video media. Ladom has been selected to showcase at multiple arts conferences including CAPACOA, OSAC, Ontario Contact, and Arts Northwest. 
What's On Stage
Rent the Theatre or Lobby
Tech Specs
Oliver Community Theatre Society
Contact
Venables Theatre is wheelchair accessible, features a T-Coil Hearing Loop for the hearing impaired and allows service dogs in specified seating. Click here for more information.
Venables Theatre
6100 Gala Street
Oliver BC  V0H 1T0
250-498-1626
manager@venablestheatre.ca