Our Mission

The Okanagan Festival Singers’ Mission is to provide opportunities in Kelowna and the Okanagan Valley for the performance, appreciation and enjoyment of choral music. We will promote, organize and encourage choral music through performance of choral works and in the presentation of choral concerts, bringing the experience of great choral music to the Okanagan.

Established in 1986 under the direction of Leroy Wiens, the OFS has developed into one of the foremost choral ensembles in the BC Interior. They have created their own unique place in the hearts of Okanagan audiences with their performances of Handel’s Messiah and other baroque masterpieces.

NORENE MORROW ~ ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & CONDUCTOR

Norene Morrow holds an M. Mus. (Arizona) and a B. Mus. (Manitoba), both in Vocal Performance, with advanced course work in choral conducting from Brandon University, plus an Associate Diploma (ARCT, Royal Conservatory) in Speech Arts and Drama Performance, for which she was awarded a national Gold Medal. She has over 40 years of conducting and teaching experience at various institutions including: St. Michael and All Angels Cathedral (Kelowna), Penticton Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, community music schools in Kelowna, and Vernon, Algoma University and Algoma Conservatory (Sault Ste. Marie), University of Manitoba, Steinbach Bible College; Mennonite Brethren Bible College (Winnipeg) and two years as a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Arizona. Norene is also a frequent festival adjudicator and workshop clinician. With regard to theatre, she has 15 years experience as a performer, music director, and teacher at Kelowna Actors Studio. In recent years, she has worked as a stage director with Shakespeare Kelowna and Theatre Kelowna.   

SANDRA FLETCHER ~ ACCOMPANIST

TAMI HARKER ~
DIRECTOR EMERITUS

Tami Harker, served as Artistic Director and Conductor of Okanagan Festival Singers  throughout the 2023-2024 season. She is currently the conductor of the Vita Nova Chamber Choir and Chamber Orchestra located closer to her home in the North Okanagan.  She has directed many high school, church and community choirs throughout her career such as the Delta Community Choir, Angelicus Children’s Choir, Tapestry young adult ensemble, and AURA Chamber Choir.  She has also been a vocal coach, voice instructor, and pre-Covid worked with local Vernon choirs such as Counterpoint and the OSO Chorus.  With a B. Mus. and a B. Ed. both from UBC, Tami has always been invested in teaching others to connect emotionally to music.  

LEROY WIENS ~
FOUNDER and DIRECTOR EMERITUS

Leroy Wiens, now retired, was the founding conductor of the Okanagan Festival Singers. Under his direction for over 30 years, this auditioned Okanagan based choir developed into one of the premier choirs in the B.C. interior.

Leroy earned a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Oregon. He has studied with Helmuth Rilling at the Oregon Bach Festival, and noted Canadian conductors William Baerg, James Fankhauser and Wayne Riddel. He also earned undergraduate degrees from the University of British Columbia (Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Education) and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Winnipeg.

Leroy has guest conducted for the Okanagan International Festival of the Arts, Viva Musica, Kelowna Mozart Festival and the B.C. Choral Society. As founding conductor of the Kelowna Community Chorus, he directed this one-hundred voice non-auditioned choir for 20 years. He also has led numerous church choirs and has held the position of Assistant Conductor with the Vancouver Cantata Singers.

In 2010 he was the recipient of the Arts Educator award from the Central Okanagan Arts Foundation for excellence in arts education. He recently retired as a music specialist from the Central Okanagan School District.

Our History

The OFS was founded by Leroy Wiens in the spring of 1986 for a performance of Handel’s Israel in Egypt with the Elmer Iseler Singers of Toronto. This was such a wonderful experience that the choir decided to continue and has been making inspired music ever since. Our dedicated, auditioned members attend weekly rehearsals from as far south as Penticton and north to Vernon, and all points in between.

The OFS repertoire includes large classical works, such as Handel’s Messiah, Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, Bach’s Mass in B Minor, and Haydn’s Creation, to name but a few. The choir also performs many a cappella pieces, music by Canadian composers, and musical works from the 14th to the 21st Centuries. Special concerts for children include a Children’s Messiah complete with puppets and opportunities to sing along, and Handel’s The King Shall Rejoice complete with coronation!

For the past several years, the OFS has participated in regional choral festivals and community events. OFS has shared the stage with other choirs, such as the Amabilis Singers from Vancouver, the Yume Women’s Choir from Japan, and Serious Options of Kamloops. In June 2017 they hosted the internationally celebrated Elektra women’s choir from Vancouver.