Van-Anh Nguyen, an Australian-born internationally renowned classical pianist, played a couple pieces on the public piano at Gyro Park Wednesday evening. She is on a nine-day visit to Osoyoos to visit with friends Ron and Lynne Bartsch. The following night, she was performing for a private function at the Frank Venables Theatre in Oliver in which she pairs wine from Road 13 Vineyards with appropriate music pieces. She was born in Sydney, Australia in 1987 to Vietnamese refugee parents, who were also musicians. She started learning piano at just 15 months old and now tops classical music charts and performs around the world. (Richard McGuire photo)

Many musical fingers have tickled the keys of the Piano in the Park since it was introduced at Gyro Park in June of 2016.

But few if any can match the skill and talent of Australian classical pianist Van-Anh Nguyen, who stopped by to play a couple pieces last Wednesday.

Nguyen, who has toured internationally and tops classical music charts, is in Osoyoos for nine days to visit with friends Ron and Lynne Bartsch.

They met about five years ago when the couple was on a cruise and Nguyen was performing. By chance, they met unexpectedly the following year on another cruise and have been friends since.

Nguyen was born in Sydney, Australia in 1987 to Vietnamese refugee parents, who were also musicians. She started learning piano at just 15 months old and she was performing on Australian television and radio at age five.

Nguyen was getting ready for a private function with the Bartsches Thursday night at Frank Venables Theatre in Oliver. It was a pairing of wines from award-winning Road 13 Vineyards with appropriately selected classical music, along with cheese.

“It’s a concept that I coined a few years ago, starting in Napa (California),” said Nguyen. “I prepare a different piece to each wine, depending on how it tastes, its body. Then it reflects in the music.”

Ron Bartsch called the Osoyoos Times to say that Nguyen was going to be playing a little at the piano in Gyro Park around 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday. We arrived a little early.

Local man Vince Sam was on the piano. He was playing with his knuckles, but it’s clear he’s had piano training. Sam says he also plays other instruments including saxophone and trombone.

He’s improvising, or as Sam describes it, “I play from my heart.”

A couple young girls also take turns, hammering on the keys randomly.

Nguyen arrives with the Bartsches. They sit while Sam plays, politely listening and applauding him. Then it’s Nguyen’s turn.

Her long fingers flutter across the keys and the sound is smooth as butter. It’s easy to see why her music is receiving international acclaim.

This is Nguyen’s second time in Osoyoos. She did a small concert here when she visited the Bartsches a year ago. That was at the end of May and this time the weather is much hotter.

But Nguyen said she likes the heat. In fact she splits her life between Sydney and Los Angeles, staying in Australia from October to April, summer in the southern hemisphere, and in California from April to October.

“I really don’t like the cold,” she said.

The smoke in the air is thick and Osoyoos isn’t showing its best side, but Nguyen is impressed nonetheless.

“It’s a paradise,” she said. “Seriously, you’ve got a beautiful lake, you’ve got vineyards. I love the heat, so I’m not complaining. Then you’ve got snow, but from what I’ve heard, it’s not full-on snow. You get the nice Christmas feeling. And then you’ve got all these fruits as well. What else better is there?”

RICHARD McGUIRE

Osoyoos Times

Vince Sam plays an improvisation with his knuckles on the piano at Gyro Park. “I play from my heart,” he says. He also plays other instruments including trombone and saxophone, he says, adding that he was raised in a musical family. Behind him, Van-Anh Nguyen, an internationally renowned classical pianist, awaits her turn to play a couple pieces. (Richard McGuire photo)