Spokane Symphony and Spokane Youth Symphony Together

Sep 22, 2010

For Immediate Release

Contact: Annie Matlow - 464-7074 or David Hollingshead - 448-4446

SPOKANE— For the first time in 30 years, the Spokane Symphony and the senior ensemble of the Spokane Youth Symphony will play side by side on the stage of Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox on Sunday, Oct. 3, 2010, at 4 p.m. The two orchestras will perform under the baton of Spokane Symphony Music Director Eckart Preu, while Verne Windham, Spokane Youth Orchestra's conductor and the Spokane Youth Symphony's artistic director will be master of ceremonies.  

A concert that melds the talents of student and professional musicians is not uncommon, but there hasn't been one in Spokane since 1970. This year, in honor of Verne Windham’s upcoming retirement from the Spokane Youth Symphony, the two orchestras will be playing side by side in what promises to be an impressive concert.

“What a wonderful opportunity for our young folks and it has to be fun for Spokane Symphony musicians, too - or why would we do it?” raved Verne Windham, Artistic Director of the student ensemble. “That's why this concert is so important. It allows our students to experience so much more than what our program can provide.”

The program, which is comprised of three selections, will begin with Gioachino Rossini’s Overture to Guillaume Tell(William Tell), taken from composer’s ambitious opera of the same name, that tells the story of the Wiliam Tell legend. The Overture, with its high-energy finale, is the best known part of the opera; is particularly familiar through its use in the American radio and television shows as the theme of The Lone Ranger.

For the second piece on the program, the Spokane Symphony, along with a handful of young musicians, will perform the first movement of Jean Sibelius’ Violin Concerto in D minor, the only concerto Sibelius ever wrote. Spokane Symphony Concertmaster, Mateusz Wolski will play the technically challenging solo part. Much of the violin writing is purely virtuosic, but even the most showy passages alternate with the melodic. This concerto is generally symphonic in scope, departing completely from the often lighter, "rhythmic" accompaniments of many other concertos. The solo violin and all sections of the orchestra have equal voice in the piece.

The final piece will be selections from Stravinsky’s 1919 version of Firebird Suite; a piece the youth symphony could not perform without the resources of the Spokane Symphony. A perennial audience favorite and Stravinsky's most frequently performed work, the Firebird Suite was pulled from score composed for The Firebird ballet, the production the launched Stravinsky from the ranks of the unknown to international superstar. The original score called for a vast orchestra, but the 1919 arrangement requires a smaller number of musicians in keeping with the resources of modern orchestras. The combined forces of both symphonies should give listeners a better feel for Stravinsky’s original vision. The performance will feature the fourth and fifth movements from the Suite: Berceuse (or Lullaby) and the Finale. The Spokane Symphony will be performing the complete Suite the following weekend.

Tickets for are $15 for adults, $13 for seniors, and $11 for youth age 17 and under. Tickets are available in advance at the Spokane Symphony Ticket Office, located at Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox, 1001 W. Sprague, or by calling 509-624-1200. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.spokanesymphony.org Tickets are also available at all TicketsWest outlets or by calling 1-800-325-SEAT.