Symphony takes its act outside
Spokane orchestra makes return to Comstock Park, Liberty Lake’s Pavillion Park for annual Labor Day concerts
The Spokane Symphony will serve up a musical smorgasbord for picnickers’ pleasure at this year’s Labor Day parks concerts.
Under the alternating batons of Music Director Eckart Preu and Resident Conductor Morihiko Nakahara, the orchestra will play everything from classical favorites to movie scores to patriotic tunes on Saturday at Liberty Lake’s Pavillion Park, and on Monday at Comstock Park on the South Hill.
The program includes “Mars” from Holst’s “The Planets”; the overture to Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville”; Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture”; “Summon the Heroes,” written by John Williams for the 1996 Summer Olympics; and music from “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
At Comstock, the orchestra will get a head start on the Lincoln Bicentennial – the celebration of the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth – with Aaron Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait.” The piece is narrated from Lincoln’s writings, including the Gettysburg Address.
It’s only the beginning of things to come. In its classics concerts on Feb. 28 and March 1, the symphony will feature Spokane-bred baritone Thomas Hampson in a piece specially commissioned for the Lincoln Festival.
Also at Comstock, concertgoers can decide which piece the symphony plays for an encore: “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” or the “Star Wars” theme.
A hat typically is passed during the concert to help defray expenses. This time, there will be two – an Uncle Sam top hat, and a storm trooper helmet – with the fullest fedora determining the closing selection.
As usual, the Comstock concert will be preceded at 4 p.m. by a “Season Arts Preview,” where more than 30 area arts organizations will detail their upcoming offerings, as well as a musical instrument “petting zoo” for kids.