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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spotlight: Arts-related events set to honor 9/11 anniversary

We’re getting word of several arts-related events for the upcoming 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks:

• Evensong at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist , Sept. 11, 7 p.m. – The Cathedral Choir, oboist Gary Plowman and trumpeter Larry Jess will perform works by John Rutter and Herbert Howells at this commemorative service.

Jess will also premiere a new piece by choir member David Asplin, “Letter to the World.” Readings and prayers will be interspersed with the music.

Invited representatives from local police and fire departments and the military will also take part. The cathedral is at 12th Avenue and Grand Boulevard. Free.

• “Windows on the World” concert, Cutter Theatre, Metaline Falls, Wash., Sept. 11, 2 p.m. – Pianist and composer Donivan Johnson and cellist Kevin Hekmatpanah will perform a work by John Adams titled “On the Transmigration of Souls,” which uses actual messages from victims and family members of the attacks. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 2003.

They will also perform a composition by Johnson and selections by Bach and Casals.

Admission is by donation to the local EMT unit. The event is funded by Humanities Washington.

“An Hour of Remembrance,” INB Performing Arts Center, Sept. 11, 5 and 7 p.m. – This is the major remembrance event planned for Spokane. It will include live local musicians, and a “dramatic” multimedia commemorative presentation.

It is presented by the George Nethercutt Foundation. Free.

Single symphony tickets

Single tickets are on sale for all Spokane Symphony concerts – including the Classics series, the SuperPops series and the Casual Classics.

This is the first chance to snatch up tickets for a concert without purchasing a full series subscription.

Call (509) 624-1200 or go to the box office at the Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox, 1001 W. Sprague Ave. Tickets are also available through TicketsWest outlets (800-325-SEAT or www.ticketswest.com).

And here’s a reminder: If you want a half-price deal on a season subscription to the Spokane Symphony, don’t dawdle. The symphony’s special introductory price on new season tickets expires after Labor Day.

The re-‘Miracle’

Interplayers Professional Theatre, 174 S. Howard St., will revive its hit production of “The Miracle Worker” beginning Friday and continuing through Sept. 4.

This is the same Patty Duke-directed production that drew sellout crowds this spring, although the young actress playing Helen Keller will now be Caroline Slater.

Tickets are available by calling (509) 455-PLAY or through TicketsWest outlets.

Later, Lisa?

The onsale date for Lisa Lampanelli tickets, originally scheduled for last Friday, has been postponed.

But the comedian’s show itself is still on schedule: Oct. 22 at the INB Performing Arts Center. Watch for further announcements.

‘Bach to Goth’

Here’s an excellent way to raise music tuition money: Give your own benefit concert.

Meredith Oatman-Thompson, a 15-year-old organ and piano student from Orofino, Idaho, will present “Bach to Goth” today at 4 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, 127 E. 12th Ave.

Oatman-Thompson is on her way back to the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan for her sophomore year and she needs to supplement her scholarship.

She’ll play several organ pieces by Bach and the Suite Gothique by Leon Boellmann. She’ll switch over to piano to play Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.”

No tickets are required, but donations will be gratefully appreciated.

“I really like the learning environment on campus; everyone is focused on their art,” said Oatman-Thompson, a member of the Nez Perce Tribe.

A bigger Sculpture Walk

Spokane’s official Sculpture Walk has been extended, by City Council resolution, westward from the Monroe Street Bridge to the Sandifur Bridge on the Centennial Trail, along the new Kendall Yards development.

Over the next 20 to 30 years, the City of Spokane Arts Commission intends to add a number of “major works of art” along this new extension.

You didn’t know we already had a Sculpture Walk? We do, and quite an extensive one at that.

The existing Sculpture Walk, designated in 1988, already has 22 sculptures. It extends from the Washington State University branch campus at Riverpoint, through Riverfront Park to the Monroe Street Bridge, encompassing such familiar Spokane art landmarks as the Big Red Wagon, the trash-eating goat and the steel Bloomsday runners.

Those are just the most visible highlights. The Sculpture Walk includes many other statues, installations and fountains from artists including George Tsutakawa, Harold Balazs, Ken Spierin g and David Govedare.

Check out the Sculpture Walk under “Public Art” on the arts commission’s website, www.spokanearts.org.

MAC dinner party drive

Here’s a different, and potentially delicious, fundraising idea from the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (MAC): the “Week of 100 Dinners.”

A group of museum boosters called the MAC 200K Club is hoping to convince 100 hosts to hold dinners at their homes the first week of October. Each dinner party will have at least 10 guests who will agree to contribute $100 each to the museum’s general operating budget.

If this all works as planned, this drive would raise $100,000 to help overcome the MAC’s well-publicized budget issues.

If you want to be a host, sign up by emailing to Mac200kclub@gmail.com or call Charlotte Lamp, (509) 536-4303 with questions.

By the way, you don’t have to hold a dinner party. It can be a breakfast party, a cocktail party or a beer and pizza party – although I would suggest that it should probably include above-average beer and pizza.