Spotlight: Symphony earns award for programming prowess

Spokane Symphony conductor and music director Eckart Preu often talks about blending blockbusters with more eclectic pieces when he’s creating the symphony’s program each year.

It seems his penchant for mixing things up has hit the right note. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers – ASCAP, the national organization that deals with rights and royalties for performed works – has awarded the Spokane Symphony a first place award for adventurous programming.

“I am passionate about bringing cutting-edge programming to Spokane Symphony audiences,” Preu said in a news release. “I am excited that Spokane embraces the quintessential American trait of fearless exploration. Maybe we can find our future Mozart or Beethoven together.”

This past season, the symphony performed works by several living composers, including Esa-Pekka Salonen (who is featured in the latest iPad commercial), John Adams and Anna Clyne. Next season, the program will include works by Adams, Frank Zappa, Julian Yu and Mason Bates, among others.

For details on the symphony’s upcoming season, which kicks off Sept. 20 with an appearance by the acclaimed Silver-Garburg Duo, visit www. spokanesymphony.org.

WWII documentary airs today

If you missed seeing the documentary “4-4-43: Escape in the Pacific,” you have one more chance today.

The film tells the story of Spokane airmen Sam Grashio and Jack Donohoe, who survived the Bataan Death March and who were among 10 Americans who escaped from a Japanese POW camp during World War II. It will air on KSPS World (7.2 over the air or 313 Comcast) today at 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. The film has been broadcast several times in recent days and was the subject of an event at Gonzaga University, where Grashio was an alumnus.

The film features interviews with Donohoe, and members of Grashio’s family. Grashio retired from the Air Force in 1965 then spent nearly 20 years working as a special assistant to the GU president. He died in 1999.

For more information on the film, visit 4-4-43.com.