Generosity Writes Hope’s Lilting Score

Thu., Sept. 18, 1997

By Rebecca Nappi rebeccan@spokesman.com (509) 459-5496

Children attending the Spokane Symphony’s Labor Day concert at Comstock Park delighted in a new game: Step through the crowd without stepping on blankets. So they tiptoed past a sleeping infant surrounded by family, past a young couple kissing and giggling, past an older man holding hands with his wife.

And all the while, the exquisite music of the Spokane Symphony danced through the crowd, stirring memories in the older folks and creating memories in the younger ones.

The Spokane Symphony is having quite a year. Its free Labor Day concert was jammed - as usual. On Saturday at 4 p.m., as part of the Valleyfest celebration, the symphony will perform again free of charge at Terrace View Park.

This week, the symphony announced its largest single donation ever, a $525,000 gift from the Jewett Foundation in memory of Mary Jewett Gaiser, a longtime symphony supporter. Last week, two other well-known Spokane families donated large sums - $500,000 came from the Harriet Cheney Cowles Foundation and the Cowles families and $200,000 was donated by the Johnston-Fix Foundation and the Fix family.

The symphony hopes to raise $3.5 million to $4.5 million.

The big gifts will be a big help toward reaching this goal, but it’s important to remember that the symphony is for everyone in the community. And everyone can participate.

One of the easiest ways to show support is to make time to hear the symphony. You can choose the most conventional way - an evening performance at the Opera House. But the symphony’s concerts at The Met are cozy. Its family and pops concerts are fun. Its Nutcracker concerts with the Alberta Ballet provide Christmas memories. And don’t forget those free park concerts.

Spokane is not a rich city. Many families struggle daily to afford adequate food, shelter and transportation. So some may wonder why so much money should go to music. It’s a fair question, but when you support the symphony by donation or attendance, you are contributing to much more than music. You are supporting the soul of Spokane.

A city with a first-rate symphony is a city with hope, with a future. Cities larger than Spokane have lost their symphonies in recent years. Something dies in a town when the music stops.

Thanks to the recent large donations and the presence of blanket-hopping youngsters at the free park concerts, the music in Spokane shall continue for a long time.

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