Spokane Symphony To Have Fabios In Stereo Another Brazilian Hired As Associate Conductor

Thu., March 23, 2000

Travis Rivers Correspondent

The Spokane Symphony Orchestra has acquired its second Fabio. The symphony announced Wednesday that Fabio Costa has been named the orchestra’s associate conductor.

Costa, 28, will assume his duties in September as assistant to music director Fabio Mechetti.

Costa was selected from 60 applicants from as far away as China, Russia and India.

His Spokane Symphony appointment is a joint one with Eastern Washington University, where he will conduct the university orchestra. Salary and other contract details with the symphony and EWU were not disclosed.

Mechetti, in an interview Wednesday, said jokingly, “I hoped, in a way, that Costa would not be selected. How was I to explain to people: First, he is, like me, a Brazilian; second, again like me, he is of Italian descent, and then that his name is Fabio.”

Costa was born in Sao Paulo and educated there and at Vienna’s Hochschule fuer Musik. He is assistant conductor of the Ribeirao Preto Symphony Orchestra, one of Brazil’s leading orchestras. The Spokane appointment is Costa’s first U.S. engagement.

Costa was one of six finalists chosen by a six-member committee made up of trustees, orchestra musicians (two of them EWU representatives) and the music director.

“After auditions with the orchestra in rehearsal two weeks ago,” Mechetti said, “Costa was the unanimous choice of the committee and the majority of the orchestra.”

Costa will move to Spokane this summer from his home in Brazil. He will become the Spokane Symphony’s first associate conductor in six years to live in Spokane.

This sidebar appeared with the story: FIRST CONCERT

In Fabio Costa’s first Opera House appearance with the Spokane symphony, he will conduct a SuperPops concert with the Canadian Brass on Sept. 22.

His first Classics concert will be Oct. 6.

Local journalism is essential.

Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are tax deductible.

Meet Our Journalists

Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
Jim Meehan

Jim Meehan is no stranger to Zag Nation. As the lead writer covering the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, he tells the stories behind the game and gets fans a bit closer to their favorite players.
Molly Quinn

There is no artist in Spokane like Molly Quinn. Her whimsical style is instantly recognizable to readers of The Spokesman-Review. She has painted gorgeous illustrations that instantly elevate the journalism accompanying it. She brings to life the stories that defy photography. She makes our pages better.
Rob Curley

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley loves to talk with people and learn about their lives, whether it's a best-selling author or a stranger he meets downtown on his walk to lunch. It's that inquisitive nature combined with a playful sense of storytelling that helps make our newspaper different than most.