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

Symphony concertmaster retiring in May


Kelly Farris, center, concertmaster for the Spokane Symphony, announced Friday that he will retire in May.
 (Courtesy of Spokane Symphony / The Spokesman-Review)
Travis Rivers Correspondent

Kelly Farris, concertmaster of the Spokane Symphony for the past 36 years, announced his retirement from the orchestra Friday morning.

Farris had notified conductor Eckart Preu and the orchestra’s board of trustees earlier this season. But news of his resignation was not given to members of the orchestra until the final rehearsal for Thursday night’s classical concert. His retirement will take effect at the end of the symphony’s 2005-06 season in May.

“I care a lot about this organization,” Farris said at a news conference Friday. “And I didn’t want to leave the orchestra until I was sure of two things. First: that the Fox theater renovation was assured. And second: That I was sure the orchestra was in good hands with excellent musical leadership with Eckart (Preu), Morihiko (Nakahara) and administratively with Brenda (Nienhouse).”

As concertmaster, Farris is the symphony’s first violinist and serves as assistant to the conductor.

Preu, the orchestra’s music director, called Farris “a wonderful musician and colleague,” adding that, “Like very few people, he has shaped musical life in Spokane. Kelly has been with the orchestra since 1969 – the year I was born – and he has brought with all these years an incredible wealth of experience and knowledge we will all miss.”

Preu points out that Farris was the teacher of many of the members of the Spokane Symphony violin section.

“He continues a European tradition of building a coherent sound for the orchestra’s string section,” Preu says.

Farris grew up in Walla Walla and first performed with the Spokane Symphony under the baton of its founder, Harold Paul Whelan. As the orchestra’s concertmaster, Farris served under each of Whelan’s six successors.

When Farris became concertmaster, he had recently graduated from New York’s Juilliard School of Music, been a member of the New York City Ballet Orchestra, and was fresh from a stint with the U.S. Army’s Strolling Strings in Washington, D.C.

Shortly after moving to Spokane with his Danish-born wife, Else, and the youngest of their two sons, Farris joined the faculty at Eastern Washington University where he taught until his retirement in 2000. Farris also taught violin as a visiting instructor at the University of Washington in 1998-99.

In addition to his responsibilities as first violinist in the orchestra, a job that entails frequent solos during concerts, Farris has performed concertos with the orchestra numerous times. His career has also included solo performances with the Coeur d’Alene Symphony, the Northwest Bach Festival and other Spokane musical series.

Farris has also been a member of the American String Project Orchestra in Seattle and has frequently performed as a member of the Seattle Symphony and the Seattle Opera Orchestra.

In 1979, Farris and three orchestra colleagues formed the Spokane String Quartet. Farris announced Friday that he also planned to take a year’s leave of absence from his position as first violinist in the quartet.

Preu said that Farris’ early announcement of his retirement will allow the symphony to conduct a national search for his replacement as concertmaster.

Farris says that he and his wife will remain in Spokane, but he has no immediate plans. “Such plans as I have do include much more time with family and continuing to work for the renovation of the Fox,” he said.