Thulean returns with Youth Symphony

Donald Thulean – a storied name in Spokane’s music history – will return Nov. 8 as guest conductor for the opening concert of the Spokane Youth Symphony’s season.

Thulean was the Spokane Symphony’s music director from 1962 to 1984, helping to establish the orchestra as one of Spokane’s premier artistic institutions.

Since then, he has held conducting positions with the Oregon Symphony Orchestra and the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, among many others. He went on to become vice president of the League of American Orchestras before he retired in 1999.

And from 1962 to 1966, Thulean conducted the Spokane Youth Symphony.

He’ll take the podium one more time with the youth symphony’s most advanced ensemble, the Spokane Youth Orchestra, on Nov. 8 at 4 p.m. at the Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox.

Tickets are $14 for adults, $12 for seniors and $10 for ages 17 and younger, available at the Fox box office (509-624-1200) or at the door on the day of the show.

Hampton Jazz lineup

The Taj Mahal Trio and Dee Daniels will be among the headliners at the region’s premier jazz festival, the Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival, Feb. 24-27 at the University of Idaho.

The Taj Mahal Trio, featuring the legendary country-bluesman, will headline the Feb. 26 concert, titled “Jazz is … Blues and Sacred Roots.”

Daniels, the well-known Northwestern jazz vocalist, will be part of that concert, as well as the Feb. 27 concert with the Lionel Hampton New York Big Band.

Other guests include pianist Gerald Clayton and his trio on Feb. 24, and the Pizzarelli Family and Clayton Brothers Quintet on Feb. 25.

The festival attracts about 10,000 people every year, including thousands of jazz students from all over the region.

Series tickets go on sale Nov. 10 and general ticket purchases will begin on Jan. 8, at (888) 8-UIDAHO or www.UItickets.com.

A boffo ‘Pirates’

The tough question at the beginning of the season for the Spokane Civic Theatre was this: Would people turn out for Gilbert & Sullivan? An operetta from 1880?

The answer: A resounding yes.

In fact, “The Pirates of Penzance” is now the biggest-selling show in the history of the Civic, according to artistic managing director Yvonne A.K. Johnson.

That’s right, it has sold even better than the theater’s many Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, and better than the theatrical evergreen “A Christmas Carol.”

This is testimony to both the enduring appeal of Gilbert & Sullivan and to the exceptionally high quality of this production. It’s one of the best shows I’ve seen at the Civic in 20 years.

The show ends today after a monthlong run.

Opera roundup

Speaking of opera, here are a couple of opera-related reminders:

• The Spokane Opera’s Gala Concert takes place at 7:30 p.m. Saturday – yes, Halloween – at the Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox.

You’ll hear selections from a number of operas, sung by Heather and Derrick Parker, Gregory Carroll, Heather Peterson and more. It’s a celebration of 25 years of opera in Spokane.

Tickets are $25, through TicketsWest.

• The Metropolitan Opera screenings in HD at the North Regal Cinemas will continue with an encore of “Tosca” on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., a live “Turandot” on Nov. 7 at 10 a.m. and an encore of “Aida” on Nov. 11 at 6:30 p.m.

‘Chess’ in concert

Note to “Mamma Mia!” fans: “Chess,” the other musical written by the ABBA team, will be the Spokane Civic Theatre’s annual “in concert” fundraiser musical, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on the Main Stage.

It’s about a romantic triangle during an international chess match.

Tickets are $30, including a post-show reception. Call (509) 325-2507.

Other stages

Meanwhile, you should know about a few more local theater productions coming soon:

• “Alibis,” a comedy-mystery staged by Liberty Lake Community Theatre, Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m.

Tickets will be sold at the door and at the Old Library Building, 1421 Meadowwood Lane, Suite 103 in Liberty Lake.

• “Take Me Out,” Richard Greenberg’s 2003 Tony-winning play about a baseball player who comes out of the closet, will be performed as a staged reading by the Gonzaga Readers Theater Project on Nov. 11 and 12 at 7 p.m. and Nov. 13 at 10 p.m. at Gonzaga University’s Magnuson Theatre.

Among the readers: GU basketball star Steven Gray reading the main role. Donations will be accepted.

Fall Folk Festival

Just a reminder: Spokane’s annual Fall Folk Festival takes place Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and next Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. at the Spokane Community College Lair, 1810 N. Greene St.

About 6,000 people showed up last year. It’s free.

‘Steppin’ Out Spokane’

The local arts-and-entertainment TV show “Steppin’ Out Spokane” is back on the air for its third season, Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. on the ION channel, KGPX-34.

Special guest this Saturday: Johnny Winter.

Ben Folds fine

Here’s a mini-review of the Ben Folds concert with the Spokane Symphony, last Sunday at The Fox:

He may look a little nerdy in his T-shirt and sneakers, but the guy is a monster on the piano. He’s also an endlessly inventive melodic composer and biting satiric lyricist.

His tunes with the symphony had a big, full sound, yet some of the best moments came when it was just Folds and his piano, performing “Army” and other cult hits.

Folds also performed a few songs from his upcoming Nick Hornby project. The British novelist writes the lyrics; Folds writes the music.