Tonight’s Symphony with a Splash concert is special for a couple reasons: Not only will it serve as a 100th birthday celebration for Spokane humanitarian and benefactor Dr. Elizabeth Welty, but it will also mark the world premiere of Thai composer Thiwangkorn Lilit’s newest composition, itself a tribute to Welty and her contributions to the arts.

Lilit owes part of his success to Welty: He was discovered as a young music student in Thailand by Spokane piano teacher Margie Mae Ott, and his studies (at Gonzaga and Whitworth universities, and later the Boston Conservatory) were sponsored financially by Welty. He first came to Spokane in the 1990s, and he now recalls the experience as a transformative one for a wide-eyed 20-something.

“It was my first time in the U.S. actually, and it was mesmerizing,” Lilit said. “It was like watching a Hollywood movie. … It was a little bit of a culture shock.”

Lilit’s new piece, simply titled “Elizabeth,” will be performed tonight by the Spokane Symphony. Although it’s technically a premiere, the composition’s origins date back to 1999, when Lilit, then a student, wrote it as an assignment for solo piano.

“I told my professor I wanted to write this piano piece for Dr. Welty,” Lilit said. “It was first premiered back then with a Chinese pianist, and then last year I updated it for an orchestra.”

Tonight’s program is bookended by two pieces from names everyone’s already familiar with – it opens with Felix Mendelssohn and closes with P.I. Tchaikovsky – but in between are pieces by more modern composers. There’s Lilit’s composition, of course, as well as works by Jesse Jones and Pierre Jalbert, all of which were written within the last 15 years. The program’s reliance on the new seems to fit with Welty’s passion for nurturing young artists.

“What Dr. Welty wanted more than anything else for her birthday was to showcase Thiwangkorn Lilit here in Spokane,” said Brenda Nienhouse, the symphony’s executive director. “This was an opportunity for us to do that. … It means a lot to Dr. Welty that people here in Spokane know what he’s doing and are aware of his talent.”

Lilit says he and Welty still correspond regularly, usually through letters, and her enthusiastic involvement with his artistic development was something that initially surprised him.

“She didn’t just support me financially; she stays in touch with me like a friend,” Lilit said. “I was impressed that she cared. She wasn’t just sending money for my tuition.”

“Dr. Welty’s generosity has meant so much to this community on so many levels,” Nienhouse said. “To have that represented in this piece is going to be very, very special.”

The concert will be preceded, like previous Splash events, by a reception at 5 p.m. that includes happy hour specials and live music by local band Tango Volcado.