Stringing together the holidays

There’s a moment near the end of the second act of P.I. Tchaikovsky’s legendary ballet “The Nutcracker,” in a movement known as “The Waltz of the Flowers,” when the orchestra goes silent and the harp takes center stage for a moment.

“Everything is utterly quiet, and the harp has this big, glorious cadenza,” said the Spokane Symphony’s principal harpist Earecka Tregenza. “It’s this great, transcendent, beautiful moment. … It really wouldn’t be ‘The Nutcracker’ without a harp.”

It’s one of the most famous harp parts in musical history, and Tregenza has been playing it nearly every year since she joined the orchestra in 2008.

“You can’t get an orchestral job as a harpist without being able to play a really good ‘Nutcracker,’ ” she said. “It’s the first thing everybody wants to hear whenever you play for any conductor or any audition committee. It’s something all harpists start working on if they have any aspirations to be professional at all.”

The Spokane Symphony’s take on “The Nutcracker” has become an annual tradition, and next week’s performances mark the production’s 37th year. The ballet, which features both local dancers and members of California’s State Street Ballet, is one that audiences keep flocking to.

“In some aspects, the level of enjoyment for me personally has deepened over the years,” said conductor Morihiko Nakahara. “It’s like (seeing) your favorite movie or TV show re-run for the fourth or fifth time, and maybe you notice something you didn’t notice before.”

There are plenty of places to see different versions of “The Nutcracker” around town during the Christmas season, but the Spokane Symphony’s is the only regular local production of the classic ballet that features a live orchestra. That’s an important distinction, Tregenza says, because it imbues the production with a certain electricity and unpredictability.

“It’s always in flux and alive and changing, and I think that makes it more exciting for the listeners,” she said. “The live music just can’t be beaten. There’s this incredible synergy between the live music and the live dance, and they affect one another. That can never be replicated with a recording. It’s never stale.”

Nakahara also points out that the Fox Theater itself is part of the draw.

“I can’t imagine a more beautiful setting to do ‘The Nutcracker’ every year,” he said. “It’s almost like the building is part of the set. … Everything comes together – the orchestra, the dancers, the building – and makes this wonderful ballet come to life. It’s this special thing that you can’t get everywhere.”

And even though the basics of “The Nutcracker” never change, both Tregenza and Nakahara say they’ve yet to tire of returning to the same music each December.

“We all love playing ‘The Nutcracker’ every year,” Tregenza said. “The wonderful thing about Tchaikovsky’s music is that it’s so challenging and there’s so much opportunity for musical expression that it never gets old.”

“The dreamy, fantastical nature of it really appeals to everybody, from the young to the not-so-young,” Nakahara said. “In that way, it’s really similar to the greatest films of all time that have captivated kids and adults throughout the years. … I’m not kidding when I say I can never get sick of ‘The Nutcracker.’ It’s like how you can never get sick of Beethoven’s Ninth.”