Symphony Labor Day concerts return to Liberty Lake and Comstock Park

The Spokane Symphony’s annual Labor Day concerts are returning to Liberty Lake’s Pavillion Park and, for the first time since 2019, Comstock Park. Local group Funky Unkle will warm up the crowd before music director James Lowe and the symphony take over for the evening.

Programmed in hopes of giving audiences an idea of the season to come, the concert lineup also features all of the Labor Day favorites locals have come to expect. Concerts will begin at 6 p.m. on Saturday in Pavillion Park, 727 N. Molter Road in Liberty Lake, and at 6 p.m. on Monday in Comstock Park, 600 W. 29th Ave.

“I wouldn’t say there’s an overarching theme … but there’s definitely a carefully curated energy profile and shape to the whole gig,” music director James Lowe said. “You start with some classical music, bringing it down a little bit … and then we take it back up, hit them with the second half and keep the energy going right at the end.”

Opening with John Stafford Smith’s “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the symphony will perform Antonín Dvořák’s Slavonic Dance Op.46 No. 8 in G Minor, the berceuse and second finale from Igor Stravinsky’s “Firebird,” the intermezzo from Pietro Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana,” Hector Berlioz’s “March to the Scaffold” and John Williams’ “Jurassic Park Theme” before a brief intermission.

After intermission, the program continues with Williams’ “Harry Potter Suite – Hedwig’s Theme,” a medley of Beatles favorites arranged by Calvin Custer, Alan Silvestri’s “The Avengers Theme,” and to close, as always, Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture.”

“I like it to be a kind of a little bit of a taster of what to expect,” Lowe said. “So we’ve got a couple of pieces that you’ll hear later in the season from Stravinsky and Berlioz, but we’ve also got some fantastic music by John Williams – whose 90th birthday we’re celebrating this year – and some music of the Beatles as well as, of course, the usual ending with a bang.”

During the event, audience members will have a chance to buy Spokane Symphony subscriptions without ticketing fees. But, after Labor Day, ticket prices for all subscription packages will include a 12% ticketing fee. Box office staff will be available in person at both the Liberty Lake and Comstock shows to take ticket orders.

“We have such a wide range of music in our season – everybody will love it,” Lowe said.

“And that’s the main thing for me – we want everyone to have a really good time and enjoy the end of the summer, but I also want it to be a showcase of kind of some of the things that we’ll be doing later in the year.”

For information, visit spokanesymphony.org or call the box office at (509) 624-1200.