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

Arts Wrap: Spokane String Quartet, ‘Elemental’ at Barrister Winery and SVPAC update

Yvonne A.K. Johnson, founder of the Spokane Valley Summer Theater, speaks to the crowd gathered for the announcement of a new Spokane Valley Performing Arts Center on Nov. 1 at the Tru by Hilton hotel in Spokane Valley.  (Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review)

In honor of Black History Month, the Spokane String Quartet will perform a concert featuring works by Black composers and a guest appearance by bass-baritone Derrick Parker at the Bing Crosby Theater at 3 p.m. Sunday.

Known locally for his performances with the Inland Northwest Opera and Spokane Symphony, among others, Parker has performed all over the country. He will perform Samuel Barber’s arrangement of poet Matthew Arnold’s “Dover Beach.”

The program also features English composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s “Five Fantasy Pieces for String Quartet;” “String Quartet No. 1” by George Walker, the first person of color to win the Pulitzer Prize for music; and contemporary Haitian-American composer Daniel Bernard Roumain’s “Rosa Parks Quartet.”

Available at the door and through TicketsWest, tickets are $20 for adults, $16 for seniors and $10 for students. All tickets are general admission. Attendees must provide either proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test before entering the theater. For more information, visit spokanestringquartet.org.

‘Elemental’ at Barrister

Local artists Rosemary Barile, Karen Mobley and Deb Sheldon will present an exhibition titled “Elemental” at Barrister Winery, 1213 W. Railroad Ave., starting with an opening reception on the first Friday in March at 5 p.m. and running through the end of March during business hours.

Inspired by the definition of the title – “from which all other structures are compounded and related to or embodying the powers of nature” – the exhibition will heavily feature earth, air, water and fire in a range of mixed media. For more information, visit barristerwinery.com.

SVPAC announces key endowments

The Spokane Valley Performing Arts Center has announced plans to build two endowments for future funding of local arts – the SVPAC Endowment Fund and the SVPAC Conservatory Scholarship Fund – both held with Innovia Foundation.

The SVPAC Endowment Fund will support the building and operations costs, while the SVPAC Conservatory Scholarship Fund will go toward making classes, workshops and summer camps affordable for young artists throughout the region.

“Planning, saving and formulating a strategic plan is instrumental to the vitality of any successful performing arts institution,” executive artistic director Yvonne A.K. Johnson said in a news release. “Starting these two endowment funds now prepares for the future of SVPAC for many generations to come.”

Now entering the second year of its five-year, $36 million capital campaign necessary to build the performing arts center, SVPAC is currently offering naming rights, among other opportunities, for private donors and businesses.