Spokane Symphony comes to town
Program offers 'dramatic beginning' to Allied Arts season
MOSES LAKE —Some of the best musicians from the Spokane Symphony will perform in the wildly popular soiree format Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Big Bend Community College's Wallenstien Theater.
The musicians will play chamber music in an "up close and personal" presentation that has been a sell-out at the Davenport Hotel in Spokane for the past four seasons. Moses Lake area listeners will have the unique opportunity to hear this program that features music from the series.
Columbia Basin Allied Arts executive director LeAnn Pauley said that a board member had read about the Davenport soiree, now in its fourth year, and correctly thought that the chamber ensemble would tour. It will be the first time for the performance in Moses Lake.
"Part of our jobs as an organization is supporting performing artists," Pauley said. "We seldom have performing groups (that are) Washington-based."
A self-proclaimed tuba and French horn nut, Pauley said she is looking forward to those instruments during the program, as well as the wind bassoon, part of the string quintet.
In a statement, Pauley said the Spokane Symphony chamber ensemble will be a dramatic beginning for the Allied Arts 2005-2006 season.
"I think (chamber ensembles) are more accessible than the symphony," she said. "There's a chemistry amongst the players that doesn't really happen when you have a whole symphony."
The program opens with a brass quartet playing pieces by Ludwig Maurer, a French composer from the mid-19th century. Larry Jess, principal trumpet, Chris Cook, trumpet, Jennifer Scriggins, principal horn, and Leonard Byrne, principal tuba will play "Three Pieces."
Because the brass quintet is a relatively modern development, most of its original repertoire has been written in the 20th century. In the last few years, it has become an extremely popular medium, due in part to the popularity of groups including the Canadian Brass and the Empire Brass.
The program's second brass piece is Previn's "Four Outings." Previn dedicated it to John Fletcher, the late tuba virtuoso who distinguished himself as a member of the London Symphony and solo tuba with the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble. The work includes unmistakable jazz elements, reflecting Previn's career as a jazz pianist.
A string quintet featuring Margaret Bowers and Shelley Potter, violin, Angela Mitchell, viola, Helen Byrne, cello, Kim Plewniak, bass, and Luke Bakken, bassoon, will play Jean Francaix's "Divertissement" for string quartet and bassoon. The piece, written in 1968, is one of his most popular pieces. In four brief movements, the composer asked for a sound "like a chanteuse with a definite flavor of a French nightclub — lots of vibrato and sliding."
The program concludes with Beethoven's String Quartet in E flat, the "Harp." Following a short introduction with a few dark, wandering, and questioning moments, most of the rest of the way Beethoven relies on humor lifting our spirits; especially with his playful use of pizzicato (plucking of the strings) which resulted in the nickname of the "Harp." Playing this finale quartet are Jason Bell, principal second violin, Phil Baldwin, violin, Jeannette Wee-Yan, viola, and John Marshall, cello.
Tickets are $18 for reserved seats, $15 for general seats, and $10 for student seats and can be purchased at: Andrew's Hallmark, the Home Stretch, The Bookery, CBAA, or the BBCC Bookstore.
This performance is made possible by funding from the Moses Lake Clinic, US Bank, BBCC and the Moses Lake and Grant County Tourism Commissions. For more information or to reserve tickets, call (509) 793-2059.
— Staff report