Symphony Kicks Off Season with Parks Concerts

Aug 21, 2007

For Immediate Release

Contact: Annie Matlow 326-3136

SPOKANE - Music Director Eckart Preu and Associate Conductor Morihiko Nakahara will conduct the Spokane Symphony in a pair of concerts on Labor Day weekend. For the thousands who bring their blankets and lawn chairs to this annual outdoor event, the concerts have become a traditional way to say good-bye to summer and begin the 2007-2008 Season.

The first of the two concerts will be at Pavillion Park in Liberty Lake on Saturday, Sept. 1 at 6 p.m. and the second will be at Comstock Park on Spokane's South Hill on Monday, Sept. 3 at 6 p.m. In the event of rain, the Comstock concert will be rescheduled to Sept. 4.

The popular conductor duo will present a program featuring patriotic numbers, movie tunes, and other audience favorites. They include the Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, Stars and Stripes Forever, and the Armed Forces Salute, as well as selections from Pirates of the Caribbean and Jurassic Park. In addition, the Symphony will reprise Children of the Sun, written for the Spokane Symphony's sixtieth anniversary by Hans Peter Preu. The selections are so varied and diverse, there is sure to be something for every listener.

The Friends of Pavillion Park with support from the City of Liberty Lake make the Liberty Lake concert possible. Underwriters of the Comstock Park concert include Hagadone Directories, The Spokane Parks Foundation, and Spokane County Title.

Preu has completed his third year as music director of the Spokane Symphony. He has established a great rapport with the community and receives rave reviews from critics, listeners and musicians alike. He also serves as the music director of the Stamford (CT) Symphony. Nakahara is beginning his fifth year as associate conductor with the Symphony. In addition, he is the Associate Conductor of the Jacksonville Symphony and Director of Orchestras at Eastern Washington University.