Symphony on the Edge features the sound of Club SSO
Music by two area composers among works by 20th and 21st century composers

Sep 24, 2007

For Immediate Release

Contact: Annie Matlow 326-3136

SPOKANE: Symphony on the Edge will present an exciting program of works from a variety of composers of contemporary music on Friday, Oct. 5 at 7:30 p.m. at the Big Easy Concert Hall. The concert will be a part of Downtown¡¦s First Friday events. Associate Conductor Morihiko Nakahara has selected the electrifying new music, much of it by young American composers ¡V including two from Eastern Washington University ¡V for a program called Club SSO.

Dr. Jonathon Middleton, Assistant Professor of Theory and Composition at EWU, is the leading expert on the use of algorithms in composition. He received his doctorate from Columbia University in 1999. On sabbatical this year, he is teaching at Stanford University. Don Goodwin, who recently completed his master¡¦s studies at EWU as Dr. Middleton¡¦s student, is filling Middleton¡¦s position at EWU. Both composers will attend the concert that will feature performances of their work

The short selections in the program include:
§ "Concerto for Cello and Wind Orchestra" by Friedrich Gulda represents the rebellious compositions by a pianist who was well known for performances of music by Beethoven and Mozart. Gulda died in 1970.
§ "Ragtime" by Igor Stravinsky was written four years after Rite of Spring. It is influenced by American jazz, and in fact, will be played by an 11-piece ensemble - a ragtime band of sort.
§ "The Gong and the Hook and Ladder" by Charles Ives is a raucous, innovative Firemen on Parade.
§ "Reciprocal Refractions" by Jonathan Middleton uses algorithms to create this music for orchestra.
§ "Homenaje e Frederico Garcia Lorea" by Silvestre Revuelta is both an example of and adaptation of Mariachi music - "mariachi meets Stravinsky" says Nakahara.
§ "Black Bend" by Dan Visconti is influenced by blues in what a reviewer calls "controlled mayhem."
§ "Leyendas - An Andean Walkabout" by Gabriela Lena Frank shows the influence of Peruvian folk music and landscape.
§ "Parallels" by Don Goodwin, who performs in Spokane as a jazz pianist, shows jazz and rock-inspired riffs.
§ "Dead Elvis" by Michael Daugherty, well-known American composer, is described by Nakahara as a "wild romp of a piece."
§ "Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten" by Arvo Part is a melodic composition with an almost hypnotic effect. It was featured in the movie Fahrenheit 911.
§ "These Worlds in Us" by Missy Mazzoli is a "highly stylized New Age piece with a popular influence," according to Nakahara.

Nakahara and the almost 50-piece orchestra will dress casually. You are invited to grab refreshments and listen to exciting music chosen to stimulate and excite the listener. Concert lighting, video close-ups of the conductor and the orchestra will complete the rock-music atmosphere of this popular Spokane nightclub.

This non-smoking performance will include seating for all ticket holders of all ages. Refreshments will be available for purchase at this general admission concert. Tickets are $19.

Tickets are available in advance without service charge at the Spokane Symphony Ticket Office, 818 W. Riverside, Suite100, or by calling 509-624-1200. Tickets are also available at all TicketsWest outlets or by calling 1-800-325-SEAT or at spokanesymphony.org.

Symphony on the Edge is underwritten by Avista.

CALENDAR LISTING:
Oct. 5: Symphony on the Edge, 7:30 p.m. Big Easy Concert Hall, Associate Conductor Morihiko Nakahara conducting. Tickets are $19 and are available at the Spokane Symphony Ticket Office at (509) 624-1200 or 818 W. Riverside, Suite 100. Tickets are also available, with service charges, through TicketsWest at 325-SEAT, 1-800-325-SEAT and at www.spokanesymphony.org.