Spokane Symphony showcases an American master, By George!

Jan 23, 2007

For Immediate Release

Contact: Annie Matlow 326-3136

SPOKANE: The Spokane Symphony will play the music of one of the great American composers in By George - the Music of George Gershwin on Saturday, Feb. 3, at 8 p.m., at the INB Performing Arts Center. The fourth concert in the SuperPops series will be conducted by Maestro Eckart Preu, with guest artists Nicole Cabell, soprano, and Jody Graves, piano. Preu calls Gershwin, who wrote great American music spanning three decades, the original crossover musician. Popular classics from Porgy and Bess to his Tin Pan Alley tunes including Embraceable You and I Got Rhythm remind us of his genius. Rhapsody in Blue and American in Paris reveal his more serious side.

George Gershwin (1898-1937) began his musical training at age 13 and left high school two years later to work as a song plugger in Tin Pan Alley. Swanee, popularized by Al Jolson, was his first big hit. In 1924, he teamed up for the first time with his older brother and lyricist Ira to write Lady, Be Good. There hand in glove fit of words and music made the Gershwins the most sought after Broadway musical writers, and a string of hits followed. At the same time, George Gershwin wanted to compose serious music, and in 1924, Rhapsody in Blue debuted, kicking off a new era in American music. Other examples of Gershwin's music in the classical genre include Concerto in F and American in Paris. Gershwin was the piano soloist with the Boston Symphony at the first performance of the Second Rhapsody for piano and orchestra.

In 1937, while Gershwin was at the height of his career, he collapsed and later died of a brain tumor at age 39. His music continues to be loved and is played with greater frequency now than during his lifetime. On the centienal of his birth, in 1998, Gershwin was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize in recognition of his enormous contribution to American music.

Soprano Nicole Cabell, the Main Prize Winner of the 2005 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition and exclusive Decca recording artist, recently completed her apprenticeship at the Chicago Lyric Opera Center for American Artists. Cabell's sang Clara in Decca's new recording of "Porgy and Bess", which was recently released to great critical acclaim. New York Times said, And there was Nicole Cabell, who showed why she won the Cardiff Singer of the World competition in June with a light and outrageously beautiful soprano that traced the downward arc at the end of Gershwin's Summertime' in chills along the listener's spine.

Jody Graves maintains an exciting, diverse and active performing career, and is recognized nationally as a distinguished performing artist and teacher of piano. Her recital engagements as a soloist and collaborative pianist take her across the United States and abroad, including a recent tour of the Middle East as a Cultural Ambassador for the U.S. State Department. Dr. Graves is an Associate Professor of Piano at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Washington and is in great demand as an adjudicator for piano competitions and festivals.

This concert has been made possible by the generous donations of Lukins & Annis, LeMaster & Daniels and Latah Creek.

Tickets range from $17 to $39 and are available Monday through Friday from 9:30-5:00 p.m. at the Spokane Symphony Ticket Office at 818 West Riverside Avenue or by calling (509) 624-1200. Tickets are also available, with a service charge, at www.spokanesymphony.org or through TicketsWest at 325-SEAT or 1-800-325-SEAT.