The symphony's new scene

Oct 13, 2006

Author: Chris Kornelis

Position: Correspondent

Source: Spokane 7

Dead white European men with chalk-colored hair.

That's the perception many young people have about what an orchestra concert is all about, according to several less-than-middle-aged members of the Spokane Symphony. The scene hasn't been widely embraced by the younger demographic.

Spokane's classical music establishment is hip to this fact. Its response is Symphony on the Edge: contemporary music performed at the Big Easy Concert House, the same venue kids get their fix of The Fray, mosh pits and Jagermeister. Spokane Symphony hopes presenting its fare in a comfortable location will attract an audience not yet associated with AARP.

The strategy appears to be working to some degree. Orchestra members say they've noticed a younger audience at the all-ages club shows of seasons past.

"It's really great that Spokane is on the cutting edge like this," said William Harvey, a 23-year-old Julliard graduate and the symphony's interim concertmaster. "Let me tell you something, the New York Philharmonic does not do things like this and it should."

The musicians' tuxedoes for tonight's performance have been replaced by jeans and polos; Bach and Beethoven give way to contemporary composer Osvaldo Golijov and John Adams.

"These are some of the hottest composers today," Harvey said. "It's much more provocative, much more intriguing than anything that's being done in popular music. It's something so infectious, you almost can't help dancing to it."

The instrumentation is mixed up a bit, too. The orchestra, which will be projected on big screens using several cameras, will break into small groups for some pieces. John Mackey's "Damn," for instance, is a percussion and clarinet ensemble.

Principal tympanist Adam Wallstein, 26, also an accomplished drum set player, said he's noticed more rock, jazz and general groove in the selections for Edge than the orchestra's typical offering.

"If someone comes under the assumption that they're going to be hearing a standard, traditional concert, they'll be in for a surprise," Wallstein said, "because what we're playing is much more out there."

Assistant principal second violinist Amanda Howard, 28, said even the seasoned members of the orchestra are on board with trying new approaches to appeal to more listeners.

"I think everybody in the symphony knows how important it is to expose classical music to a diverse audience," Howard said. "They're trying to show that classical music doesn't belong in a museum behind glass with other relics from bygone eras. Classical music is alive and vibrant, and it's always changing."