“Boxer Chauncy ‘The Hillyard Hammer’ Welliver was a little dumbfounded when he heard Spokane Symphony concertmaster Mateusz Wolski’s pitch,” writes Azaria Podplesky in Friday’s (5/17) Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA). “Wolski, organizing his next ‘M Show,’ which combines music, comedy and science, wanted Welliver to go head to head with [Spokane Symphony] percussionists Rick Westrick, Bryan Bogue, Meagan Gillis and Paul Raymond, who would play something Welliver had to imitate…. It didn’t take long for Welliver to realize this was an opportunity for him to act as a middle man and introduce, or re-introduce, members of the Hillyard neighborhood he knows and works with to the symphony and vice versa…. ‘The M Show: Percussion Edition’ … will feature everything from AC/DC to Johann Sebastian Bach…. The show also features science experiments…. Welliver … caught on quickly because so much of boxing, he said, is based on a beat or rhythm…. Wolski said Welliver has been a delight to work with and sees his participation as helping to break down barriers between the symphony and the audience, which he tries to do with every ‘M Show.’ ” Wolski’s first “M Show” with the Spokane Symphony took place in January 2018.
Posted May 20, 2019
In photo: Spokane Symphony percussionist Rick Westrick and boxer Chauncy “The Hillyard Hammer” Welliver. Photo by Don Hamilton
