“As thousands of Spokane-area fourth-grade students streamed across the plush carpet of the historic Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox on Thursday, one child stopped, struck by his surroundings,” writes Eli Francovich in Friday’s (10/27) Spokesman Review (Spokane, WA). “ ‘This is so beautiful,’ he said, gesturing at the building’s ornate art deco interior. Forty-five years ago, Spokane Symphony viola player Dale Emery had a similar response. ‘The thing that stood out to me was the incredible sound,’ Emery said.… American orchestras are increasingly … turning their efforts toward musical education and outreach in hopes of cultivating a new generation of connoisseurs. The Spokane Symphony’s outreach and education efforts started in the early 2000s, … said Janet Napoles, the Spokane Symphony’s manager of education programs…. The [orchestra’s] annual Fourth Grade Concerts [bring] fourth-graders from the Spokane area to the Fox Theater to listen to the Spokane Symphony perform…. The Spokane Symphony also teaches classical music to underserved Spokane Public Schools children through Music Innovates…. On Thursday, as 1,500 or so kids sat transfixed by the sweeping movements of [Assistant Conductor Jorge Luis] Uzcátegui and the Spokane Symphony, the impact and appeal of classical music was on full display.”
Posted October 30, 2017
