EWU Musicians Partner with Spokane Symphony for Campus Concert

For the first time in over 20 years, members of Eastern Washington University’s String Orchestra will have the opportunity to perform on campus with the professional musicians of The Spokane Symphony.

The performance, aptly named Side by Side with The Spokane Symphony, will take place on Thursday, April 3, at 7:30 p.m., in Showalter Hall. EWU String Orchestra members—undergraduate violinists, violists, cellists, and bassists—will take the stage with a slightly scaled-down ensemble of The Spokane Symphony Orchestra.

“This is a great opportunity for the EWU Music program to partner with one of the most prominent arts organizations in our region,” says John Marshall, professor of cello and director of EWU’s String Orchestra. “If this were a sporting event, it would be like our EWU students having the opportunity to perform alongside Olympic athletes.”

 

The Spokane Symphony is the largest and most active professional performing arts organization in the Inland Northwest. The 70-piece orchestra performs for over 150,000 listeners each season. In addition to performances at their Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox home, the symphony provides educational experiences throughout the region.

Eastern has a long history as a fertile recruiting ground for Spokane Symphony players. Currently 10 EWU alumni and 12 EWU faculty act as regular performers, and EWU has more musicians in The Spokane Symphony than any other university in the area. One EWU senior, Adeline Kovell, concertmaster of EWU’s String Orchestra, already acts as a substitute violinist for the orchestra.

Work with Spokane Symphony professionals notwithstanding, EWU’s String Orchestra is accomplished in its own right, having just been selected to perform at the 2025 National Association for Music Education (NAfME) regional conference. “I believe the two organizations have a very symbiotic relationship that I hope will continue to grow,” says Marshall.

In addition to performances of powerful music, that relationship also feeds music education in the region, with many EWU alumni and Spokane Symphony performers working as music educators in the surrounding area.

Cole Featherstone, a sophomore music education major and EWU Music scholarship recipient, has plans to share his skills with the next generation of orchestral musicians.

“With my music education degree, I plan to help show the world that classical music can be accessible,” Featherstone says.

After ten years of playing the upright bass, Featherstone is excited to take the stage with fellow bassists in The Spokane Symphony Orchestra. “It’s an opportunity to prove myself as a classical bass player, as well as learn from players with more experience,” he says.

For a performance of this caliber, months of preparation are in order. James Lowe, director of The Spokane Symphony and conductor of the Side by Side concert, has visited Eastern to rehearse with its orchestra. And during one particular visit, Lowe selected several pieces composed by EWU students to be played by The Spokane Symphony during the April 3 concert.

Among those selected is a piece entitled In Another Life, by Duff Overstreet, a junior composition major and cellist. “I was thrilled to learn that my piece was chosen,” says Overstreet. “The composition expresses the mixed feelings of longing, regret and wonder [I feel] when I imagine the ways my life could have gone if I’d made different choices.”

“The fact that something I wrote will be performed by 39 professional musicians makes this a dream come true,” Overstreet adds.

 

After the orchestra plays those selected student compositions, Spokane Symphony string performers will remain onstage and be joined by EWU’s String Orchestra. Together, they will perform a mixture of five-minute works, including Merry Go Round of Life from Howl’s Moving Castle.

EWU String Orchestra director, Marshall, will play a movement from a cello and bassoon double concerto alongside Lynne Feller-Marshall, instructor of bassoon studies. “The concert will be a musical buffet,” Marshall says.

This collaborative performance has been a longtime vision of Jody Graves, director of EWU Music. It was made possible with funds from the Florence and Earle Stewart Endowment through the EWU Foundation. Additional educational programming is made possible with funds from a generous anonymous gift made to enhance and increase instructional and experiential learning in Fine and Performing arts programs at EWU, which include music, art, theater and film.

“It is so special that at Eastern, much of the music faculty is filled with members of The Spokane Symphony, so we get to learn from the best,” says Overstreet. “It will be an honor to play with them in the Side by Side concert.”

MUSIC NOTES

Side by Side with The Spokane Symphony | Thursday, April 3 | 7:30 p.m. | Showalter Hall | EWU Orchestra performs with the Spokane Symphony | Admission is free for EWU students, faculty, staff and retirees; $5 for K-12 students and seniors, and $10 for general admission. Tickets are available for purchase at the door.

Hurray for Hollywood, music and story in film | Presented by EWU Music | Thursday, May 22 | 7:30 p.m. | The Fox Theater | Admission is free for EWU students; $10 for seniors and $20 for general admission.

EWU Music has a full calendar of upcoming concerts.

To make a gift to support students in the EWU Music Department, please visit EWU/Give.

Story written by Avery Knochel.