EWU String Orchestra Chosen to Perform at NAfME Northwest Conference

Eastern Washington University’s String Orchestra has been selected by competitive audition to perform at this year’s National Association for Music Education (NAfME) regional conference.

The NAfME Northwest conference is held every two years. It involves thousands of music students, teachers and performers from Alaska to Oregon.

“Being selected to perform at the NAfME Northwest Conference is a tremendous honor for the EWU String Orchestra,” says John Marshall, professor of cello and director of the orchestra. “It’s a golden opportunity for EWU to demonstrate the quality of our students and faculty to an audience from across the northwest.”

This year’s four-day event is to be held at the Spokane Convention Center, with individuals and groups joining from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. The regional conference rotates among locations in Spokane, Seattle and Portland.

EWU’s String Orchestra has been selected to perform at the conference once before, during the 2023 conference held in Seattle.

“It’s even more special to be selected to perform when the conference is in our hometown,” says Marshall.

EWU String Orchestra, pictures with instruments on stage. — The EWU String Orchestra will lead into their conference performance with a concert for the campus community, on Feb. 12.

The selection process is a multi-year endeavor. During the 2023-2024 academic year, Marshall completed audio recordings of the EWU String Orchestra. These were then sent to the NAfME selection committee last May. Auditions are anonymous, meaning the selection committee does not know which university ensemble is performing when they listen to recordings. Marshall was notified in the summer of 2024 that EWU’s String Orchestra had been chosen.

Before participating in the String Orchestra, EWU students must themselves pass an audition. The current orchestra consists of 24 undergraduate students, of whom 60% are music majors.

“It does not matter what majors are being pursued,” says Marshall. “Our focus is to work as a team to learn and perform great music at the highest level possible.”

The String Orchestra’s conference performance will be on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 10 a.m. in room 300AB of the Spokane Convention Center.

The performance—entitled “Mixed Doubles”—will feature three double concertos and the song, “Merry Go Round of Life” from Howl’s Moving Castle. As part of the program, the orchestra will be joined by prominent guest performers from the university community, including recent EWU alumni and current faculty members.

“We are also honored that Mateusz Wolski, concertmaster of the Spokane Symphony, will be a featured soloist,” says Marshall. “Having this world-class musician rehearse and perform with the EWU String Orchestra is a ‘hands-on’ learning opportunity that is unique to our students.”