Spokane Symphony to perform at Grand Finale

The Spokane Symphony will make a triumphant return at the Festival at Sandpoint's Grand Finale concert, led by Conductor Morihiko Nakahara.

The Sunday, Aug. 7, concert is kicked off a complimentary wine tasting event. The orchestra's performance concludes the 2022 Festival and is capped with fireworks at the finish.

Now in its 76th season, the Spokane Symphony continues a long tradition as the largest and most active professional performing arts organization in the Inland Northwest.

Led by James Lowe, the eighth music director in the organization's history, the 70-piece professional orchestra performs for more than 150,000 listeners each season, providing a wide variety of concerts and educational experiences.

Conducting this concert is Morihiko Nakahara, who spent 16 years as resident conductor of the Spokane Symphony. He is also the music director of the South Carolina Philharmonic and the director of orchestra studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is well-known for his charismatic presence on and off the podium, his innovative and audience-friendly programming skills, and thoughtful interpretations of both standard and contemporary repertoire.

The Spokane Symphony's concert at The Festival this year is all about nature. Beethoven spent his whole life living in big cities, but liked nothing more than getting back to nature as he gracefully proves in his Pastoral Symphony. The music takes us deep into nature with birdsong, dancing villagers, summer storms and shepherds' songs alongside a babbling brook.

Smetana's music invokes the mighty Vltava River, running through the Czech countryside into Prague. As the composer wrote himself, the music takes us on a journey and "describes the course of the Vltava, starting from two small springs...to the unification of both streams into a single current.through landscapes where a farmer's wedding is celebrated, the round dance of the mermaids in the night's moonshine; on the nearby rocks loom proud castles, palaces and ruins.the Vltava swirls into the St. John's Rapids; then it widens and flows toward Prague, past the castle, and then majestically vanishes into the distance."

Finally, the wildness of the Czech river is echoed in the fiery and unpredictable character of Bizet's Carmen, the ultimate femme fatale. Don Jose falls dangerously and haplessly in love with this free spirit in a musical tale of passion and tragedy.

The general admission tickets are $39.95 for adults and $9.95 for youth, ages 12 and under.

The gates open at 5 p.m. with the wine tasting running from 5-7 p.m. The music starts at 7:30 p.m.

For more information and tickets, please visit festivalatsandpoint.com or email info@festivalatsandpoint.com