WSU lures Elton John for moms
Wow, moms certainly rate highly at Washington State University.
Elton John and band have been booked for the Mom’s Weekend concert at the Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum in Pullman on April 12.
He’ll be touring in support of his new CD compilation “Rocket Man – Number Ones,” which features hits from the first three decades of his career.
This will be Sir Elton’s first visit to the Inland Northwest since May 1999, when he played a sold-out show at the Spokane Arena.
This will also be one of the biggest concerts ever held at the Beasley, both in size and sheer star power. Tickets will go on sale Jan. 25.
To sum up:
The dads got the Doobie Brothers. The moms get Elton John.
Discuss amongst yourselves.
A Fox gala addition
Here’s a late-breaking addition to the Fox Opening Gala schedule:
All ticket holders to the Frederica Von Stade concert at the Fox Theater on Nov. 17 are invited to continue the celebration at a post-concert reception at the Big Easy, which is right across the street.
The Spokane Symphony musicians will be there as well.
Interplayers benefit
The opening-night performance of “Grace and Glorie” at Interplayers, on Nov. 23 at 8 p.m., will be a benefit for Spokane Hospice.
That’s a nice fit for this Tom Ziegler play, since it’s about an elderly mountain woman who is visited in her cabin by a citified hospice volunteer.
The director is Ellen Crawford, best known as Nurse Lydia Wright on “ER.”
Call (509) 455-7529 for tickets to this or any other performance. The show runs through Dec. 8 and will have previews on Nov. 21 and 22.
Youth Symphony opener
The four orchestras of the Spokane Youth Symphony have booked the opener of their 2007-08 season at the Fox Theater, Dec. 9 at 4 p.m.
The title of the concert: “Celebration Around the World.”
In fact, the entire season will be at the newly renovated Fox. Here’s the rest of the lineup:
•”Celebrate Cartoon Fun!” – Feb. 25, 7 p.m.
•”Musical Showcase Celebration” – April 20, 4 p.m.
•”Celebrate the Finest – Elite Orchestra Graduation” – June 1, 4 p.m.
Tickets are available by calling (509) 624-1200.
Tradition continues with ‘Wassail!’
Remember those free holiday family concerts at St. John’s Cathedral? The ones featuring actor Patrick Treadway and young musical performers?
This tradition appeared to be in jeopardy when The Cathedral and The Arts organization folded last year.
However, Connoisseur Concerts has taken over and will present “Wassail!” in two performances, Dec. 2 at 4 and 7 p.m. at St. John’s Cathedral.
Treadway will be featured along with the Spokane Youth Orchestra, Spokane Area Children’s Choir and the St. John’s Cathedral Choir. The “Wassail!” skit is written by Lydia Newell.
The show is fully underwritten by Elizabeth and Fred Hanson and the Johnston-Hanson Foundation.
It’s free, but to get a good seat, you’d better show up early.
The conductor’s mom
The Rockwood Chapter of the Spokane Symphony Associates will hold a Kaffee Klatsch reception for Ellen Preu, the mother of Spokane Symphony conductor Eckart Preu, on Nov. 20 at 1 p.m. in the main lounge of the Rockwood Retirement Home.
She is visiting Spokane to take part in the grand opening of the symphony’s new home, the Fox Theater. There will be music, coffee and dessert.
Hampton Festival tickets on sale
Tickets go on sale soon for the 2008 Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival at the University of Idaho, Feb. 20-23.
Series tickets for all four nightly concerts go on sale Monday; individual concerts go on sale Dec. 3.
The lineup has not been finalized, but the tentative schedule already includes big names such as Wycliffe Gordon, Dee Daniels, Hank Jones and Roy Hargrove.
Call (208) 885-7212 or toll-free (888) 8-UIDAHO or go online at www.UItickets.com.
‘Diamonds and Divas’
What’s the most elegant event all year in Spokane?
Several candidates come to mind, but one of the frontrunners surely must be the Spokane Opera’s annual “Diamonds and Divas” gala on New Year’s Eve in the Davenport Hotel.
This year’s event is subtitled “Passport to St. Petersburg.” The event includes dinner, an auction, operatic music, waltzing and – as midnight approaches – dancing to a live jazz quartet.
You can buy individual tickets, a sponsorship or a full table. Call Bill Graham at (509) 533-1150 for reservations.