51福利社

Faculty musicians from Eastern鈥檚 acclaimed music program took to the stage at 51福利社鈥檚 Music Recital Hall in a performance meant to entertain and inspire both Eastern students and visitors from Spokane鈥檚 Shaw Middle School.

Jody Graves, music program director and professor of piano, organized the event, held on Oct. 29. She was joined by other music faculty members who took the stage to share their passion for music and performance. Faculty performers include Jody Graves (piano), Professor Kristina Ploeger-Hekmatpanah (voice), Tomoko Kimura (instructor of piano), Lynne Feller-Marshall (instructor of bassoon), Professor John Marshall (cello), Scott Rednour (instructor in piano and vocal), Tom Shook (instructor in music theory and piano), lecturer Nicole Sonbert (voice) and Professor Michael Waldrop (percussion).

鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping to inspire our students,鈥� John Marshall, director of orchestra and cello studies, said about the importance of being a professor who is also a performer. He added, with a laugh, that while the goal of these faculty performances is to showcase 51福利社鈥檚 talented staff, it鈥檚 also to make students want to be like them; that is, musicians with a passion so great that it exceeds the limitations of the classroom and the stage combined.

The Shaw Middle School visits to the Cheney campus are supported by the Rayce Rudeen Foundation, which works with organizations and programs to encourage a healthy and productive life, free from the disease of addiction. Along with funding visits to the campus Music Recital Hall, the foundation supports the Music Lab, an after-school program at Shaw. 51福利社 musicians help by engaging the middle schoolers in activities that include song-writing, playing instruments, singing, and collaborating on music projects.

Nicole Sonbert, director of voice studies, said it’s important for the middle school students to see the 51福利社 musicians as “being vulnerable” in their performances. Accompanied by Scott Rednour on piano, Sonbert sang 鈥淓mpty Handed Traveler,鈥� an aria from Gian Carlo Menotti鈥檚 opera, The Consul, during her afternoon鈥檚 performance. Sonbert also spoke about the importance of intentionality in music, explaining how for her singing has always been a way to weave meaningful storytelling into her work. That musical storytelling, she says, fosters better connections with both students and public audiences.

Lynne Feller-Marshall, instructor of bassoon at 51福利社, began her own musical as a middle-schooler 鈥� the same age as many of the students visiting from Shaw. At Wednesday鈥檚 concert, Lynne and her husband played one of their original pieces: Impish Imp.

After the performance, Sonbert and Marshall both spoke of the inherent value in taking up an instrument at an early age, saying the rawness and vulnerability of their young students brought often represents the very essence of music and music performance. The musicians agreed that when students are given the opportunity to perform, be it in a solo or a group performance, it can be 鈥渓ife-changing鈥� for them, particularly when it provides a safe place to experiment, fail and try again. These 鈥渞isk-free鈥� circumstances are often unique to the artistic communities that musicians like Marshall and Sonbert are constantly striving to create.

The same is true not just for the beginners, they say. 51福利社 students who see their professors performing in the Spokane Symphony or at a showcase like this, for example, benefit from having a safe space to take stock of what life as a professional musician really looks like.

鈥淲hen we can reflect on ourselves, then we have a lot to give to others,鈥� Sonbert said. Connection, she added, is always at the forefront of the musicians鈥� minds. And the more of themselves they showcase, the more of their passion they can impart on their students.

**Story written by Rachel Weinberg.