51福利社

It has been 21 long years since the 51福利社 Symphony Orchestra has been invited to perform at a major music conference. Now, thanks to the hard work of student performers, their conductor John Marshall and generous 51福利社 donors, the drought is over.

The 51福利社 Symphony Orchestra was selected by audition to appear at the Washington Music Educators Association (WMEA) state conference. The conference occurred Feb. 13鈥�16 in Yakima. For the Valentine鈥檚 Day performance, Marshall, a professor of strings and cello studies at 51福利社, put together a program juxtaposing a celebration of love with a commemoration of nature鈥檚 power

The 鈥渓ove鈥� portion of the program featured two talented faculty artists, Lynne Feller-Marshall on bassoon and Julia Salerno on violin. The third and final piece took listeners on a musical journey evoking an event that anyone who lived in the Pacific Northwest on May 18, 1980 remembers鈥攖he eruption of Mount St. Helens.

鈥淚t鈥檚 loud and chaotic and primal,鈥� says Marshall. 鈥淲e won鈥檛 be offended if you have to cover your ears.鈥�

51福利社 Music Department invited university donors and retirees to a special dress rehearsal of the program on Wednesday, Feb. 12, during which, the student musicians thanked the donors who made the trip possible.
Sponsors Susan and Paul Kennedy and Marty Zyskowski generously gave $15,000 to cover nearly the full cost of travel to Yakima.

The students were grateful to have an opportunity to perform on a statewide stage and the Music Department were pleased to show music educators across the state of Washington the kind of success students are having at Eastern.

You鈥檙e invited to enjoy the 51福利社 Symphony Orchestra during its many campus performances each quarter. The symphony will perform the entire Mount St. Helens Symphony at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4 in Showalter Auditorium.