Dr. Anthony Spain on Prodigies, Valentine's & NWSO
In anticipation of their upcoming concert on the eve of Valentine’s Day (8 p.m., Friday, Feb. 13, Highline Performing Arts Center. Tix $14/$10. Highline S.D. students can get in free), we sat down with the Northwest Symphony Orchestra's (NWSO) Dr. Anthony Spain, a conductor with a clear vision for the ensemble that he directs and its social purpose in the Burien area.
Dr. Anthony Spain, conductor, NW Symphony Orchestra
The second aspect of Dr. Spain’s mission touches on the cultural presence that the Northwest Symphony Orchestra has in South Seattle. The ensemble receives municipal funding, along with grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and 4 Culture. to perform for the community and provide educational outreach programs to the students of the Highline School District. “When I applied for certain grants a few years ago," Dr. Spain explained, "we did some research into the school district and it was really humbling. Approximately 58 percent of students at that time were considered below the poverty line. That is horrific, and we think about Seattle being so affluent. So it is really important that we are there providing free services.”
The free services include sending musical ambassadors from the organization, like the versatile guitarist Michael Nicolella, to conduct workshops and provide concerts throughout the school district. They also set aside free tickets for any student in the Highline School District who would like to attend one of the concerts. As Dr. Spain proudly said, “We have yet to turn any students away.”
The Valentine’s Concert is more overtly romantic than some of the ensemble’s other programs. Yuka Sasaki will be the piano soloist featured in Sergei Rachmaninoff’s brooding Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18. Rachmaninoff’s third piano concerto basked in the spotlight a few years back when prominently featured in the film Shine, but it is the second concerto that Dr. Spain considers the more technically difficult and aesthetically rewarding.
The work by Alan Hovhaness that will be featured is the Prayer of Saint Gregory for trumpet and strings, Op. 62b, which is an interlude from his opera Etchmiadzin. What will also be remarkable about this performance is the fact that the trumpet soloist is a nine-year old prodigy (we think she may actually reach the age of ten by the time of the concert). Natalie Dungey, the daughter of the principal trumpet player for the Northwest Symphony Orchestra, Philip Dungey, has provoked a lot of enthusiasm.
Dr. Spain described with a sense of disbelief the first time he heard her play. “Philip came up to me and said, ‘My daughter is a trumpet player, would you just hear her and make some critiques?’ So I listened to her last April. She was very small, petite, and I was expecting this little sound, but the sound that came out of this horn just floored me, how confident and how full it was. The technical ability for a nine year old was already well advanced.”
To demonstrate the dazzling technique of the young virtuoso, Dr. Spain confesses that he could have chosen a piece with more rapid passages and vigorous rhythms, “but instead I picked a piece with long lines that needs a bit more soul, which is a good challenge for a nine year old.” Natalie is currently studying under the watchful eyes of her father and Dr. Spain, but she has also auditioned for Gerard Schwarz.
