“From Russia with Love” is theme of the April 5 Washington Idaho Symphony Concert at Washington State University’s Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum. The concert is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.
Directing the orchestra is Keating Johnson, a music faculty member in the School of Music and Theatre Arts. The Visual, Performing and Literary Arts Committee is a sponsor.
During the event’s intermission, the coliseum’s 30th birthday will be celebrated and birthday cake will be served. The first director, Bob Smawley, of the WSU Alumni Association, will present a slide show reviewing coliseum history, said Leo Udy, current director.
The concert will sample two of Russia’s finest composers — Tchaikovsky’s “Sleeping Beauty Ballet Suite,” Letter Scene from “Eugene Onegin” and “Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy.” The symphony will also perform Prokofiev’s “March from The Love for Three Oranges.”
Tickets are on sale at https://beasley.wsu.edu; call (800) 325-SEAT, and at TicketsWest outlets. Tickets, all general admission, are $12 each for adults and $6 for children with identification.
WSU students will be admitted free. This is the fourth time, since 1993 – 94, that VPLAC and the Symphony have collaborated to bring one of their performances to campus and to make it free for WSU students.
The coliseum’s first event, on June 3, 1973, was spring commencement. The first concert was “Septemberfest,” on Sept. 23, 1973. It featured various rock performers, including vocal-guitarist Joe Walsh, formerly of the James Gang and later of the Eagles.
On Oct. 16, 1981, WSU Regents named the coliseum to honor Wallis Beasley, former WSU executive vice president and acting president. He retired Aug. 31, 1981, after 33 years of service, including influential work as a faculty member and chair of the Department of Sociology.
