Spokane Symphony’s Education & Community Programs & Student Discounts Shine Bright

Posted on November 6, 2024 at 7:00 am

Orchestral music can nurture the human spirit and enhance the quality of life. Spokane Symphony provides high quality, professional orchestral performances, enriching and transforming our community through music.

The symphony also provides free and discounted tickets for students and has several educational and community programs benefitting the communities of the Greater Spokane area.

Podcast with Spokane Symphony’s Jason Moody

Jason Moody, Director of Education and Community Engagement for the Spokane Symphony, talks about the many educational and community programs that the symphony champions on the latest podcast episode of Library Out Loud: SCLD.

Discover discounts for students, learn about educational programs for young musicians, and community performances and presentations that bring you closer to the symphony.

Symphony Student Discounts

Making orchestral music more accessible to students and aspiring musicians, Spokane Symphony offers discounted or free tickets for K–12 students, classrooms, and college students.

FAST Student Tickets

All students in grades K–12 have access to free tickets to any of the Spokane Symphony’s Masterworks concerts with the Free Access Student Ticket (FAST) program.

The FAST program can especially be good for families who may be interested in getting free symphony passes through the library for the adults, and then requesting FAST tickets for K–12 students, so the whole family can enjoy the performance. The only drawback is that FAST tickets are not guaranteed to have seats near each other.

To request a FAST ticket, you can call the symphony’s box office at 509.624.1200 and they will get ticket(s) reserved for your student(s). All complimentary tickets are subject to availability on a show-by-show basis.

Young Friends Program

The Spokane Symphony is an accessible educational option for educators. Teachers are able to request free tickets for their classrooms to any Masterworks concert with the Young Friends program.
Before the performance, as part of this program, teachers are required to provide program notes and information about the concert to their students, followed by a symphony questionnaire after the concert.

Teachers can call the symphony’s box office at 509.624.1200 to request Young Friends tickets. All complimentary tickets are subject to availability on a show-by-show basis.

College Card Season Pass

The College Card program from the Spokane Symphony is a season pass that allows college students to attend all nine Masterworks concerts for only $40 total (less than $5 per concert).

You can learn more about this program and purchase your College Card at the symphony’s website.

Symphony Education & Community Programs

Spokane Symphony has education programs that bring thousands of students into the Fox Theater. Designed to correlate to school curriculum, the program includes pre-concert classroom activities as well. Along with the education programs, the community programs help unite all ages in our community through music.

Symphony Day

Students in grades 4 and 5 throughout the Greater Spokane region are invited to attend an exclusive and interactive educational concert by the symphony that introduces them to the instruments and their unique sounds. Each year, approximately 6,000 students attend over the course of two days.

Link Up

For the Link Up program, students learn to play the recorder and sing using workbooks and teacher guides, with resources provided by the symphony and in partnership with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute online resource center.

Offering three levels of competence ranging from learning the basics to more advanced playing, educators can participate with students in grades 3–5 for three consecutive years. The program culminates with the students playing their recorders and singing with the Spokane Symphony at the Fox Theater.

Young Musicians Education Program (YMEP)

The Spokane Symphony’s longest standing education program brings musicians to the students. Three violinists, a violist, a cellist, and a bassist visit all of the secondary schools in the Spokane Public and Mead School Districts. The musicians work with classrooms and oftentimes one-on-one with students for a total of 344 school visits throughout the year.

You can find more information and who to contact about this program on the symphony’s website.

Sensory Friendly Concert

For 2024, Spokane Symphony continues its new tradition of a sensory-friendly performance of The Nutcracker on December 4, 2024, at 6pm.

Sensory-friendly concerts are designed for people on the autistic spectrum or who have any other sensory sensitivity and their families. Modifications for these concerts include relaxed house rules, reduced volume and altered lighting levels, sensory support equipment, and trained on-site volunteers. Tickets are $30 and must be purchased by calling the Fox Theater Box Office at 509.624.1200.

Lullaby Program

This community project directly supports bonding through music for new and expecting parents and their families.

Partnering with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, the Lullaby Project pairs new and expecting parents and caregivers with professional artists to write and sing personal lullabies for their babies. The Lullaby Project supports mental health, aids childhood development, and strengthens the bond between parent and child. Spokane Symphony musicians provide the soundtrack for this everlasting, personalized musical gift for families.

The LoweDown: Learning Through Music

Music Director James Lowe gives you the “LoweDown” on the music every Thursday at noon before the Masterworks weekend when James is conducting.

This event is free and offers a fascinating, light-hearted talk about the music, juicy gossip about the composers’ lives, music clips, visuals, and James’ quick wit! Guest musicians from the orchestra also demonstrate an aspect of the music and participate in the question-and-answer session at the end of the hour.

The LoweDown is held at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (the MAC) in the Eric A. Johnston Auditorium, 2316 W 1st Ave (Spokane), in Browne’s Addition.

Labor Day Concerts in the Park

For over 30 years, the Spokane Symphony has delighted thousands of people on Labor Day weekend. Families and friends gather in Comstock Park (Spokane) and Pavillion Park (Liberty Lake) to say goodbye to summer while laughing, dancing and cheering with the Spokane Symphony.

Spokane Symphony Passes from the Library

Spokane County Library District (SCLD) offers a limited number of passes for the following concerts, this holiday season and next spring.

The Nutcracker with State Street Ballet
Gather your family and friends for Spokane’s favorite holiday tradition. State Street Ballet and over 70 local dancers bring The Nutcracker to life while Tchaikovsky’s timeless score is played live by the Spokane Symphony.

Learn more at the symphony website.

MARTIN WOLDSON THEATER AT THE FOX
1001 W Sprague Ave (Spokane)
Thursday, Dec 5, 7:30pm
Doors open at 6:30pm.

Masterworks 6: L.A. Stories
Conductor Shira Samuels-Shragg, hailing from Los Angeles, makes her Masterworks debut with Dvořák’s spellbinding Seventh Symphony. Although his New World Symphony remains the most performed, his Seventh is often considered his most perfect symphonic work. Violinist Gabrielle Després joins us with Korngold’s lush Hollywood-inspired Violin Concerto, and we open with Quinn Mason’s joyous and festive Toast of the Town.

Learn more at the symphony website.

MARTIN WOLDSON THEATER AT THE FOX
1001 W Sprague Ave (Spokane)
Sunday, Mar 3, 3pm
Doors open at 1:30pm. Preconcert lecture begins at 2pm.

Masterworks 9: Tales of Hemingway
In the final Masterworks of the season, we embrace vivid stories from around the world. Respighi vividly portrays scenes of Rome, from the serene beauty of pine trees in the Villa Borghese to the triumphant march of the Appian Way, and we welcome back Zuill Bailey in the thrilling work that won him a Grammy Award.

Learn more at the symphony website.

MARTIN WOLDSON THEATER AT THE FOX
1001 W Sprague Ave (Spokane)
Sunday, May 11, 3pm
Doors open at 1:30pm. Preconcert lecture begins at 2pm.

Multiple passes are available for performances, and each pass is for one ticket that must be exchanged at the Theater Box Office (north entrance).

The Library Foundation of Spokane County has generously sponsored the 2024–25 Spokane Symphony Pass program, and the Spokane Symphony has generously provided an in-kind match of tickets. Learn more about the Library Foundation at supportscld.org.

Tags: community, education, instruments, kids, music, musicians, orchestra, parents, symphony, teachers, teens, tweens