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Will they fit? Will they fall?

| October 8, 2010 9:00 PM

The Coeur d'Alene Symphony and Whitworth Symphony Orchestra will team up for a memorable stage-buster.

The Coeur d'Alene Symphony's 2010-2011 season opens with its Fall Fantasy concert on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Lake City Community Church.

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's "Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture" will open the program. The Symphony will then be joined by the Whitworth Symphony Orchestra to perform Gustav Mahler's "Symphony No. 1 in D Major."

"Symphony No. 1 in D Major," composed between 1884 and 1888, is sometimes known as the "Titan", and is scored for a large orchestra. There will be 116 musicians from the two symphonies performing together.

"I just hope nobody sitting on the edge of the stage gets so involved with their playing that they accidentally fall off the stage. We're going to need every inch to fit everyone up there," said David Demand, artistic director of the Coeur d'Alene Symphony. "I might have to stand in the aisle instead of the stage."

The Whitworth Symphony Orchestra consists of the top Whitworth University string, wind, brass and percussion student musicians.

Under the direction of Philip Baldwin, D.M.A., the Whitworth Symphony Orchestra has grown into one of the outstanding university orchestras in the region, strengthened through a partnership with the Spokane Symphony Orchestra that brings some of the area's finest musicians to the Whitworth campus for master classes and other events.

The Coeur d'Alene Symphony, founded in 1979, is a nonprofit organization comprised of 65-plus orchestra members from the Inland Northwest under the baton of David Demand, Conductor and Artistic Director. The symphony also provides scholarships for college music students.

Tchaikovsky's "Romeo and Juliet" is an orchestral work based on Shakespeare's play of the same name. It premiered March 16, 1870, with lukewarm acceptance, which caused him to begin rewriting the piece.

The second version was published in 1870 and first performed in February 1872. Yet in 1880, 10 years after his first reworking of the piece, Tchaikovsky rewrote the ending and it's this third and final version that is performed today.

The overture's recognizable love theme had been used in many TV shows and movies including: The Jazz Singer, Wayne's World, South Park, Clueless, A Christmas Story, Scrubs, and Pushing Daisies.

Gustav Mahler's "Symphony No. 1 in D Major" is one of the giants of the symphonic repertoire after Mahler spent many years reworking his composition. The final version now in the repertoire is in the traditional four movement form.

"We don't expect just lukewarm applause when we finish," Demand said. "This piece is too fresh, thoughtful and thrilling. A live performance of this magnitude is sure to be a winner with the audience."

The entire concert (Mahler piece) will be repeated on Sunday at the Mead High School Auditorium, 302 W. Hastings Road, Spokane. Tickets are available at the door.

Information: (509) 777-3268.

For the Saturday concert, doors open at 6:30. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and $8 for students/children. For information on ticket availability or to order tickets, please contact the Coeur d'Alene Symphony office at 765-3833. Office hours are Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Information: www.cdasymphony.org.

Tickets are also available in Coeur d'Alene at Great Harvest Bread Company, 2106 N. Government Way and Burt's Music, 12th & Sherman and the day of the concert at the door.