Poetry to Music Music and poetry are deeply interconnected in so many ways. Lines flow melodically, words rhyme, and both art forms express emotions. So it’s no surprise that this annual event exists. Each year, music composition students from local universities try their hand at turning their favorite poems into stunning pieces of music at Poetry to Music, hosted by the Spokane Symphony Associates. The event promotes the work done by local music professors and students all while raising funds for the Spokane Symphony Orchestra. This year’s featured student artists hail from Gonzaga and Eastern Washington universities, studying under Michael Kropf and Jonathan Middleton, respectively. Also in attendance is Chris Cook, Spokane Poet Laureate from 2019-21, and Spokane Symphony’s current second trumpet player.
Poetry to Music Though two completely different art forms, poetry and music are similar in myriad ways. Both involve rhythm, flow, expression, and emotions and require an understanding of form in order to create. For the fifth iteration of Poetry to Music, sponsored by the Cantabile Chapter of the Spokane Symphony Associates, students from Eastern Washington University studying under professor Jonathan Middleton explore the relationship between music and poetry by composing works based on poems. At the concert, attendees hear the stories behind the compositions from the student composers themselves and see how the worlds of poetry and music collide to create beautiful movements that inspire a new generation of composers and musicians.