Seattle Symphony to Further Postpone or Cancel Events through July 31, 2020 Due to COVID-19

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Wesley Dyring
Music Director Thomas Dausgaard and the Seattle Symphony continue to share their commitment to bringing music to audiences around the world throughout the closure with rebroadcasts of past performances from Benaroya Hall. Photo by Carlin Ma.

Orchestra continues to share free rebroadcasts of past performances and livestreams of education programs throughout the closure

May 13, 2020

Seattle, WA – As part of ongoing efforts to reduce the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), the Seattle Symphony will be canceling or postponing performances through July 31, 2020. Throughout the duration of the closure, the Seattle Symphony remains committed to sharing performances that provide strength, comfort and joy through concert video rebroadcasts and livestreams as our community faces the current public health crisis together.

The following events through July 31, 2020 are either canceled or postponed:

June 3–4: DreamWorks Animation in Concert
June 5–6: Tiny Tots: The Orchestra: Beethoven’s Birthday Bash
June 5–7: Frank & Ella Together
June 11, 13: Beethoven Festival Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3
June 12, 14: Beethoven Festival Symphonies Nos. 2 & 7
June 18, 20: Beethoven Festival Symphonies Nos. 6 & 8
June 19, 21: Beethoven Festival Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5
June 25, 27–28: Beethoven Festival Symphony No. 9
June 26: Beethoven Ninth Untuxed
June 27: First Concerts: Meet the Bassoon
July 9–12: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in Concert with the Seattle Symphony (Postponed)
July 25: First Concerts: Meet the Bass

Ticket holders may donate their tickets back to Seattle Symphony, apply the ticket value toward an upcoming Seattle Symphony performance, or hold the value on account. Ticket holders will receive an email outlining these and other available options and can contact the Seattle Symphony Ticket Office by emailing tickets@seattlesymphony.org. Updates on Seattle Symphony and Benaroya Hall concerts and events can be found at the links provided.

The Seattle Symphony continues to share free livestreams and rebroadcasts weekly until the orchestra can return to the Benaroya Hall stage. Programming updates will be shared at seattlesymphony.org/live. Those interested can also sign up to receive email notifications about upcoming Seattle Symphony rebroadcasts and livestreams.

Since March, the Seattle Symphony has built a range of regular broadcasts with viewership reaching over 550,000 to date for the Symphony’s expanded online offerings. Its video lineup features concert rebroadcasts, education programs Meet the Instrument and Tiny Clips for Tiny Tots, and daily Morning Notes featuring short performances by Symphony musicians. The standard broadcast schedule is as follows:

Wednesday at 11 a.m. PT: Meet the Instrument
Thursday at 7:30 p.m. PT: Concert rebroadcast
Friday at 11 a.m. PT: Tiny Clips for Tiny Tots
Saturday at 8 p.m. PT: Concert rebroadcast
Sunday at 2 p.m. PT: Concert rebroadcast
Weekdays: Morning Notes

Inspired by the orchestra’s dedication to serving the community, more than 6,000 people have stepped forward with a donation since the closure of Benaroya Hall. These funds support the Seattle Symphony Future Fund, providing critical resources to ensure a bright future for symphonic music in our community. To learn more about how to support the Seattle Symphony or to make a donation, visit seattlesymphony.org/give. The Seattle Symphony looks forward to welcoming audiences back to Benaroya Hall again very soon and wishes everyone health and comfort in the coming weeks.

SEATTLE SYMPHONY

Led by Music Director Thomas Dausgaard, the Seattle Symphony unleashes the power of music, brings people together and lifts the human spirit. Recognized as one of the “most vital American orchestras” (NPR), the Seattle Symphony is internationally acclaimed for its inventive programming, community-minded initiatives and superb recordings on the Seattle Symphony Media label. With a strong commitment to new music and a legacy of over 150 recordings, the orchestra has garnered five Grammy Awards, 26 Grammy nominations, two Emmy Awards and was named Gramophone’s 2018 Orchestra of the Year. The Symphony performs in Benaroya Hall in the heart of downtown Seattle from September through July, reaching over 500,000 people annually through live performances and radio broadcasts.
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Seattle Symphony and Seattle Symphony & Opera Players’ Organization Reach New Agreement

Posted on April 18, 2020 by Wesley Dyring

Musicians and full-time staff maintain employment status with new funds secured for Seattle Symphony during COVID-19 closures

Music Director Thomas Dausgaard and the Seattle Symphony commit to sharing music throughout the closure with rebroadcasts of past performances from Benaroya Hall.

April 17, 2020

SEATTLE, WA – Yesterday, the Seattle Symphony and Seattle Symphony & Opera Players’ Organization reached a new agreement that enables musicians to maintain employment status while the orchestra is not performing. The Seattle Symphony previously announced all performances are either canceled or postponed through May 31, 2020 in an effort to reduce the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

On April 13, 2020, the Seattle Symphony received funding for a loan under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a government stimulus program, enabling full-time staff and musicians to maintain employment status with the organization. Effective April 13, the program duration is 8 weeks and will conclude on June 7, 2020. The organization is awaiting clarification on guidelines from the SBA which will determine how much of the loan will be forgivable.

Prior to the PPP approval, several measures were put into effect from April 1 through April 13 to provide immediate financial relief for the organization to mitigate losses during the closure, including staffing modifications and salary adjustments for administrators whose roles support revenue-generating opportunities and aren’t directly related to event logistics. The musicians remained on payroll during this time without any alterations, and the parties had previously negotiated an agreement that included the musicians being on standby from April 13 through June 1. There have been no changes to healthcare benefits for anyone employed by the Seattle Symphony. 

Effective April 13 through June 7, 2020 under this new program, the musicians and all full-time staff will be employed with reinstatement of full wages limited by the PPP’s salary cap. In the new agreement, the Seattle Symphony musicians, who are jointly employed by the Seattle Symphony and Seattle Opera, will receive the equivalent of the Symphony’s share of base scale. 

“I am extremely happy that we found a way to keep our musicians and full-time staff employed,” shared Krishna Thiagarajan, President & CEO of the Seattle Symphony. “It is even more important that everyone is healthy and stays healthy. We will continue exploring all the options with the musicians and Thomas Dausgaard towards a return of live concerts as soon as it is safe to do so.”

“The musicians had expected to be applying for unemployment benefits on Monday as we had conceded seven weeks of salary in a previously negotiated agreement,” commented Alexander White, Seattle Symphony & Opera Players’ Organization Chair and Associate Principal Trumpet for the Seattle Symphony. “We were so pleased to learn that PPP funding had been secured by the management team. Together, the management and the union were able to negotiate our musicians’ financial security during a time without performances while sustaining the health of the organization. We all regret that we are unable to produce live music for our community, but the musicians promise to continue creating and releasing content digitally, bringing you all the healing that our music can provide.” 

The Seattle Symphony and musicians remain committed to sharing performances that provide strength, comfort and joy through video rebroadcasts and livestreams throughout the duration of the closure as our community confronts a current global health crisis. The orchestra is organizing additional free rebroadcasts, solo performances and livestreams until the orchestra can return to the Benaroya Hall stage. In addition to rebroadcasting past performances, the musicians of the Seattle Symphony are sharing “Morning Notes,” short daily video clips of solo musicians performing, on the Seattle Symphony’s social media accounts.  

The first rebroadcasts of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 on March 12 and 14 reached over 130,000 people around the world. Of these streamed concerts, The New York Times Magazine stated, “The performance felt symbolic: a declaration that connection and solidarity and collective beauty would continue, that we could still gather together even as we stayed apart.”  

In response to requests from families and retirement communities, the Seattle Symphony expanded its online broadcast offerings to include matinee performances on Sundays and a new “Meet the Instruments” and “Tiny Clips for Tiny Tots” program for children and families. 

To date, total viewership for these streamed concerts is over 315,000 people from across the United States and around the world. Additional programming will be shared in the coming days. For more details, visit seattlesymphony.org/live. 

To immediately address the challenges the organization faces during the closure, the Symphony has launched the Future Fund initiative to raise $10 million. This special fundraising effort will provide the Symphony with critical operating support to continue basic operating functions while the orchestra is not performing at Benaroya Hall and ensure funds for the reopening. Board member Stephen Whyte generously launched the effort with a $1 million match and as of April 15, the match had been met by community support. The Symphony continues to explore all options of public and private support for relief during this crisis, including the Payroll Protection Program funds.

To learn more about how to support the Seattle Symphony or to make a donation, visit seattlesymphony.org/give. The Seattle Symphony looks forward to welcoming audiences back to Benaroya Hall again very soon.

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Seattle Symphony Recording Wins Two Grammy Awards

Posted on February 14, 2019 by

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Photo: James Holt / Seattle Symphony

Best Contemporary Classical Composition and Best Classical Instrumental Solo awarded to Aaron Jay Kernis’ Violin Concerto with violinist James Ehnes at the 2019 Grammy Awards.

The Recording Academy announced today that the Seattle Symphony won two awards in the classical category at the 2019 Grammy Awards. Music Director Ludovic Morlot and the Seattle Symphony won Best Classical Instrumental Solo and Best Contemporary Classical Composition for their work on violinist James Ehnes’ recording of Aaron Jay Kernis’ Violin Concerto, which was commissioned and premiered by the Seattle Symphony.

“Congratulations to Ludovic Morlot, violinist James Ehnes, composer Aaron Jay Kernis, Recording Engineer Dmitriy Lipay and the musicians of the Seattle Symphony for this exceptional new Violin Concerto, which was enthusiastically received from the first moment our audiences heard it in Benaroya Hall,” shared Seattle Symphony President & CEO Krishna Thiagarajan. “Commissioning new music is one of the most important things we do, and it’s incredibly heartening to see the excitement about this new concerto extend to a Grammy win.”

He added, “This year our orchestra was also nominated for Best Orchestral Recording for the first installment in our Nielsen cycle with our Music Director Designate Thomas Dausgaard, and we are incredibly proud to have all of these projects recognized by the Recording Academy.”

The Aaron Jay Kernis Violin concerto was jointly commissioned by the Seattle Symphony, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. The Seattle Symphony, conducted by Ludovic Morlot, gave its U.S. premiere with violinist James Ehnes in March 2017 at Benaroya Hall.

The Seattle Times review of the performance stated, “the new concerto demands almost superhuman agility and stamina of Ehnes, the soloist for whom it was written, and he rose to the challenge.”

Please join us in congratulating Ludovic Morlot, violinist James Ehnes, composer Aaron Jay Kernis, Recording Engineer Dmitriy Lipay and the musicians of the Seattle Symphony! You can listen to the recording below.

Aaron Jay Kernis: Violin Concerto

kernis-album-cover

Ludovic Morlot, conductor
James Ehnes, violin
Seattle Symphony

AARON JAY KERNIS: Violin Concerto

LISTEN NOW

Thank You!

The Seattle Symphony’s recordings and artistic projects are made possible by donations from music lovers like you. Join our family of donors with your gift today!

GIVE NOW

The commission by Aaron Jay Kernis was generously supported by Patricia Tall-Takacs and Gary Takacs. James Ehnes’ performances were generously underwritten by Dana and Ned Laird through the Seattle Symphony’s Guest Artists Circle.
The Seattle Symphony’s Masterworks Series is sponsored by Delta Air Lines.
This performance was presented as part of the Seattle Symphony’s New Music WORKS initiative, which is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. New Music WORKS features commissions, concerts and educational activities that use composition as a catalyst for collaboration and engagement in music.
The Seattle Symphony is grateful to Joan Watjen for her generous support of Seattle Symphony Media CDs in memory of her husband Craig.
Posted on February 10, 2019
https://www.seattlesymphony.org/watch-listen/beyondthestage/grammy-awards-2019?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=owned_sso&fbclid=IwAR1EO4SFzgqeLKvJ-9Zmk6LBmswsKibOcUAMQyZz41n6bYILFWUouH9Th7c

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Review: Jordi Savall Routes of Slavery

Posted on November 9, 2018 by

SEATTLE SYMPHONY
Exclusives: Jordi Savall Routes of Slavery

Tuesday, November 6 at 7:30pm
Benaroya Hall

Presented by the Seattle Symphony and Early Music Seattle

Beloved early music interpreter Jordi Savall and artists representing Europe, Africa, and the Americas explore the music through which enslaved peoples forged a sense of community, preserved their own humanity, and found a way to endure in the face of unspeakable bondage. Savall and his collaborators honor their journeys through the incredible music legacy they left in this special presentation.

Read more >

Review

Earlier this week my wife Luz Marina and I attended this profoundly moving presentation by one of my favorite concert and recording artists, Jordi Savall, one of the great masters of the Early Music movement.

The program incorporated music from throughout the 444-year history of the African slave trade, and provided the entranced audience a view into the great contributions to musical art and dance that the noble and grievously oppressed peoples native to the African and American continents made in the midst of their enforced suffering.

Savall gathered his own ensembles, Hespèrion XXI and La Capella Reial de Catalunya, along with musicians from Mali, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Guadeloupe, and the United States. Some of these were existing groups who perform their own specialized styles from the various cultures. Many of the performances demonstrated the way that slaves or their descendents took and transformed the European musical styles of those times, while others were authentic to their countries of origin.

Effectively interspersed with these incredibly diverse musical selections were narrations of historical passages that were recorded during that period, most powerfully and movingly delivered by Stephen Michael Newby, a composer, gospel/jazz vocalist, pianist, and professor of music at Seattle Pacific University.

My wife and I chose our seats in the second row, which permitted us to see the facial expressions of the performers from up close, and from my standpoint as a violist accustomed to performing on the Benaroya Hall stage as a Seattle Symphony member, it felt nearer to my musical life of being seated in the midst of the music.

We are deeply impressed by this initiative of Savall in putting together this collaboration on such an important topic in the collective life of humanity, and we wish them the greatest success in this musical, cultural, and educational endeavor.

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Seattle Symphony Named Orchestra of the Year at the 2018 Gramophone Classical Music Awards

Posted on September 14, 2018 by

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September 13, 2018

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NOMINATION FOR THE AWARD WAS BASED ON THE ORCHESTRA’S
“EXCEPTIONAL CONTRIBUTION” (GRAMOPHONE) TO RECORDED
MUSIC IN PAST YEAR

SEATTLE, WA – Today, Gramophone announced the Seattle Symphony has won the Orchestra of the Year Award, an award that recognizes the artistic excellence of an ensemble. The winner of the Orchestra of the Year Award was announced at the 2018 Gramophone Classical Music Awards ceremony in the Grand Connaught Rooms in London.

The Seattle Symphony was among seven other international ensembles nominated for the award, and the only nominee outside of Europe. Selected by Gramophone’s editors and critics, finalists were chosen from recordings made from June 2017 through May 2018 and the winner was voted on by the general public. The Gramophone Classical Music Awards celebrate the most outstanding recordings of  the past year, and this new award gave listeners the opportunity to vote for an orchestra they believe has made an exceptional contribution to recorded music.
“The Seattle Symphony has a long and highly distinguished tradition of making recordings, and that tradition has continued under the musical directorship of Ludovic Morlot and his successor Thomas Dausgaard. The orchestra’s dynamic work in concert and the resulting recordings have clearly captured the public’s imagination who delivered an astounding 47 percent of votes to make the Seattle Symphony our inaugural Orchestra of the Year, an Award sponsored for the first time by Apple Music,” commented James Jolly, Editor in Chief for Gramophone.

“We are all absolutely thrilled. This award validates our record label, Seattle Symphony Media, as a key element in defining our international reputation,” shared Krishna Thiagarajan, President and CEO of the Seattle Symphony. “As we begin a new season of exciting concerts, this award also recognizes the extraordinary artistic accomplishments made under Music Director Ludovic Morlot. We are so honored to be named Orchestra of the Year by Gramophone. Thank you to all our supporters and congratulations to Ludovic Morlot, Music Director Designate Thomas Dausgaard, the musicians of the Seattle Symphony and recording engineer Dmitriy Lipay for recognition of your artistic achievements!”

“I am so proud of our orchestra for winning Gramophone’s Orchestra of the Year Award,” said Ludovic Morlot, Seattle Symphony Music Director. “We’ve had an incredible journey together over the past seven years and I’m looking forward to another season of inspiring concerts and exciting releases of music on the Seattle Symphony Media label, with a focus on French repertoire.”

The eight international ensembles nominated for the award were the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Il Pomo d’Oro, Seattle Symphony, Les Siècles and Vienna Symphony Orchestra. The award was announced alongside other special awards such as Artist of the Year, Young Artist of the Year and the coveted Recording of the Year. The Orchestra of the Year Award was the only one decided by public vote.

Alexander White, the Seattle Symphony & Opera Players’ Organization Chairperson and Assistant Principal Trumpet commented, “To be the first orchestra named Orchestra of the Year by Gramophone is an extraordinary honor for the musicians of the Seattle Symphony. The orchestra is thrilled to be nominated for this award amongst so many great orchestras and is proud to represent our city and supporters worldwide. We promise to continue giving phenomenal concerts and beautiful recordings of works both familiar and unfamiliar. On behalf of the musicians of the Seattle Symphony, thank you: we are Orchestra of the Year!”

Under Music Director Ludovic Morlot, the Seattle Symphony has seen thrilling performances, inventive programming, Grammy Award-winning recordings, touring to Carnegie Hall and the West Coast, and daring multimedia projects. The orchestra has embarked on an eight-year exploration of French music, spanning over a hundred years of music by Berlioz, Debussy, Dutilleux, Fauré, Messiaen, Ravel and others featured in concert and on Seattle Symphony Media, the orchestra’s in-house record label launched in 2014.

The 2018–2019 season includes the releases of three all-French albums on Seattle Symphony Media. On September 14, the orchestra will release Berlioz’s Requiem conducted by Ludovic Morlot, joined by tenor Kenneth Tarver. The digital release of this album also includes Tarver’s performance of La mort d’Orphée. In January 2019, an album featuring works of Berlioz, Ravel and Debussy with tenor Ian Bostridge will release including Debussy’s Le livre de Baudelaire orchestrated by John Adams and Berlioz’s Les nuits d’ete. Seattle Symphony Principal Oboe Mary Lynch and Principal Flute Demarre McGill as well as cellist Jay Campbell will be featured in an August release of concertos and orchestral works by Marc-André Dalbavie.

Music Director Designate Thomas Dausgaard assumes his role as Seattle Symphony’s Music Director in the 2019–2020 season, continuing recording projects with the orchestra that began following his appointment as Principal Guest Conductor in 2014. Dausgaard’s projects with the Seattle Symphony include the 2016 live recording of Mahler’s Symphony No. 10 (performing version by Deryck Cooke), which was named Disc of the Year by Europadisc and nominated for a 2017 Gramophone Award with the review stating, “this exceptional issue from the Pacific Northwest ought to be a game-changer for all concerned.” During the 2018–2019 season, the orchestra will also continue to record its first-ever Nielsen cycle with Thomas Dausgaard, which began in November 2017 with the “thrilling” (Gramophone) release of Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4.

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GRAMOPHONE’S ORCHESTRA OF THE YEAR AWARD NOMINATION FOR THE SEATTLE SYMPHONY:

“The Seattle Symphony has a long tradition in the recording studios; under Gerard Schwarz, its Music Director from 1985 to 2011, it recorded extensively for Delos and Naxos leaving a priceless discography of largely American music. Now this 115-year-old ensemble is back making recordings (usually based on live performances) and is sounding superb. Ludovic Morlot (2011–19) has focused on French repertoire including Messiaen and Dutilleux — with a rewarding side-step towards Charles Ives — while the ensemble’s Music Director Designate Thomas Dausgaard has taken them into other underexplored areas of the repertoire. After last year’s Gramophone Award-shortlisted Mahler Ten, we’ve had a bracing and thrilling coupling of Nielsen’s Third and Fourth Symphonies.”

screenshot.15CHARLES IVES
Three Places in New England
Orchestral Set No. 2
New England Holidays
Ludovic Morlot, conductor
Seattle Symphony
Seattle Symphony Chorale

screenshot.16OLIVIER MESSIAEN
Poèmes pour Mi
Trois petites liturgies de la Présence Divine
Ludovic Morlot, conductor
Jane Archibald, soprano
Cynthia Millar, ondes Martenot
Michael Brown, piano
Northwest Boychoir
Seattle Symphony

screenshot.17CARL NIELSEN
Symphony No. 3, “Sinfonia espansiva”
Symphony No. 4, “The Inextinguishable”
Thomas Dausgaard, conductor
Estelí Gomez, soprano
John Taylor Ward, baritone
Seattle Symphony

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Seattle Symphony Embarks on Tour of American West

Posted on March 18, 2018 by Wesley Dyring

 

The Seattle Symphony’s spring tour features performances in Palm Desert and Las Vegas as well as a two-day residency at the University of California, Berkeley.

Music Director Ludovic Morlot and the Seattle Symphony will embark on a three-city tour, April 4–8, with performances in California and Nevada. Morlot and the orchestra will be joined by pianist Jeremy Denk in Palm Desert and Las Vegas before heading to a residency at the University of California, Berkeley.

There, audiences will be the first to experience unique, back-to-back performances of John Luther Adams’ Become Desert and Become Ocean on consecutive days. Additional activities, such as artist discussions and masterclasses, will be held on campus at UC Berkeley.

The Seattle Symphony commissioned and premiered Become Ocean in 2013 and the piece went on to win Pulitzer and Grammy awards. Following on the success of Become Ocean, the orchestra presents the world premiere of John Luther Adams’ Become Desert on March 29 and 31 at Benaroya Hall in a program including Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor” with Jeremy Denk.

Tour Schedule

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, AT 7:30PM
McCallum Theatre | Palm Desert, CA

BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor”
SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 2

Tickets — This concert is currently at capacity.
For wait list information, please contact Donor Relations at friends@seattlesymphony.org.

THURSDAY, APRIL 5, AT 7:30PM
Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall | Las Vegas, NV

BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor”
SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 2

Tickets from $25 — Purchase Now

SATURDAY, APRIL 7, AT 8PM
Zellerbach Hall | Berkeley, CA

JOHN LUTHER ADAMS: Become Desert
SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 2

Tickets from $38 — Purchase Now

Become Desert was commissioned by the Seattle Symphony with the generous support of Dale and Leslie Chihuly.

SUNDAY, APRIL 8, AT 3PM
Zellerbach Hall | Berkeley, CA

SIBELIUS: The Oceanides
BRITTEN: Four Sea Interludes and Passacaglia from Peter Grimes
JOHN LUTHER ADAMS: Become Ocean

Tickets from $38 — Purchase Now

Become Ocean was commissioned by the Seattle Symphony with the generous support of the Lynn and Brian Grant Family.

Follow the Orchestra

If you have family and friends in these areas, let them know the Seattle Symphony is coming to town! You can follow the orchestra’s travels on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

For information about patron activities around the orchestra’s Palm Desert and Berkeley concerts, contact Donor Relations at 206.215.4832 or friends@seattlesymphony.org.

 

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Link for viewing Music Beyond Borders video

Posted on February 9, 2017 by Wesley Dyring

If you missed seeing our Music Without Borders: Voices from the Seven concert live simulcast, go to http://www.seattlesymphony.org/beyond-borders/live-stream, and you can watch it there on the Seattle Symphony’s website. It was incredible – definitely one of the most important concerts we have played. This program was initiated by musicians in the orchestra and we also volunteered our time to do this!

[Edit Dec. 2021: Music Beyond Borders is now available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YMeaMvW9mM]

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Seattle Symphony Presents Music Beyond Borders: Voices from the Seven

Posted on February 6, 2017 by Wesley Dyring

 seattle-symphony-logo

For Immediate Release: February 4, 2017

 SEATTLE SYMPHONY PRESENTS
MUSIC BEYOND BORDERS: VOICES FROM THE SEVEN

 FREE Concert on February 8 with Program Drawn from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen

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Seattle–The Seattle Symphony will present Music Beyond Borders: Voices From the Seven on February 8 at 7:30 p.m. in the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium in Benaroya Hall. This FREE concert for the community will feature music drawn from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The community is invited to experience the rich and diverse musical heritage of these countries. The program is still being developed and will include as many of these seven countries as possible including works by Syrian-born Kinan Azmeh, Iraqi-born Rahim AlHaj and two Iranian-born composers, Gity Razaz and Alireza Motevaseli. These composers reside in the United States except for Motevaseli who lives in Iran.

“Our musicians and I are passionate about using our art form to create connections with others and celebrate the diversity of our community,” shared Music Director Ludovic Morlot. “Many of our musicians are immigrants themselves, so when they suggested we create a concert like this, we enthusiastically embraced the opportunity to bring the universal power of music to speak across boundaries and borders.”

President & CEO Simon Woods remarked, “During the past week, I’ve seen the arts community around the U.S. coming together in meaningful ways following the recent executive order restricting travel and immigration from certain countries. At the Seattle Symphony, inclusivity is a core value. We feel inspired to add our voice, with the hope that we can bring our community together to celebrate the freedom of expression and open exchange of ideas which the arts have always stood for, especially in times of division and conflict.”

Additional programming information will be posted on the event page on the Seattle Symphony website as it becomes available. The performance will be streamed live on the Seattle Symphony’s Facebook page.

[Edit Dec. 2021: Music Beyond Borders is now available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YMeaMvW9mM]

Approximately one quarter of the Seattle Symphony’s musicians are immigrants.

The Seattle Symphony is a member of the League of American Orchestras, which has issued this statement on the executive order.

ABOUT THE SEATTLE SYMPHONY

 

The Seattle Symphony is one of America’s leading symphony orchestras and is internationally acclaimed for its innovative programming and extensive recording history. Under the leadership of Music Director Ludovic Morlot since September 2011, the Symphony is heard from September through July by more than 500,000 people through live performances and radio broadcasts. It performs in one of the finest modern concert halls in the world — the acoustically superb Benaroya Hall — in downtown Seattle. Its extensive education and community engagement programs reach over 65,000 children and adults each year. The Seattle Symphony has a deep commitment to new music, commissioning many works by living composers each season. The orchestra has made nearly 150 recordings and has received two Grammy Awards, 23 Grammy nominations, two Emmy Awards and numerous other accolades. In 2014 the Symphony launched its in-house recording label, Seattle Symphony Media.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Rosalie Contreras, Seattle Symphony Vice President of Communications, (206) 215-4782
rosalie.contreras@seattlesymphony.org
Jennifer Rice, Interim Publicist, (206) 450-7054
rice1234@yahoo.com
Posted in Community, Media, Social Action, Symphony, World Music | 2 Comments

Seattle Symphony recording wins Grammy

Posted on February 17, 2016 by Wesley Dyring

Congratulations to violinist Augustin Hadelich for a Grammy Award!

On Monday the Seattle Symphony’s recording of Dutilleux’s Violin Concerto, L’arbre des songes, with violinist Augustin Hadelich won a 2016 Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo. This recording is part of a three-disc, multi-year recording project on Seattle Symphony Media, the orchestra’s in-house record label. Hadelich will return to the Seattle Symphony at the end of March to perform Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto

The disc features live performances of Symphony No. 2 and Métaboles, and was also nominated for Best Orchestral Performance and Best Engineered Album for the 2016 Grammys. The third and final recording, along with a commemorative box set of all three recordings, will be released later in August in commemoration of Dutilleux’s 100th anniversary.

Since the start of his tenure as Music Director, Ludovic Morlot and the Seattle Symphony have embarked on an in-depth survey of orchestral works by Henri Dutilleux, both in concert and the recording studio. The first volume in this recording project, released in March 2014, was hailed by The New York Times as a “gorgeous, authoritative collection” and received three Grammy nominations in 2015 for Best Orchestral Performance, Best Classical Instrumental Solo by Xavier Phillips and Best Engineered Album.

Last year, the Symphony won their first-ever Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition with composer John Luther Adams for Become Ocean, which was commissioned and recorded by the Seattle Symphony and released on the Cantaloupe label.

The orchestra has made nearly 150 recordings and has received two Grammy Awards, 21 Grammy nominations, two Emmy Awards and numerous other accolades.

Listen to the Grammy-winning recording of L’arbre des songes by Henri Dutilleux with Augustin Hadelich, Music Director Ludovic Morlot and the Seattle Symphony.

CDs may be purchased at Symphonica, The Symphony Store, at Benaroya Hall. Digital downloads and CDs are available through iTunes and Amazon using the links below:

Available From

Posted on February 16, 2016

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The Score — Seattle Symphony December eNews

Posted on December 12, 2015 by Wesley Dyring

STRENGTHENING OUR COMMUNITY THROUGH MUSIC

Making music and art can be an incredibly healing experience, creating confidence and fostering connectedness in our community. Our community partner, Path with Art, uses art to transform the lives of our most vulnerable populations. This fall, we partnered with Path with Art and our Music Alive Composer-in-Residence, Trimpin, to create a musical contraption and composition for the instrument in an 8-week workshop. The participants gave a powerful and moving performance at Benaroya Hall on December 2. Click here for more info and photos, and click here to see TV coverage of the project on KOMO News.

TAYLOR SWIFT DONATES $50,000

Inspired by the Seattle Symphony’s recording of John Luther Adams’ stirring work Become Ocean, the international music star donated $50,000 to the Seattle Symphony to support the musicians of today and tomorrow. In her letter to Music Director Ludovic Morlot, Swift praised the beauty of the composition, the musicianship of the orchestra and reminisced about going to hear her local symphony with her grandmother.

A FUTURE WITHOUT VIOLENCE

In response to recent world events, the Seattle Symphony has released Giya Kancheli’s emotional work, Nu.Mu.Zu, for free streaming and download. The work conveys the composer’s struggle with comprehending violence and his hopes for a better future. The piece was recorded live at its U.S. premiere a week before the events in Paris and Beirut.

THREE GRAMMY NOMINATIONS

Congratulations to Ludovic Morlot, violinist Augustin Hadelich, our incredible musicians and recording engineer Dmitriy Lipay on their three Grammy nominations this year! The nominations, all for the second installment in a three-disc, multi-year recording project of the orchestral works of French composer Henri Dutilleux, include Best Orchestral Performance, Best Classical Instrumental Solo and Best Engineered Performance.

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