The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington . Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall . The orchestra also serves as the accompanying orchestra for the Seattle Opera .
24-735: Benaroya Hall is the home of the Seattle Symphony in Downtown Seattle , Washington , United States. It features two auditoria, the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium, a 2,500-seat performance venue, as well as the Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall, which seats 536. Opened in September 1998 at a cost of $ 120 million, Benaroya is noted for its technology-infused acoustics designed by Cyril Harris . Benaroya occupies an entire city block in
48-633: A 1989 recording of music of Howard Hanson. The orchestra also recorded a musical score to the SeaWorld, Orlando, stage show A'lure, The Call of the Ocean plus the score for the motion pictures Highlander II: The Quickening and Die Hard With a Vengeance . Schwarz received praise for his championing of American composers and his skills in fund-raising. However, his tenure was also marked by controversies between him and several symphony musicians, which included several legal disputes. In September 2008,
72-619: A trumpeter, performing until 1977 as co-principal of the New York Philharmonic under Pierre Boulez . He began conducting in 1966. Schwarz champions American composers, past and present. He has made more than 100 recordings with the Seattle Symphony including many American works. In particular, he won acclaim for his recordings of symphonies and orchestral works by Walter Piston , Howard Hanson , William Schuman , Alan Hovhaness , and David Diamond . Schwarz built
96-842: Is artistic partner for symphonic music programming. Among the orchestras that Schwarz has led on his other recordings are the Czech Philharmonic , the Philadelphia Orchestra , the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra , the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra , and the Orchestre National de France . In 2003 he recorded two concertos by Philip Glass : the Cello Concerto (with Julian Lloyd Webber ) and
120-550: Is the first female conductor and the first conductor of color to be named music director of the Seattle Symphony. Gerard Schwarz Gerard Schwarz (born August 19, 1947), also known as Gerry Schwarz or Jerry Schwarz , is an American symphony conductor and trumpeter. As of 2019, Schwarz serves as the Artistic and Music Director of Palm Beach Symphony and the Director of Orchestral Activities and Music Director of
144-618: The Tokyo Philharmonic . In 2007, Schwarz was named music director of the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina, having served as its principal conductor since 2005. He expanded the festival's audience to the largest in its history, enhanced education and programming to include a composer in residence and three new concert series and increased collaboration with An Appalachian Summer Festival, where he
168-731: The Frost Symphony Orchestra at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami . Schwarz was born in Weehawken, New Jersey , to Jewish parents. His parents were both physicians and took him to concerts and opera performances. Schwarz began his trumpet career at age 8. By 12 years of age, he dedicated his life to becoming a musician. He graduated from New York City's High School of Performing Arts and Juilliard School of Music and began his musical career as
192-493: The Seattle Symphony decided to withdraw from it. A feud between the musicians and the board surfaced in 1948, and a majority of the musicians divorced themselves from the board and created a new orchestra called the Seattle Orchestra, a partnership (collective) operated by the musicians themselves, who chose Linden as their conductor. The Seattle Symphony announced a separate orchestra season with eighteen concerts at
216-919: The Seattle Symphony, it was renamed in 1911 as the Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1919, the orchestra was reorganized with new bylaws under the name Seattle Symphony Orchestra. The 1921–22 season was cancelled due to financial problems. The orchestra was revived in 1926 under the direction of Karl Krueger. In 1947, the Seattle Symphony merged with the Tacoma Philharmonic to form the Pacific Northwest Symphony Orchestra. Performances were held in Seattle , Tacoma , and Olympia , with conducting duties split between Carl Bricken and Eugene Linden . This arrangement ceased after one season, when
240-449: The appointment of Morlot as its 15th music director, effective with the 2011–2012 season, with an initial contract of six years. During Morlot's tenure, the orchestra initiated its own recording label, 'Seattle Symphony Media'. In July 2015, the orchestra announced the extension of Morlot's contract through the 2018–2019 season. Morlot has taken particular interest in fostering music from Seattle-based composers, including composers within
264-420: The center of the city and has helped double the Seattle Symphony's budget and number of performances. The lobby of the hall features a large contribution of glass art , such as one given the title Crystal Cascade , by artist Dale Chihuly . Benaroya Hall is named for noted philanthropist Jack Benaroya , whose $ 15.8 million donation was the first and largest of many for construction of the facility. The hall
SECTION 10
#1732793529129288-524: The old Meany Hall for the Performing Arts on the University of Washington campus. The symphony was to be directed by Stanley Chapple, and a series of guest conductors: Artur Rodzinski , Jacques Singer , and Erich Leinsdorf . Personnel for the Seattle Symphony were announced in the press on October 24, 1948, and included a few musicians who had chosen not to defect to the Seattle Orchestra and some new faces as well. The Seattle Symphony season
312-579: The orchestra announced the conclusion of Schwarz's music directorship after the 2010–2011 season, at which time Schwarz became the orchestra's conductor laureate. Ludovic Morlot first guest-conducted the Seattle Symphony in October 2009. He returned in April 2010, as a substitute conductor in the wake of the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruptions . Based on these appearance, in June 2010, the orchestra announced
336-577: The orchestra announced the extension of Dausgaard's contract as principal guest conductor through the 2019–2020 season. In October 2017, the orchestra announced the appointment of Dausgaard as its next music director, effective with the 2019–2020 season, with an initial contract of 4 seasons. On 7 January 2022, Dausgaard resigned as music director by e-mail, with immediate effect. In an interview with Danish National Radio's P2, Dausgaard said, "I have felt threatened and I haven't felt safe with going to work." In June 2008, Xian Zhang first guest-conducted
360-473: The orchestra have made more than 100 commercial recordings, including the major orchestral works of Howard Hanson and David Diamond as well as works by Charles Tomlinson Griffes , Walter Piston , Paul Creston , William Schuman , Alan Hovhaness , Morton Gould , David Diamond , and others, for Delos International and Naxos Records . The orchestra received its first Grammy nomination in January 1990 for
384-432: The orchestra have received additional Grammy Awards for their recordings of music of Henri Dutilleux . Morlot concluded his tenure as music director at the end of the 2018–2019 season. Thomas Dausgaard first guest-conducted the orchestra in 2013. In October 2013, the orchestra named Dausgaard its next principal guest conductor, effective with the 2014–2015 season, with an initial contract of 3 years. In March 2016,
408-417: The orchestra itself. His work with the orchestra has included the commissioning and premiere of John Luther Adams ' Become Ocean , which went on to win the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Music and the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition. The commercial recording of Become Ocean , for Cantaloupe Music, led to a donation by Taylor Swift to the Seattle Symphony of US$ 50,000. Morlot and
432-497: The orchestra. She returned to the orchestra as a guest conductor several times, including in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and in 2021 with the return of live audiences to concerts. In September 2024, the orchestra announced the appointment of Zhang as its next music director, effective with the 2025-2026 season, with an initial contract of five years. She took the title of music director-designate with immediate effect. Zhang
456-609: The strength of the Seattle Symphony. In 1983 it had 5,000 subscribers; as of 2008 it had 35,000. He spearheaded the effort to build Benaroya Hall for the symphony. However, his leadership style of the Seattle Symphony was controversial among some musicians. A portrait painting of Schwarz by artist Michele Rushworth was unveiled and installed at Benaroya Hall in 2011. In 1971 he won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions . He frequently held multiple positions simultaneously. He
480-731: Was designed by LMN Architects of Seattle, and was awarded the National Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects in 2001. The structural engineer on the project was Magnusson Klemencic Associates . The building sits directly above the Great Northern Tunnel , which carries the primary rail corridor through the city, and adjacent to the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel . The latter has Symphony station , which
504-531: Was directly integrated into the building and renamed for the Seattle Symphony in August 2024. The performance hall is insulated by floating on rubber pads which insulate it from the outer shell of the building. These same noise-insulation features would also serve to dampen the destructive effects of any prospective earthquakes. Seattle Symphony The orchestra gave its first performance on December 29, 1903, with Harry West conducting. Known from its founding as
SECTION 20
#1732793529129528-526: Was eventually dissolved at the request of Milton Katims in 1955. Even so, for most of its 100-year history, and especially today, the ensemble is known by the two-word name "Seattle Symphony". Gerard Schwarz became music advisor of the orchestra in 1983 and principal conductor in 1984, before being named music director in 1985. Under Schwarz's leadership, the orchestra became particularly known for performing works of twentieth-century composers , especially neglected American composers. Together, Schwarz and
552-723: Was music director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra from 1978 to 1986. He served as music director of New York's Mostly Mozart Festival from 1982 to 2001. He was the music director of the Seattle Symphony from 1985 to 2011. From 2001 to 2006, Schwarz was music director of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (RLPO). He served as music director of the New York Chamber Symphony and music advisor to Tokyo's Orchard Hall in conjunction with
576-416: Was then postponed and eventually cancelled. The Seattle Orchestra, meanwhile, gave its first performance on November 23, 1948. An accommodation was reached between the Seattle Symphony and the Seattle Orchestra, and the two organizations merged, and the name "Seattle Symphony Orchestra" was retained. The partnership system was also retained, and musicians gained access onto the board. The partnership system
#128871