Seattle Symphony Press Kit
Fact Sheet
Mission Statement
To present symphonic music of the highest quality in a distinctive way for the cultural enrichment, education, engagement and enjoyment of the people locally, nationally and internationally.
Music Director
Gerard Schwarz has been Music Director of Seattle Symphony since 1985, and celebrates his final season in that role in 2010–2011 season. Maestro Schwarz is assisted by Eric Garcia, Assistant Conductor, and Joseph Crnko, Associate Conductor for Choral Activities.
Musicians
The Orchestra consists of 85 full-time musicians, all of whom are members of the Seattle Symphony and Opera Players' Organization, a chapter of the International Guild of Symphony, Opera and Ballet Musicians.
Performances
In the 2010–2011 season, Seattle Symphony will present more than 220 performances.
Performance Venue
The Orchestra performs in Benaroya Hall, which opened in September 1998 in downtown Seattle. Seattle Symphony presents programs in the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium (capacity 2,500) and the Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall (capacity 540). In July 2000, the Symphony debuted its Watjen Concert Organ in Benaroya Hall. Built by C.B. Fisk, Inc., the Watjen Concert Organ has 4,490 pipes and 83 stops.
Attendance
More than 315,000 people attend Seattle Symphony performances annually.
Budget Size
The operating budget for the 2010–2011 season is $24 million.
Recordings
The Seattle Symphony is represented on more than 125 recordings, available on the Naxos, Delos, Koch, JVC Classics, Artek, MMC, Harmonia Mundi and Crystal labels.
Tours
In spring 2008, Seattle Symphony toured Southern California with renowned violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg. In recent years, the Symphony has toured the East Coast and Florida. The Orchestra regularly tours Washington State.
Education and Community Programs
Seattle Symphony's education and community programs annually reach more than 100,000 people of all ages, including more than 50,000 students from preschool through college.
Soundbridge
The Seattle Symphony opened Soundbridge Seattle Symphony Music Discovery Center in April 2001. Located in Benaroya Hall, Soundbridge is an interactive space dedicated to fostering love of symphonic music in people of all ages. Since opening, Soundbridge has served more than 150,000 visitors.
Recent Highlights
The 2009–2010 season honored Gerard Schwarz's 25th Anniversary as Music Director of Seattle Symphony and opened with a week-long Beethoven & Wine Festival, which brought in nearly 1,000 new visitors to Benaroya Hall. Seattle Symphony joined with local arts organizations for a city-wide Seattle Celebrates Bernstein Festival honoring Leonard Bernstein and his works.
The 2008–2009 season marked the 10th Anniversary of Benaroya Hall. Gerard Schwarz led Seattle Symphony and a total of nearly 400 musicians in performances of Marhler's Eighth Symphony, "Symphony a Thousand," which was released as a limited-edition recording featuring cover art by Seattle Symphony Artist in Association Dale Chihuly. In February 2009, Seattle Symphony and Gerard Schwarz received its 12th Grammy nomination for The Shoe Bird, a musical telling of the book by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Eudora Welty with music by Samuel Jones, Seattle Symphony's Composer in Residence. Legendary American composer and performer Marvin Hamlisch began his role as Seattle Symphony's Principal Pops Conductor in September 2009.
In the 2007–2008 season, Seattle Symphony’s year-long Coming to America Festival featured the first public performance of the Genesis Suite in 60 years, as well as an array of concerts throughout the season that celebrated the music of immigrant composers. The Orchestra received its second Emmy Award for its second self-produced TV special, Seattle Symphony From Benaroya Hall: Brahms, Kernis and Kodály. Seattle Symphony's Pacific Northwest Community Orchestra was formed, featuring over 600 volunteer musicians who performed the "Choral" movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony for his Holiness the Dalai Lama as part of the Seeds of Compassion conference in Seattle.