About the Nashville Symphony

Transcription

1 About the Nashville Symphony This might sound strange to old-timers, but if there s a better orchestra than Nashville s these days I can t wait to hear them. Allen Gimbel, American Record Guide One of Tennessee s largest and longest-running nonprofit performing arts organizations, the Nashville Symphony has been an integral part of the Music City sound since Led by music director Giancarlo Guerrero, the 83-member ensemble performs more than 170 concerts annually, with a focus on contemporary American orchestral music through collaborations with composers including Jennifer Higdon, Aaron Jay Kernis and John Harbison. The orchestra is equally renowned for its commissioning and recording projects with Nashville-based artists including bassist Edgar Meyer, banjoist Béla Fleck, singer-songwriter Ben Folds and electric bassist Victor Wooten. The Nashville Symphony is one of the most active recording orchestras in the U.S., with more than 25 releases on Naxos, the world s largest independent classical label. Encompassing a wide range of repertoire, from Beethoven to Bernstein to Joan Tower, these recordings have earned a total of 11 GRAMMY Awards and 20 nominations. Award-winning recordings include Tower s Made in America, Stephen Paulus Three Places of Enlightenment and Michael Daugherty s Metropolis Symphony and Tales of Hemingway. Released in 2015, the orchestra s recording of Ben Folds Piano Concerto debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Classical and Classical Crossover charts, and stayed in the Classical Crossover Top 20 in the first year of its release. Education and community engagement have been at the core of the Nashville Symphony s mission since its founding. Each year the organization reaches 60,000 children and adults with more than 20 free or lowcost programs, including Young People s Concerts for K-12 students; sectional lessons with band and orchestra students; and free Community Concerts. In 2016, the Nashville Symphony launched Accelerando, a forward-thinking initiative designed to prepare young musicians from underrepresented ethnic communities for collegiate study and professional orchestra careers. Currently, 10 participating students receive individual instrument instruction, performance opportunities, and guidance on applying to colleges and conservatories. Schermerhorn Symphony Center, the orchestra s home since 2006, is widely considered one of the world s finest acoustical venues. Named in honor of former music director Kenneth Schermerhorn and located in the heart of Nashville s booming downtown, the building boasts distinctive neo-classical architecture incorporating motifs and design elements that pay homage to the history, culture and people of Middle Tennessee. Within its intimate shoebox design, the 1,800-seat Laura Turner Concert Hall contains several unique features, including soundproof windows, the 3,500-pipe Martin Foundation Concert

2 Organ, and an innovative mechanical system that converts the hall from theater-style seating to ballroom configuration in less than two hours. In addition to its classical and education programming, the Nashville Symphony offers a wide variety of performances, including pop, rock, jazz, country and family concerts. Schermerhorn Symphony Center has become an in-demand venue for artists including Sheryl Crow, Tony Bennett, Diana Ross, Peter Cetera, Alabama, Frankie Valli and Boyz II Men, all of whom have performed with the Nashville Symphony. The orchestra also performs regularly at Nashville s Ascend Amphitheater. For more information, visit NashvilleSymphony.org Nashville Symphony by the Numbers Founded: 1946 Musicians: 83 Chorus members: 180 Recordings: 32 Commissions and co-commissions: 35 World premieres: 33 GRAMMY Awards: 11 GRAMMY nominations: 20 Annual performances: 178 Annual audience reach*: 520,500 Annual education and community engagement reach*: 60,000 Annual education and community engagement service hours*: 54,100 *Figures reflect Nashville Symphony s completed 2016/17 season

3 2017/2018 Season Highlights! First-ever Nashville appearance by composer John Williams, who conducted the orchestra in a performance benefitting the Nashville Symphony s education and community engagement programs on September 9, 2017.! Community-wide partnership bringing the Violins of Hope a collection of restored instruments played by Jews during the Holocaust to Music City, with Nashville Symphony musicians performing on the instruments in selections from Schindler s List and more, March 22-24, Learn more here.! Featured soloist appearances by Jonathan Biss, Yefim Bronfman, Ingrid Fliter, Benjamin Grosvenor, Augustin Hadelich, Jennifer Koh, Johannes Moser, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Jason Vieaux, André Watts, Joyce Yang, and Pinchas Zukerman.! Five new live recordings: Christopher Rouse Symphony No. 5 (October 5-8, 2017) Nashville Symphony Co-commission Tobias Picker Opera Without Words (October 27-28, 2017) Nashville Symphony Co-commission Jonathan Leshnoff Symphony No. 4 Heichalot (March 22-24, 2018) Nashville Symphony Commission World Premiere Jonathan Leshnoff Guitar Concerto (April 27-28, 2018) Nashville Symphony Co-commission Christopher Rouse Ogoun Badagris (May 18-19, 2018)! Three new releases on Naxos: o Terry Riley s At the Royal Majestic (November 2017) o Nashville Symphony soloists perform concertos by Frank Ticheli, Brad Warnaar and Behzad Ranjbaran (February 2018) o John Harbison s Requiem (release date to be announced).! Four new students from Middle Tennessee join Accelerando music education initiative for 2017/18 season. Learn more here.! Giancarlo Guerrero and the Nashville Symphony host the League of American Orchestras Bruno Walter Conductor Preview April 3 & 4, Learn more here.! Sensory Friendly Concert for children with autism and other disabilities that cause sensory sensitivities, developed by the Nashville Symphony and community partners. (February 10, 2018)

4 Nashville Symphony Recordings The Nashville Symphony is one of the most active recording orchestras in the United States, with more than 30 internationally distributed recordings. To date, these releases have earned a total of 11 GRAMMY Awards and 20 GRAMMY nominations. Highlights include: Jennifer Higdon All Things Majestic (Naxos, 2017) Michael Daugherty Tales of Hemingway (Naxos, 2016) GRAMMY winner: Best Classical Compendium, Best Instrumental Solo, Best Contemporary Classical Composition Ben Folds So There (New West Records, 2015) Featuring Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (Nashville Symphony co-commission) No. 1 on Billboard Classical and Classical Crossover Charts Joan Tower Violin Concerto (Naxos, 2015) GRAMMY nominee: Best Contemporary Classical Composition Stephen Paulus Three Places of Enlightenment (Naxos, 2014) GRAMMY Award: Best Classical Compendium Roberto Sierra Sinfonía No. 4 (Naxos, 2013) GRAMMY nominee: Best Contemporary Classical Composition Béla Fleck The Impostor (Decca/Deutsch Grammophon, 2013) Featuring The Imposer Concerto for Banjo and Orchestra (Nashville Symphony co-commission)

5 Joseph Schwantner Chasing Light (Naxos, 2011) GRAMMY winner: Best Classical Instrumental Solo Michael Daugherty Metropolis Symphony (Naxos, 2009) GRAMMY winner: Best Orchestral Performance, Best Classical Contemporary Composition, Best Engineered Album (Classical) GRAMMY nominee: Best Classical Album, Best Instrumental Soloist with an Orchestra Joan Tower Made in America (Naxos, 2007) GRAMMY winner: Best Classical Album, Best Orchestral Performance, Best Classical Contemporary Composition Additional Recordings Richard Danielpour Songs of Solitude / War Songs (Naxos, 2016) Live From Music City: The Best of Giancarlo Guerrero and the Nashville Symphony (Naxos, 2015) Richard Danielpour Darkness in the Ancient Valley (Naxos, 2013) Astor Piazzolla Sinfonia Buenos Aires (Naxos, 2010) Maurice Ravel L Enfant et les Sortilèges (Naxos, 2009) GRAMMY nominee: Best Classical Album John Corigliano A Dylan Thomas Trilogy (Naxos, 2008) Leonard Bernstein Dybbuk Fancy Free (complete ballets) (Naxos, 2006) George and Ira Gershwin, DuBose and Dorothy Heyward Porgy & Bess (Decca, 2006) Elliott Carter Symphony No. 1 (Naxos, 2004) GRAMMY nominee: Best Classical Album, Best Instrumental Soloist with an Orchestra Amy Beach Gaelic Symphony (Naxos, 2003) GRAMMY nominee: Best Instrumental Soloist Performance with Orchestra George Whitefield Chadwick Orchestral Works (Naxos, 2002) GRAMMY nominee: Best Engineered Classical Album Leonard Bernstein West Side Story (Naxos, 2002) Charles Ives Symphony No. 2 (Naxos, 2000) Howard Hanson Orchestral Works, Vol. 1 (Naxos, 2000)

6 Nashville Symphony Commissions Throughout its 70-year history, the Nashville Symphony has championed the creation of new music, with a focus on performing, preserving and cultivating a distinctly American repertoire. The orchestra s commissioning projects include composers of national renown and adventurous collaborations with Nashville-based artists. Highlights include: Roberto Sierra, Sinfonía No. 4 (2009, commissioned through Sphinx Commissioning Consortium) John Tavener, Popule Meus, Concerto for Cello (2010, commissioned through Magnum Opus Project) Béla Fleck, The Imposter, Concerto for Banjo and Orchestra (2010) Richard Danielpour, Darkness in the Ancient Valley (2011) Daniel Bernard Roumain, Symphony for Dancers, Dreamers and Presidents (2012, commissioned through Sphinx Commissioning Consortium) Terry Riley, Palmian Chord Ryddle, Concerto for Electric Violin and Orchestra (2012) Lowell Liebermann, Symphony No. 3 (2012, commissioned through the Magnum Opus Project) Wayne Shorter, Gaia (2013, co-commission with Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra and Detroit International Jazz Festival) Edgar Meyer, Double Concerto for Violin, Bass and Orchestra (2013, co-commission with Boston Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic) Ben Folds, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (2014, co-commission with Nashville Ballet and Minnesota Orchestra) Conni Ellisor & Victor Wooten, The Bass Whisperer, Concerto for Electric Bass and Orchestra (2014) Richard Danielpour, War Songs (2015) Michael Daugherty, Tales of Hemingway for Cello and Orchestra (2015) Jennifer Higdon, Concerto for Viola (2016, co-commission with Library of Congress) Edgar Meyer, New Piece for Orchestra (2017)

7 Launched in 2015 as part of the Nashville Symphony s longstanding commitment to contemporary American orchestral music, the Composer Lab & Workshop seeks to identify and develop the next generation of great American composers. One of just a few programs of its kind in the nation, this intensive workshop gives emerging young composers hands-on experience working with a major American orchestra. Chosen from an extensive nationwide call for submissions, participants travel to Nashville for a comprehensive slate of activities covering every facet of the composer s trade, including: Hearing their music performed by the Nashville Symphony in reading sessions with the orchestra Individual mentoring sessions with Nashville Symphony Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero and Workshop Director Aaron Jay Kernis Workshop sessions with Nashville Symphony principal players to develop instrumental writing Meetings with Symphony sound engineers to learn about recording techniques Business Essentials briefings with music industry professionals covering copyrights, licenses, contracts and negotiations, commissions, publishing and more The workshop concludes with a free public rehearsal featuring each participant s composition performed by the Nashville Symphony. Bay area native Gabriella Smith was named the inaugural Composer Lab Fellow for 2016/17 on the strength of her original work Tumblebird Contrails, which was also performed by the Nashville Symphony during Aegis Sciences Classical Series concerts in October of The second installment of the Composer Lab & Workshop takes place in November of 2017, featuring four U.S.-based composers who represent diverse styles and backgrounds: Emily Cooley James Diaz Liliya Ugay Shen Yiwen Their works will be heard in an open rehearsal on November 14 at Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Learn more at NashvilleSymphony.org/ComposerLab.