NASHVILLE SYMPHONY INSPIRE. ENTERTAIN. EDUCATE. 3 OUR VISION FOR NASHVILLE SYMPHONY | SCHERMERHORN SYMPHONY CENTER THE NASHVILLE SYMPHONY INSPIRES, ENTERTAINS AND EDUCATES THE FUTURE THROUGH EXCELLENCE IN MUSICAL PERFORMANCE. Dear Friends: Our community is in the midst of a transformative period, and so is the Nashville Symphony. Building on our six-decade history of performing exciting and soul-stirring music, we continue to grow and innovate, and we 2018 Highlights, By the Numbers: remain devoted to making music accessible for everyone in our community. Finding new and vibrant ways to connect with listeners of all ages, backgrounds and life experiences. Celebrating American music. Driving creative partnerships and projects. These are the strategic initiatives that propel us forward. 137 ticketed concerts at Schermerhorn Symphony Center This work, accomplished daily by 83 world-class musicians, along with the Symphony’s administrative staff, volunteers and board, helps to cement our purpose as a community-focused organization. 4 ticketed concerts at Ascend Amphitheater This brochure shares some information about who we are and what we do – groundbreaking artistic projects, million in ticket sales internationally distributed recordings, impactful education programs and community engagement initiatives. $10.7 But equally important is why we do this work: tickets sold To create an orchestra that reflects the richness of the community we serve. 193,252 To share beauty and inspire joy. To create meaningful experiences for families, friends and neighbors. 27 83 To cultivate the next generation of artists, educators and leaders. FREE CONCERTS FULL-TIME MUSICIANS featuring the orchestra Because music matters. We are reimagining what it means to be an orchestra in the 21st century. Our donors and attendees inspire us 74,000 to pursue our vision and fulfill our mission. Music truly comes alive when there is an audience – you. 190 reached through free education PERFORMANCES and community engagement programs Thank you for taking the time to learn about the Nashville Symphony. We invite you to lean in and listen. 68,000 Sincerely, $8.2 million hours 22 2 of hands-on instruction, concerts and interactive performances IN DONATIONS provided to children and PERFORMANCES from the community GRAMMY® AWARDS adults across the region with Nashville Ballet & 4 GRAMMY® nominations Alan D. Valentine President and CEO 4 5 NASHVILLE SYMPHONY | SCHERMERHORN SYMPHONY CENTER INVESTING IN OUR MUSICIANS THE ARTISTS WHO BRING THE MUSIC TO LIFE. At the heart of our organization is the 83-member Nashville Symphony. Our musicians are among the finest orchestral players anywhere in the This full-time, resident ensemble performs more than 150 concerts world, and they devote countless hours and resources toward fulfilling the INVESTING IN OUR CULTURE, annually, including classical, pops, jazz, movies with live orchestra and more. Nashville Symphony’s mission. Our musicians play an essential role in the fabric of our community. In Gifts in support of our musicians are a direct investment in the heart and addition to their rigorous performance schedule, they teach at institutions soul of the Symphony, today and for years to come. OUR COMMUNITY & OUR FUTURE like Vanderbilt University and Belmont University, teach private lessons, volunteer time to lead community-based projects, and perform in THE NASHVILLE SYMPHONY IS HERE FOR YOU. recording sessions and with local ensembles. ANNUAL INVESTMENT IN OUR MUSICIANS: $8,170,000 We are working to increase financial support for our musicians so that the Nashville Symphony continues to be a destination for the finest players, while also securing our ability to grow the size of our orchestra. The Nashville Symphony continues to innovate and respond to our award supports comprehensive diversity planning and recognizes our changing community. Recognizing that we must address our own continued innovation in artistic and educational programming. The institutional culture to effect meaningful transformation in our work, the Nashville Symphony will collaborate with the League and other orchestras Symphony is well into our second year of a multi-year diversity, equity across the U.S. to contribute to a growing body of best practices around and inclusion planning process. Through this process, we will actively seek diversity, equity and inclusion. input from a diverse array of community stakeholders, whose insight and CARMINA BURANA feedback will help to shape the Symphony’s future direction. Our work will set the stage for an even more vibrant, engaged and relevant BOUNDARY-PUSHING PROGRAMMING. Nashville Symphony. A CLASSIC REIMAGINED. In recognition of this vital work, the Nashville Symphony has received local and national grant awards from Metro Arts, Nashville’s Office of Arts and Our vision is to be a transformational force in our community Working in partnership with Nashville Ballet, the Nashville Symphony will Culture, and from the League of American Orchestras. and in the orchestra industry. reimagine Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana as a dynamic multimedia project. Featuring updated choreography, along with an original film directed The Symphony was one of 21 orchestras in the United States to receive by internationally renowned filmmaker Duncan Copp, the project will funding through the League of American Orchestras’ Futures Fund. The bring this bawdy medieval text vividly to life and make it relevant to contemporary audiences. This production is epic in proportion – featuring full orchestra, adult chorus, children’s chorus, the full Ballet company, three soloists and large- scale visuals projected on multiple screens – and we are proud to offer the debut. INVESTMENT: $441,000 6 7 NASHVILLE SYMPHONY | SCHERMERHORN SYMPHONY CENTER RECORDINGS AND COMMISSIONS FOSTERING THE NEXT KEEPING CLASSICAL MUSIC RELEVANT. GENERATION OF CREATING THE SOUND OF THE FUTURE. MUSICAL VISIONARIES. The Nashville Symphony is one of the most active recording orchestras in the United Awards and 24 nominations. They celebrate the great orchestral tradition while pointing States, with a focus on commissioning, performing and recording new American music. the way toward a future in which classical music remains a powerful, relevant cultural Our commitment comes from our deep-rooted sense of belonging here in Music City, a force because it speaks to the concerns and experiences of contemporary listeners. Led by Nashville Symphony Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero and current a “Business Essentials” briefing on copyrights, licenses, contracts and negotiations, community celebrated worldwide for its creativity and innovation. Workshop Director Aaron Jay Kernis, Composer Lab & Workshop seeks to discover commissions, publishing and more. Each commission and recording project is undertaken with the hope and intention that the next generation of outstanding American composers by providing them with the Since 2000, the Symphony has released 30 recordings on Naxos, the world’s largest other orchestras will include these works in their own concert offerings. We believe opportunity to develop their talents, gain hands-on experience working with a major “Promoting new, forward-thinking American orchestral music is at the very core of independent classical label. Encompassing a wide range of repertoire, from John Adams that giving voice to this repertoire will help to develop the next generation of orchestral American orchestra, and showcase their work for a live audience. This program to the Nashville Symphony’s artistic mission, and this program is an important part of to Bernstein to Joan Tower, these recordings have earned a total of 13 GRAMMY® favorites. identify and celebrate emerging talent is among the most comprehensive of its kind our commitment,” Guerrero says. “The gifted young participants in Composer Lab anywhere in the United States. represent the vibrancy and diversity of our country today, and they are helping to Nashville Symphony’s current recording projects include: shape the sound of orchestral music in the 21st century.” During their visits to Nashville, Composer Lab fellows participate in a hands-on learning experience, with workshop sessions covering key aspects of composing, Learn more at NashvilleSymphony.org/ComposerLab. JOHN HARBISON – REQUIEM JOHN ADAMS – HARMONIELEHRE AARON JAY KERNIS – SYMPHONY NO. 4 | COLOR WHEEL MY FATHER KNEW CHARLES IVES performing and music industry practices. Activities include reading sessions with the This powerful choral work was inspired, in part, by the events Kernis is a Pulitzer Prize winner and a member of the American Nashville Symphony; individual mentoring sessions with Giancarlo Guerrero; meetings INVESTMENT: $47,100 of September 11, 2001, and serve as the composer’s attempt to Adams is one of the most important and influential composers Academy of Arts and Letters, as well as the Classical Music Hall with composers, classical music professionals and Nashville Symphony musicians; and explore themes of loss, transcendence and the inexorability of working today. Harmonielehre was recorded in October 2018, of Fame. This project began in 2016 with his virtuosic Color time. Released October 2018. and the disc’s final work will be captured during the 2019/20 Wheel and will conclude in February 2019 with his Symphony No. season. Release is set for 2021. 4, a co-commission with the New England Conservatory. JONATHAN LESHNOFF – SYMPHONY NO. 4 “HEICHALOS” CONCERTO FOR GUITAR | STARBURST CHRISTOPHER ROUSE — SYMPHONY