Nashville Symphony 2018/19 Press Kit About the Nashville Symphony ne of Tennessee’s largest and longest-running nonprofit performing arts Schermerhorn Symphony Center, the orchestra’s home since 2006, is considered one Oorganizations, the Nashville Symphony has been an integral part of the Music of the world’s finest acoustical venues. Named in honor of former music director City sound since 1946. Led by music director Giancarlo Guerrero, the 83-member Kenneth Schermerhorn and located in the heart of Nashville’s booming downtown, the ensemble performs more than 150 concerts annually, with a focus on contemporary building boasts distinctive architecture incorporating motifs and design elements that American orchestral music through collaborations with composers including Jennifer pay homage to the history, culture and people of Middle Tennessee. Within its intimate Higdon, Terry Riley and Aaron Jay Kernis. The orchestra is equally renowned for its “shoebox” design, the 1,800-seat Laura Turner Concert Hall contains several unique commissioning and recording projects with Nashville-based artists including bassist features, including soundproof windows, the 3,500-pipe Martin Foundation Concert Edgar Meyer, banjoist Béla Fleck, singer-songwriter Ben Folds and electric bassist Victor Organ, and an innovative mechanical system that transforms the hall from theater-style Wooten. seating to a ballroom configuration. The Nashville Symphony is in one of the most productive periods in its 70-plus year In addition to its classical and education programming, the Nashville Symphony history. Recent years have seen consistent growth in ticket sales and fundraising, a string performs and presents a wide variety of music, including pop, rock, jazz, country of GRAMMY® awards and nominations, and national and international acclaim for its and family concerts. The Schermerhorn has become an in-demand venue for artists performances and recordings. The Symphony continues to play a key role in Nashville’s including Sheryl Crow, Tony Bennett, Diana Ross, Alabama, Frankie Valli and Boyz artistic and cultural community, having recently spearheaded the Violins of Hope II Men, all of whom have performed with the Nashville Symphony. The orchestra also Nashville initiative in the spring of 2018. This community-wide effort, centered around a performs at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater. collection of instruments played by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust, engaged tens of thousands of Middle Tennesseans and represented one of the largest initiatives ever For more information, visit NashvilleSymphony.org organized around the Violins of Hope. The Nashville Symphony is one of the most prolific recording orchestras in the U.S., with NASHVILLE SYMPHONY BY THE NUMBERS 30 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 Founded: 1946 have garnered 13 GRAMMY® Awards and 24 nominations. Award-winning recordings Musicians: 83 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, Chorus members: 150 the orchestra’s recording of Ben Folds’ Piano Concerto debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Recordings: 33 Classical and Classical Crossover charts, and stayed in the Classical Crossover Top 20 in Commissions and co-commissions: 37 the first year of its release. World premieres: 36 GRAMMY® Awards: 13 Education and community engagement have been at the core of the Nashville GRAMMY® nominations: 24 Symphony’s mission since its founding. Each year the organization reaches more than 60,000 children and adults with more than 20 free or low-cost programs, including Annual performances: 156 Young People’s Concerts for K-12 students; sectional lessons with band and orchestra Annual audience reach*: 538,067 students; and free Community Concerts. In 2016, the Nashville Symphony launched Annual education and community engagement reach*: 65,300 Accelerando, an initiative designed to prepare young musicians from underrepresented Annual education and community engagement service hours*: 64,000 ethnic communities for collegiate study and professional orchestra careers. Currently, 16 participating students receive individual instrument instruction, performance *Figures reflect Nashville Symphony’s completed 2017/18 season opportunities, and guidance on applying to colleges and conservatories, all offered free of charge. 2018/19 season highlights A multimedia presentation of Carmina Burana in Four new live recordings: collaboration with Nashville Ballet, featuring updated • John Adams – Harmonielehre (October 4-7, 2018) choreography by Paul Vasterling and an original film by British filmmaker Duncan Copp as part of an epic • Aaron Jay Kernis – Symphony No. 4, performance showcasing the full Nashville Symphony “Chromelodeon” (Feb. 21-23, 2019) & Chorus and the Blair Children’s Chorus on Nashville Symphony Co-commission May 31-June 3, 2019. • Tobias Picker – The Encantadas (March 8-9, 2019) • Christopher Rouse – Supplica and Concerto for All Nashville Symphony Family Series concerts are Orchestra (April 11-13, 2018) sensory friendly to accommodate audience members with autism and other disabilities that cause sensory sensitives. Concerts feature flexible seating, raised Two new releases on Naxos: house lights, closed captioning, quiet spaces near • John Harbison – Requiem (October 2018) the concert hall and helpful info for kids and parents to maximize their concert experience. In addition, • Jonathan Leshnoff – Starburst, Symphony No. 4 the Nashville Symphony provides sensory-friendly and Guitar Concerto (May 2019) resources for its key education performances, including Young People’s Concerts. Seven Middle Tennessee students have been selected for the Accelerando music education initiative, Featured soloist appearances include Emanuel Ax, bringing the total number of students to 16. James Ehnes, Gil Shaham, Behzod Abduraimov, Juho Pohjonen, Alban Gerhardt, Chee Yun, Simon Trpčeski, Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Cynthia Millar; as well as Nashville Symphony will host the League of American pops series performances by Martina McBride, Kirstin Orchestras’ 2019 National Conference, June 3-5, 2019. Chenoweth, Dennis DeYoung and The Mavericks; and jazz series appearances by Jon Batiste, Pink Martini and the Branford Marsalis Quartet. Presentation highlights at Schermerhorn Symphony Center include three National Geographic LIVE speaker events and book tour appearances by Academy Award-winning actress Reese Witherspoon and renowned photographer Annie Liebovitz. 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 13 GRAMMY® Awards and 24 GRAMMY® nominations. Highlights include: Joseph Schwantner – Chasing Light… (Naxos, 2011) Elliott Carter – Symphony No. 1 (Naxos, 2004) GRAMMY® winner: Best Classical Instrumental Solo GRAMMY® nominee: Best Classical Album Ticheli, Warnaar & Ranjbaran – Wind Concertos Best Instrumental Soloist with an Orchestra Michael Daugherty – Metropolis Symphony (Naxos, 2009) (Naxos, 2018) Amy Beach – “Gaelic” Symphony (Naxos, 2003) GRAMMY® winner: Best Orchestral Performance GRAMMY® nominee: Best Instrumental Soloist Best Classical Contemporary Composition Terry Riley – The Palmian Chord Ryddle / Performance with Orchestra At the Royal Majestic (Naxos, 2017) Best Engineered Album (Classical) GRAMMY® nominee: Best Classical Album George Whitefield Chadwick – Orchestral Works Jennifer Higdon – All Things Majestic (Naxos, 2017) Best Instrumental Soloist with an Orchestra (Naxos, 2002) GRAMMY® winner: Best Classical Compendium GRAMMY® nominee: Best Engineered Classical Album Best Contemporary Classical Composition Joan Tower – Made in America (Naxos, 2007) GRAMMY® winner: Best Classical Album Leonard Bernstein – West Side Story (Naxos, 2002) Michael Daugherty – Tales of Hemingway (Naxos, 2016) Best Orchestral Performance Charles Ives – Symphony No. 2 (Naxos, 2000) GRAMMY® winner: Best Classical Compendium Best Classical Contemporary Composition Best Instrumental Solo Howard Hanson – Orchestral Works, Vol. 1 (Naxos, 2000) Best Contemporary Classical Composition Additional Recordings: Ben Folds – So There (New West Records, 2015) Featuring Concerto for Piano and Orchestra Richard Danielpour – Songs of Solitude / War Songs (Nashville Symphony co-commission) (Naxos, 2016) No. 1 on Billboard Classical and Classical GRAMMY® Nominee: Crossover Charts Best Engineered Album, Classical and Best Contemporary Classical Composition Joan Tower – Violin Concerto (Naxos, 2015) Live From Music City: The Best of Giancarlo Guerrero media contact GRAMMY® nominee: and the Nashville Symphony (Naxos, 2015) Best Contemporary Classical Composition Richard Danielpour – Darkness in the Ancient Valley DAVE FELIPE Stephen Paulus – Three Places of Enlightenment (Naxos, 2013) (Naxos, 2014) Publicist & Communications Manager Astor Piazzolla – Sinfonia Buenos Aires (Naxos, 2010) GRAMMY® Award: Best Classical Compendium Nashville Symphony Maurice Ravel – L’Enfant et les Sortilèges (Naxos, 2009) 1 Symphony Place | Nashville, TN 37201 Roberto Sierra – Sinfonía No. 4 (Naxos, 2013) GRAMMY® nominee: Best Classical Album GRAMMY® nominee: Best Contemporary Classical Composition John Corigliano – A Dylan Thomas Trilogy (Naxos, 2008) 615.687.6565 Leonard Bernstein – Dybbuk | Fancy Free [email protected] Béla Fleck – The Impostor (complete ballets) (Naxos, 2006) (Decca/Deutsch Grammophon, 2013) NashvilleSymphony.org Featuring “The Impostor” Concerto for Banjo and George and Ira Gershwin, DuBose and Dorothy Heyward – Orchestra (Nashville Symphony co-commission) Porgy & Bess (Decca, 2006).