Ville Magazine l Insider Access for City Lifestyle Jan/Feb 2016 / Premiere Issue | Page 54

BE ENTERTAINED

THE SOUND OF MUSIC

Written by: Casey Martin / Photo by: Brandon Patoc Photography

“So much of what we do is about making the symphony accessible, crossing over with other genres like film,
pop and rock. The atmosphere is much more informal than people think.”
The Seattle Symphony first performed on December 29th, 1903. Conducted by Harry West, they played in the Arcade Building, a
building that doesn’t even exist anymore. Since its inception, the symphony has had several different titles including The Seattle
Philharmonic Orchestra (1911), the Seattle Symphony Orchestra (1922), the Pacific Northwest Orchestra (1947), Seattle Orchestra
(1948) and the same year settled The Seattle Symphony. The symphony has had several homes over the years including the Grand
Opera House (now a parking lot), The Moore Theatre, Meany Hall, Metropolitan Theatre and the Seattle Opera House. In 1998, the
Seattle Symphony finally found their permanent home at the spectacular Benaroya Hall. Currently 25,000 people are season
ticket holders and over 300,000 people per year attend one or more of their 200 performances. Nothing can prepare you for the
powerfully moving sound by some of the best musicians in the world.
As some may not know, the Seattle Symphony doesn’t just perform classical music nor is just a place for your grandparents.
Simon Woods, President and CEO of the Seattle Symphony explained, “We are one of the few symphonies in the U.S. that is
genuinely cool. The classical repertoire is only a portion of what we do. So much of what we do is about making the symphony
accessible, crossing over with other genres like film, pop and rock. We have one of the youngest audiences of any major American
Symphony Orchestra, which shows that we are doing something right. My message is, ‘Hey! The symphony is fun. We play great
music. Come and try it and you might discover something you never knew you loved.”
Over its 112 years, the symphony has had 15 conductors who have made unique contributions to its development. Sir Thomas
Beecham was known for finely tuning the orchestra’s skill and reputation. The symphony toured in Europe for the first time in
1980 under Rainer Miedél. Gerard Schwarz is responsible for over 140 recordings, twelve Grammy Awards nominations and two
Emmy nominations during his 26 year tenure. Today the Seattle Symphony is being led by Ludovic Morlot for his fifth season. Since
Morlot became the Music Director, the symphony has been nominated for three Grammy Awards and won for Best Contemporary
Classical Composition in 2015 for their performance of John Luther Adam’s “Become Ocean”. Woods stated “One of the pinnacles
of our business is the Grammys. You ۸