Led by Music Director Designate Giancarlo Guerrero, Music Advisor Leonard Slatkin, and President and CEO Alan D. Valentine, the Grammy Award-winning Nashville Symphony has a growing international reputation for its recordings and innovative programming. With 140 performances annually, the 83-member Nashville Symphony is an arts leader in Nashville and beyond, offering a broad range of classical, pops and jazz concerts, special events, children’s concerts and community outreach programs.
As a national and international ambassador for the citizens of Tennessee, the Nashville Symphony has received far-reaching acclaim for its many recordings on Naxos, the world’s leading classical label, and one on Decca, making the Nashville Symphony currently one of the most active recording orchestras in the country. These recordings have received seven total Grammy nominations and, in 2008, three Grammy wins for Made in America, a recording of works by American composer Joan Tower (8.559328). The winning categories included “Best Classical Album” and “Best Orchestral Performance.” Its recording of Amy Beach's Piano Concerto (8.559139) was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2003, and its recording of works by Elliott Carter (8.559151) received two Grammy nominations in 2004, including one for "Best Classical Album".
Music education is a top priority for the Nashville Symphony. In April 2007, the Symphony announced a major new education initiative called Music Education City. This four-year initiative will help mobilize local school systems, community leaders and area residents to increase music education opportunities in Nashville, as the Symphony continues to present and further develop education-focused programs. These Symphony programs include more than 100 ensemble performances in area schools, as well as Young People’s Concerts at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, which serve more than 10,000 students. During the 2007/08 concert season, the Nashville Symphony reached more than 144,000 students through these various music education initiatives.
In 2003, the Nashville Symphony broke ground on the $123.5 million Schermerhorn Symphony Center, the new home of the Nashville Symphony, which opened on 9 September 2006 to critical acclaim. Highlights of the Symphony Center include the 1,844-seat Laura Turner Concert Hall and the 3,000 square-foot Mike Curb Family Music Education Hall. This new cultural center in downtown Nashville has had a significant artistic, social and economic impact on the city, and in addition, has given the Nashville Symphony a venue equal to its growing reputation and superb music-making.
Please visit www.nashvillesymphony.org for more information.
Photo Courtesy of Alan Poizner
