Nashville Symphony facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nashville Symphony
Orchestra
official logo
Founded	1946
Concert hall	Schermerhorn Symphony Center
Principal conductor	Giancarlo Guerrero

The Nashville Symphony is an American orchestra located in Nashville, Tennessee. This group of musicians performs at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

History of the Nashville Symphony

Before the Nashville Symphony started in 1946, a group of musicians in Nashville formed an orchestra in 1920. George Pullen Jackson, a music critic and professor, helped lead them. This early orchestra grew for about ten years. However, it ended because of a difficult economic time called the Great Depression.

In 1945, after World War II, a Nashville local named Walter Sharp wanted to create a new symphony for the area. He worked with other music lovers and community leaders to make this happen. The Nashville Symphony was officially founded in 1946.

Sharp hired William Strickland from New York to be the first music director. The orchestra played its first concert in the fall of 1946. Strickland helped set high standards for the orchestra's performances. Other music directors followed, including Guy Taylor (1951–1959), Willis Page (1959–1967), Thor Johnson (1967–1975), and Michael Charry (1976–1982). During Michael Charry's time, the symphony moved its main concerts to Jackson Hall in the Tennessee Performing Arts Center.

In 1983, Kenneth Schermerhorn became the Music Director. He led the Nashville Symphony for 22 years until he passed away in 2005. The orchestra became more famous during his time. They made recordings, had television shows, and went on a tour to the East Coast. This tour ended with a performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City in 2000. After Schermerhorn's death, Leonard Slatkin became the orchestra's artistic advisor from 2006 to 2009.

In September 2006, the Symphony opened the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. This new building cost $123.5 million and includes the Laura Turner Concert Hall. Leonard Slatkin conducted the first concert in the new hall on September 9, 2006. They played music by famous composers and a new piece by Bela Fleck, Zakir Hussain, and Edgar Meyer.

In 2007, the orchestra announced that Costa Rican conductor Giancarlo Guerrero would be their seventh music director. He started in the 2009-2010 season. Under his leadership, the orchestra has won many awards. These include awards for playing modern music and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. The orchestra's recordings have also won many Grammy Awards and nominations.

In March 2019, Enrico Lopez-Yañez was named the Principal Pops Conductor. He had been the assistant conductor since 2017.

In June 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the orchestra stopped its concerts until July 2021. Many musicians and staff members, including Giancarlo Guerrero, were temporarily not working.

Music Directors of the Symphony

• William Strickland (1946-1951)
• Guy Taylor (1951-1959)
• Willis Page (1959-1967)
• Thor Johnson (1967-1975)
• Michael Charry (1976-1982)
• Kenneth Schermerhorn (1983-2005)
• Leonard Slatkin (Artistic Advisor, 2006-2009)
• Giancarlo Guerrero (2009–present)

Award-Winning Recordings

The Nashville Symphony has made over 30 recordings for the Naxos label since 2000. Many of these recordings have received a total of 24 GRAMMY® Award nominations and won 13 Grammy Awards.

For example:

• In 2008, their CD of music by Joan Tower, called Made in America, won 3 GRAMMY® Awards. This included awards for Best Orchestral Performance and Best Classical Album.
• In 2011, their CD of music by Michael Daugherty, "Deus Ex Machina," won 3 Grammy Awards.
• The next year, their recording of music by Christopher Rouse, "Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra," won one GRAMMY® Award.
• Most recently, in 2016, their recording of works by Jennifer Higdon earned two GRAMMY® Awards.

Here are some of their recordings:

• Abraham Lincoln Portraits, featuring works by Charles Ives, Aaron Copland, Roy Harris and others (2009)
• Beach: "Gaelic" Symphony; Piano Concerto (2003)
• Beethoven: Missa Solemnis, Op. 123 (2004)
• Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 (1996)
• Bernstein: Dybbuk / Fancy Free (complete ballets) (2006)
• Bernstein: West Side Story: The Original Score (2002)
• Carter: Symphony No. 1; Piano Concerto (2004)
• Chadwick: Orchestral Works Thalia / Melpomene / Euterpe (2002)
• Corigliano: A Dylan Thomas Trilogy (2008)
• Daugherty: Metropolis Symphony; Deus ex Machina (2009)
• "Danielpour: Darkness in the Ancient Valley" (2013)
• "Fleck: The Impostor" (2013)
• Gershwin: Porgy and Bess (Original 1935 Production Version) (2006)
• Gould: Fall River Legend; Jekyll and Hyde Variations (2005)
• Hanson: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1 (2000)
• Ives: Symphony No. 2; Robert Browning Overture (2000)
• Menotti: Amahl and the Night Visitors (2008)
• Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (Compiled by Leonard Slatkin) (2008)
• "Paulus: Three Places of Enlightenment" (2014)
• "Piazzolla: Sinfonía Buenos Aires" (2010)
• Ravel: L'Enfant et les sortilèges; Shéhérazade (2009)
• "Schwantner: Chasing Light..." (2011)
• "Sierra: Sinfonía No. 4" (2013)
• Tower: Made in America / Tambor / Concerto for Orchestra (2007)
• Riders in the Sky: Lassoed Live at the Schermerhorn (2009)
• Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras (Complete) (2005)

Education and Community Programs

Teaching music has always been a big part of the Nashville Symphony's work. In the past, musicians from the orchestra would visit local schools. The orchestra has also given free concerts for students in the Nashville area since the 1970s.

More recently, the orchestra started a program called Accelerando. This program helps young musicians from groups that are not often seen in American orchestras. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has provided money to support this program.

• Giving Matters Nashville Symphony nonprofit profile

See also

In Spanish: Orquesta Sinfónica de Nashville para niños