THOMAS DAUSGAARD, MUSIC DIRECTOR
Season Opening Newsletter
YOUR IMPACT IN FOCUS MUSIC RETURNS TO THE STAGE WITH YOU BY OUR SIDE. Through our new streaming service, Seattle Symphony Live, the music comes home! Since the closure of Benaroya Hall in mid-March, caring people like you have sustained the Seattle Symphony, allowing our musicians to adapt and share music in new ways. Less than a week after our final performance at Benaroya Hall, the Symphony presented our first online rebroadcast of a previously recorded concert — Mahler’s First Symphony — a gift of hope for everyone in our community. Building upon the success of our initial rebroadcasts on social media, the orchestra launched Seattle Symphony Live, our new online streaming service, at the start of the 2020–2021 season. While concerts with a live audience have to wait until King County is safely in Phase 4 of Washington State’s reopening plan, Seattle Symphony Live is allowing the orchestra to share weekly live performances for you to enjoy from the comfort of home. Turning Benaroya Hall into a production studio and launching a new streaming platform was no small feat. This summer an incredible team converted the backstage into a production headquarters as the orchestra prepared to return to
Upcoming December Concerts FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, AT 8PM Holiday Pops with the Seattle Symphony THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, AT 7:30PM J.S. Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 5
For the Family
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, AT 11AM Tiny Clips for Tiny Tots: A Winter Wonderland SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, AT 11AM Family Concert: Air
live.seattlesymphony.org
Benaroya Hall. Six new high-definition cameras were installed in the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium and new equipment was added backstage to mix the video feeds, bringing the at-home concert to life. The sights of the orchestra are paired with impeccable high-fidelity audio, mastered by Grammy Award-winning producer and engineer Dmitriy Lipay, to create each week’s viewing experience. Today you are making it possible for the musicians to create music for our community once again through Seattle Symphony Live.
“Seattle Symphony Live is a bright light this year thanks to the support of our community.” – Krishna Thiagarajan, President & CEO The launch of Seattle Symphony Live also allows the orchestra to continue our community and education work. This season the Symphony is offering free access to Seattle Symphony Live to schools around the Puget Sound region, providing teachers with online resources that fit key music instruction standards, with the potential to reach nearly 50,000 students. “Seattle Symphony Live is a bright light this year,” says President & CEO Krishna Thiagarajan. “Thanks to the support of our community and our wonderful musicians and staff, we’ve been able to turn this challenging time into an opportunity to accelerate our mission to support our community through music.” You can read more about the orchestra’s season opening concert on Seattle Symphony Live, and learn about the process of reimagining the season with Vice President of Artistic Planning Raff Wilson inside this newsletter. Thank you for ensuring that live music continues to fill Benaroya Hall — and reach beyond its walls.
Concerts are also available on demand for seven days after the live broadcast.
2020–2021 Season Streaming Sponsor: Scan|Design Foundation by Inger & Jens Bruun; 2020–2021 Masterworks Season Sponsor: Delta Air Lines; 2020–2021 Pops Series Title Sponsor: The John & Ginny Meisenbach Foundation; Seattle Symphony Family Programs supported by the Klorfine Foundation
YOU MADE A ONE-OF-A-KIND SEASON OPENING POSSIBLE. A first-ever drive-in concert and record audience made this year’s opening night one to remember.
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1 2 On Saturday, September 19 the Seattle Symphony’s 2020– 2021 season began with an opening night unlike anything the orchestra had ever undertaken. Due to limits on large gatherings in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the usual concert at Benaroya Hall and gala festivities following the performance were not possible, but a reimagined season opening celebration could still bring people together to experience the music and kick off the new season. The result was truly extraordinary. As Associate Conductor Lee Mills directed the orchestra with guest artist Whitney Mongé, the concert was broadcast free online through the Symphony’s new streaming service, Seattle Symphony Live, while simultaneously airing at a first-ever drive-in concert. With over 400 cars filling Marymoor Park for our first-of-itskind drive-in concert, and nearly 10,000 households tuning in online through Seattle Symphony Live, this year’s celebration was not only a night to remember, it was the Symphony’s biggest opening night ever!
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BRING THE SYMPHONY
Home for the Holidays!
Check off your holiday gift list with a custom musical experience! From in-person musical telegrams, to virtual jingles, you can give a gift they’ll always remember while supporting your Seattle Symphony. Opportunities are very limited, so book yours today! seattlesymphony.org/homefortheholidays
Through your generosity and belief in the power of music, the orchestra began the 2020–2021 season as we have always done — with music. Thank you!
PHOTOS: 1 Behind the scenes backstage at Benaroya Hall 2 Fred Northup, Jr. hosts the evening’s festivities 3 Seattle-based vocalist and guitarist Whitney Mongé makes her
Seattle Symphony debut 4 Associate Conductor Lee Mills leads the orchestra during its return to the stage 5 Decked out in style and ready for the Symphony’s first-ever drive-in concert 6 Board Chair René Ancinas and his wife, April, brave the rain at Marymoor Park On the Cover Concertmaster Noah Geller performs Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with the orchestra, led by Associate Conductor Lee Mills, on October 29
RAFF WILSON JOINS YOUR SEATTLE SYMPHONY. Your support keeps the orchestra’s bold artistic vision moving forward.
“For those who spend their lives in music, suddenly hearing it live for the first time again — the feeling was incredible.” – Raff Wilson Vice President of Artistic Planning Raff Wilson joined the Seattle Symphony as Vice President of Artistic Planning in April, but due to the coronavirus pandemic and travel restrictions he began his new role from his home in Sydney, Australia, a 17-hour time difference from Seattle.
of previously recorded performances. The outpouring of generosity from you — our loyal supporters — was tremendous. The messages of love, gratitude and hope poured in. The music played on, and it continues to play on because of you.
Happy to finally be on the ground in Seattle, Raff finds many similarities between his new home and the port cities of Sydney and Hong Kong where he worked previously, but remarks about Seattle that “the mountains are just phenomenal, everywhere you look. Even from my office I have a little slice of Mount Rainier.”
For the orchestra to safely return to the stage meant every detail had to be addressed. When you get right down to it “it’s a very practical and mathematical process,” says Raff. “How many socially distanced people can fit on the stage? One thing that we quickly discovered is that our stage is perfect for a socially distanced, Beethoven-sized orchestra. By a miracle he wrote for orchestras who can fit in a socially distanced context. There is actually a lot of repertoire that we can do in this format.”
Raff works closely with Music Director Thomas Dausgaard on the countless details that go into building each season of music. “Thomas’ unifying vision for the season is filtered through me and others,” explains Raff, a process that usually begins years in advance. “Coming to Seattle, my expectation was that the first time I would see my contribution on stage would be in two years’ time,” says Raff. “But that’s not what’s happening in 2020.” Only a few weeks after the 2020–2021 season was announced, the coronavirus pandemic closed Benaroya Hall and years of meticulous planning were suddenly up in the air. As the orchestra pivoted to continue sharing music online, the work of reimagining the season for this new reality began. That process started with more questions than answers. “We were asking the same questions that orchestras around the world were asking,” shares Raff. “How do we do what we do when we can’t sit together on stage? When there’s no audience in the hall how do people applaud? Also, how are we going to get out of this? What does it look like for orchestras starting up again?” Throughout the spring and early summer, the orchestra brought music into the homes of thousands of people in Seattle and around the world through weekly rebroadcasts
But the arrangement on stage is just one part of the puzzle. “We had to devise an order for the musicians to enter and exit the stage to maintain distance,” notes Raff. “It’s such a small restriction, yet somehow it changes the feeling very much of walking on stage together. Once on stage the ensemble starts to meld again. It’s anything but routine at the moment, but it’s something to cherish.” And, after months of planning, the orchestra returned to the stage for Opening Night in September. On hearing a live orchestra again for the first time, Raff says, “that feeling is suddenly striking and new. The very first week of rehearsals, that was the first time I’d heard an ensemble play live in over six months. For those who spend their lives in music, suddenly hearing it live for the first time again — the feeling was incredible.” As a member of our Symphony family you play a critical role in each performance and we can’t wait for the day when we can safely welcome you back to fill Benaroya Hall with your passion — and your applause — once more. On behalf of Raff and the entire orchestra, thank you for supporting your Seattle Symphony.
WELCOME OLIVIA CHEW! “ Musicians stand on the shoulders of those who believe in them.” This season the orchestra welcomes Olivia Chew to the viola section. Originally from Long Island in New York, Olivia joins the Seattle Symphony after being a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra for six seasons. Here Olivia shares a little more about herself to help you get to know our newest orchestra member. How did music enter your life? My grandmother’s best friend was a graduate of the Shanghai Conservatory and she started me on the piano when I was four years old. How did you choose your instrument? I started college as a violinist, but I had always been interested in playing the viola. After taking some viola lessons and playing viola in some chamber groups, I felt like the viola was more suited to my strengths as a musician. When I expressed interest in switching over to viola full time, both the viola professor and my violin teacher were very supportive. What inspired you to pursue music professionally? As a student I was scared to pursue a career in music performance. I considered careers in education, medicine, pharmacology, global health policy and arts administration, but I found myself spending all my time in the music buildings. I remember telling a friend about all my plan Bs, in case an orchestra career never worked out. He told me that if I wanted to pursue an orchestral career, I couldn’t have a plan B. I would have to put my whole heart into it. That was when I realized that I wanted an orchestra career enough to dive in 100%.
Support your Symphony by December 31! Donations from caring people like you keep the music playing. Please consider making your gift for the music before the end of the year. We need you for a bright and musical new year!
Is there someone in your life that really helped you get where you are today? I owe my career to anyone who ever believed in me; Steve Wyrczynski, who I studied with at Indiana University; my music teachers in the public schools where I began my relationship with strings; my friends who were there to celebrate my victories and help me through my losses. I stand on all their shoulders. How has music helped you deal with the coronavirus pandemic? I think like a lot of other professional musicians, I suddenly had a lot of time on my hands. I made and recorded arrangements of little excerpts of pieces I liked. I spent some time working on solo pieces that I’ve always wanted to learn but never had the time. I was of course sad and apprehensive about being away from my job, but it also gave me a chance to rediscover why I love music. How did it feel when you won your audition at the Seattle Symphony? When Principal Viola Susan Gulkis Assadi walked into my warm-up room after my audition and told me I had won, I felt my face get hot and my brain struggling to keep up with all the emotion. I had been on the audition circuit for almost 10 years and winning a spot in an amazing orchestra like the Seattle Symphony meant that I could finally be done auditioning. I’ve never run a marathon, but if I had to guess, winning this audition probably feels like finishing a marathon — only 10 times better! It’s through your generous support that the orchestra is able to attract and retain outstanding musicians like Olivia. Keep an eye (and ear) out for Olivia in the viola section this season, and in her words, “musicians stand on the shoulders of those who believe in them. I can’t thank you enough for supporting the Seattle Symphony. I’m so proud to be part of an organization that is finding creative solutions to keep going.” Thank you for supporting all the musicians of your Seattle Symphony!
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