2022/2023 Spring Donor Newsletter
YOUR IMPACT IN FOCUS
You bring passion to the stage!
In Tan Dun’s Buddha Passion, an array of solo vocalists and instrumentalists joined the Seattle Symphony Chorale, the Northwest Boychoir and the orchestra on stage for two unforgettable performances of this transcendent work. Tan Dun, the Grammy and Academy Award-winning composer of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fame, led the musicians and singers from the podium and captured the imaginations of everyone in attendance. As a Seattle Symphony supporter, you help make one-of-a-kind live experiences like this possible and we hope you’ll join us often throughout the season to experience the power of music for yourself. Thank you for bringing our music to life!
Performances of Tan Dun’s Buddha Passion were generously underwritten by Jeff and Rita Xiong.
Supporter Spotlight
Our stage is for everyone.
Seattle’s artistic diversity shines bright with your support!
A principle of the Seattle Symphony’s 2022–2027 strategic plan is to deepen our relationship with our diverse community and to make Benaroya Hall a welcoming place for all. The Community Stages Fund is one initiative that’s helping to move us closer to that goal.
In January, the Symphony announced five recipients of a 2023 grant. Through the generous support of our Symphony community, led by the Tagney Jones Family Fund at Seattle Foundation, the initiative works to open the stages of Benaroya Hall to diverse groups of artists and audiences, sharing performances across a variety of media. In determining the 2023 recipients, the selection committee prioritized applicants’ demonstrated level of need as well as groups from racially diverse communities.
• A second-time awardee, Key to Change inspires underserved youth through world-class music instruction and supports their development as self-aware leaders.
• Movimiento Afrolatino Seattle (MÁS) raises awareness about the history and cultural contributions of artists of Latino and African descent.
• With a focus on neo-burlesque, cabaret and film, Puckduction supports BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ creators, and offers education about these art forms while providing
Earlier this season, representatives of the Grousemont Foundation gathered on the recently named Grousemont Foundation Recital Hall Stage inside Benaroya Hall’s Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall. The official dedication commemorated the foundation’s leadership support of the Seattle Symphony’s Forever and For Everyone Campaign. The extraordinary generosity of the Grousemont Foundation is helping to sustain a vibrant home for music in the heart of Seattle for everyone to enjoy.
space and financial compensation for marginalized performing artists.
• The Rhapsody Project explores and celebrates music and heritage through an antiracist lens, providing music instruction and sharing cultural events, virtual programs and consulting services that establish racial and cultural equity.
• Emmy Award-winning voiceover artist, storyteller, producer, presenter and teacher Sharon Nyree Williams uses stories as a bridge to bring communities closer together.
Created in 2021 as a way for the Symphony to support fellow community nonprofits during the pandemic, the Community Stages Fund serves organizations, groups and artists within the Puget Sound region that do not have access to streaming technology or performance spaces of their own by providing access to Benaroya Hall and the orchestra’s recording infrastructure for in-person and virtual events.
“The Community Stages Fund helps ensure that our city’s diverse communities gain equitable access to the Seattle Symphony’s performance venues,” says President & CEO Krishna Thiagarajan. “We are eager to further share the stages at Benaroya Hall and welcome new people to the beautiful arts center our Symphony calls home.”
Thank you for opening Benaroya Hall to our community!
Lexi Wright, Sally Wright, Kate Janeway and Howard S. Wright III. Photos: (top to bottom) Key to Change, Movimiento Afrolatino Seattle, PuckductionYoung composers have their chance to shine.
You help the orchestra provide one-of-a-kind learning opportunities.
This season the Seattle Symphony celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Merriman-Ross Family Young Composers Workshop, a hallmark of our young artist programs. The participants, all ages 18 and younger, receive coaching in every aspect of composition.
For the anniversary year, we welcome back Angelique Poteat as the workshop’s director. Angelique is the Symphony’s 2022/2023 Artist in Residence and an acclaimed composer and clarinetist. She is also a Young Composers Workshop alumna. “The workshop was incredibly formative in shaping how I thought about composing and the overall structure of music,” says Angelique. “I can’t begin to express how influential those experiences were for me.”
As the workshop’s director, Angelique is now mentoring a new generation. Among the 2023 class of young composers
is second-year participant August Baik. “The Young Composers Workshop has been such a large part of my musical journey,” shares August. “Composing and working with Angelique has better defined my voice and what I want to say; it’s given me confidence that I have a voice!”
One of the unique aspects of the Young Composers Workshop is the collaboration between the participants. “The Young Composers Workshop was my first opportunity to really study composition, and to meet other composers my age,” recalls Angelique of her own experience.
For first-time workshop participant Ellie Wu, the collaboration is “my favorite part. One of the suggestions from my peers helped shape my piece. I’m very grateful for the chance to get to know more fellow composers and musicians, to broaden my horizons.”
Angelique Poteat works with a young composer during a workshop session. Second Violin Artur GirskyTHURSDAY, MAY 18, AT 7:30PM
Young Composers Workshop Concert
BENAROYA HALL
Join us as we celebrate 30 years of the Merriman-Ross Family Young Composers Workshop with an evening of world premieres by our 2023 class of young composers.
This event is free and open to the public. For more information visit seattlesymphony.org
“I think I learn the most by listening to other talented young composers,” shares August. “I am always surprised by the different musical ideas.”
At the culmination of each Young Composers Workshop, the Symphony hosts a community concert at Benaroya Hall. Each student’s final composition is performed by Symphony musicians in chamber ensembles. This year, in celebration of the 30th anniversary, the participants have the unique opportunity to compose a piece for the full orchestra.
On her motivation to apply for the workshop, Ellie said, “the biggest thing for me was definitely the opportunity to have my piece played by the Seattle Symphony! I think that this is such an amazing opportunity for young composers — or really for any composer.”
August has fond memories of the workshop’s concert last year. “To hear my musical conception come alive is something I’ll never forget.” But creating a piece on this scale is a new experience for all the young composers. “Composing for a full orchestra is a first for me,” says August.
“The workshop has introduced more ideas and possibilities to me,” says Ellie. “It has made me think more about what I want to do after high school, and what music means to me.”
The support of generous people like you makes impactful programs like the Young Composers Workshop possible.
In August’s words, “thank you for supporting the arts, thank you for supporting young musicians, and thank you for believing in the power of new music.”
the Seattle Office of Arts
J.P.
the Paul G. Allen Family
The Merriman-Ross Family Young Composers Workshop is generously underwritten by Pamela Merriman, Sonja Ross, and Kelley Ross. Additional support is provided by Patricia M. Davis, Ann Holbrook, and Michel and Christine Suignard. The Seattle Symphony’s Family, School & Community programs are supported by 4Culture, Marco Argenti, ArtsFund, D.A. Davidson, Delta Air Lines, Morgan Private Bank, the Klorfine Foundation, the Merriman-Ross Family, the National Endowment for the Arts, & Culture, Foundation, and individual contributions to the Seattle Symphony Annual Fund. Girsky and a young composer collaborate during a rehearsal. Principal Harp Valerie Muzzolini confers with a young composer on their score.“The workshop brings together such diverse students from different backgrounds.”
– August Baik
Welcome, SeungHoon Lee!
You help bring talented musicians to Seattle.
In January, SeungHoon Lee joined the Seattle Symphony as the orchestra’s John & Carmen Delo Associate Principal Second Violin, filling the position previously held by Michael Miropolsky, who retired in 2022. South Korean-born SeungHoon graduated from Rice University not long before joining the Symphony, yet he had already garnered a reputation as a dynamic soloist and chamber music player, performing around the world and winning numerous international awards. Below, SeungHoon shares a little more about himself to help you get to know our newest orchestra member.
How does it feel to be a member of the Seattle Symphony?
“My wife and I got married the week before my audition. Winning the audition felt like the best wedding gift one could get. I’m so grateful to join this warm community and make music with these wonderful musicians. Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 [January 5, 2023] was my debut with the Seattle Symphony, and it was especially memorable. I remember feeling a huge rush of excitement and adrenaline when I saw the full concert hall.”
can all connect through music.”
How did you get your start in music?
“I started playing the violin at the age of 5. My parents decided that I needed a real violin in my hands because I would watch great violinists
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on the television and imitate them with a violin made from snack boxes. I was a very introverted and shy kid but I was having a blast expressing emotions through music. I believe I’ve known that I wanted to pursue music professionally since I got my first violin. My favorite part of being a professional musician is that we can all connect through music. Even though we are all different individuals, we have the same goals on the stage: to create the best performance and share the music with our audience.”
Is there anything you can’t wait to do in Seattle?
“My wife and I love exploring restaurants. We are already impressed with the amount of good food that’s in Seattle. We also have a big interest in coffee, so we are happy to be in a city where coffee is at a high standard.”
It’s through the generous support of people like you that the Seattle Symphony is able to welcome outstanding musicians like SeungHoon to the orchestra.
Thank you for supporting all the musicians of your Symphony!
MAY 2 & 3 BIGGive seattlesymphony.org/giveBIG
“My favorite part of being a professional musician is that we