SEATTLE SYMPHONY AND THOMAS DAUSGAARD ANNOUNCE 2020–2021 SEASON: “MUSIC UNLEASHED”
“You can tell by the wild cheering emanating from Benaroya Hall: Thomas Dausgaard is back in town.” – The Seattle Times
Pictured L to R, T to B: Seattle Symphony Composer in Residence Reena Esmail, Hans Abrahamsen, Music Director Thomas Dausgaard, Enrico Chapela, Tan Dun.
THOMAS DAUSGAARD REPERTOIRE HIGHLIGHTS AND COMMISSIONS
In his second season as Music Director of the Seattle Symphony, Thomas Dausgaard’s conducting highlights include the world premiere of a newly commissioned work by Composer in Residence Reena Esmail, Amy Beach’s Symphony No. 2, Nielsen’s Symphony No. 6, Beethoven’s Missa solemnis, Tan Dun’s Buddha Passion and two co-commissioned North American premieres: Enrico Chapela’s electric violin concerto with Pekka Kuusisto and Hans Abrahamsen’s Horn Concerto with Berlin Philharmonic’s Principal Horn Stefan Dohr.
CONTEMPORARY STORIES
Reflecting the music of our time, the Seattle Symphony shares contemporary stories through composers, including: Hans Abrahamsen, John Adams, Charlotte Bray, Kenji Bunch, Enrico Chapela, Tan Dun, Reena Esmail, Sarah Gibson, Sven Helbig, Betsy Jolas, Hannah Kendall, György Kurtág, Long Zhou, Wynton Marsalis, Nico Muhly, Ned Rorem, Juri Seo, Caroline Shaw, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Jörg Widmann, Gernot Wolfgang, John Zorn and the 2021 Celebrate Asia Composition Competition winner.
ADDITIONAL SEATTLE SYMPHONY PREMIERES
In addition to the premieres above, the orchestra will also be giving the world premiere of Reena Esmail’s Sitar Concerto; the North American premiere of Erkki-Sven Tüür’s Phantasma and the Three Continents Cello Concerto jointly composed by Nico Muhly (North America), Sven Helbig (Europe) and Zhou Long (Asia); the West Coast premiere of Charlotte Bray’s At the Speed of Stillness and the U.S. premiere of Kabeláč’s Symphony No. 4.
COMPOSER IN RESIDENCE REENA ESMAIL
In addition to her two commissions, Indian-American composer Reena Esmail will be embedded in the orchestra’s artistic and community engagement activities, including: collaborations with families experiencing homelessness through the Lullaby Project; community chamber concerts; mentoring young composers; and featured works on school and family concerts.
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE KHATIA BUNIATISHVILI
Featured on the Opening Night Concert as well as a recital performance, Buniatishvili’s residency will connect her deeply to our local community through performances and collaborations with Mary’s Place Family Center, a Community Connections nonprofit partner. Buniatishvili will also lead concerts for children 3 to 5 years of age as part of the Seattle Symphony’s First Concerts series in Octave 9.
GUEST CONDUCTORS
Returning to Benaroya Hall are conductors Andrey Boreyko, Pablo Rus Broseta, Karina Canellakis, Olari Elts, Lina Gonzalez-Granados, Matthew Halls, Jonathon Heyward, Lee Mills, Conductor Emeritus Ludovic Morlot, Shiyeon Sung, and Kazuki Yamada. Debuts include Keitaro Harada, Gemma New, Christian Reif, Jiří Rožeň and Jory Vinikour.
GUEST ARTISTS
Soloists include violinists James Ehnes, Augustin Hadelich, Alina Ibragimova, Pekka Kuusisto, Roby Lakatos; cellists Zlatomir Fung, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Jan Vogler, Alisa Weilerstein; pianists Behzod Abduraimov, Leif Ove Andsnes, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Khatia Buniatishvili, Eric Lu, Alexander Melnikov, Steven Osborne, Yekwon Sunwoo, Simon Trpčeski, Nobuyuki Tsujii; hornist Stefan Dohr; mandolinist Avi Avital; and sitarist Gaurav Mazumdar.
ADDITIONAL SEASON DOCUMENTS
Seattle, WA – Seattle Symphony Music Director Thomas Dausgaard and President & CEO Krishna Thiagarajan today announce the Grammy Award-winning orchestra’s 2020–2021 season, featuring creative partnerships with visionary voices, insightful explorations into new and familiar works, as well as a continued commitment to in-depth artmaking collaborations with the community.
“As musicians, we are privileged to exchange and share musical ideas from around our world, enriching the lives of those who listen to us, and empowering everyone to make the world a better place,” shares Music Director Thomas Dausgaard. “This season we are musically traveling beyond our borders in an exchange with our neighbors on the other side of the Pacific Ocean in collaborating with outstanding composers, conductors and soloists from China, India, Japan and Korea for their debuts with the orchestra at Benaroya Hall. I’m also excited to continue exploring the music of this country, including what is probably the first great American symphony, Amy Beach’s wonderful ‘Gaelic’ Symphony from 1894. I have been tremendously inspired by the fundamental openness and curiosity I’ve found in Seattle, both on stage and in the audience, and I cannot wait to experience this season together.”
President & CEO Krishna Thiagarajan adds, “This coming season reflects Thomas’ exciting and inspiring artistic philosophy through his commitment to exploring new voices and collaborations that connect us deeper to the music and to each other. Symphonic music is a living tradition that extends from the past into the present and this season showcases the diverse variety of artistry and composition our art form has to offer. The Seattle Symphony endeavors to further broaden the repertoire while bringing new and beloved works to Benaroya Hall and the greater Seattle community to experience together.”
THOMAS DAUSGAARD SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
“Dausgaard drew unusually powerful, impassioned performances from players … It was clear that this conductor knows how to light a fire in the orchestra.” – The Seattle Times
Esteemed for his creative programming, fresh interpretations and expressive conducting style, Danish conductor Thomas Dausgaard leads 12 weeks in his second season as Music Director of the Seattle Symphony.
Building on the Seattle Symphony’s history of collaborations with composers, Indian-American composer Reena Esmail joins the orchestra as the Seattle Symphony’s 2020–2021 Composer in Residence. Thomas Dausgaard opens the Delta Air Lines Masterworks subscription season on September 19 with the world premiere of Esmail’s new work, co-commissioned with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. The new work is presented alongside Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 with Leif Ove Andsnes and Berlioz’s imaginative Symphonie fantastique.
Bursting with vitality, character and inventiveness, Amy Beach was not yet 30 years old when she composed her Second Symphony in 1894. On November 9 and 11, Dausgaard leads the orchestra in one of the great, yet uncommonly performed original American symphonies: Amy Beach’s Symphony No. 2, “Gaelic.” Cellist Alisa Weilerstein joins for Elgar’s Cello Concerto and Ligeti’s San Francisco Polyphony completes the program. The performances of San Francisco Polyphony will be captured for future release on the orchestra’s in-house record label, Seattle Symphony Media, as part of a compendium of Ligeti’s orchestral works.
Closing out Beethoven’s 250th birthday celebration, Dausgaard is joined by soprano Malin Christensson, mezzo-soprano Meg Bragle, tenor Toby Spence, bass-baritone Andrew Foster-Williams and the Seattle Symphony Chorale in performing Missa solemnis on November 19, 21 and 22. Sublimely expressing Beethoven’s own personal beliefs and ideals, this sacred work stands out as a powerful witness to his belief that “music is a higher revelation than any philosophy.”
Dausgaard’s signature “roots” programs explore folk and liturgical music’s influence on orchestral works by a range of composers in a side-by-side presentation. Next season, Hungarian violinist Roby Lakatos joins the orchestra for a roots exploration of Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 on February 4 and 6. Dausgaard shares, “For me it has been revelatory to create new formats of concerts bringing in musicians from outside a symphony orchestra to play with us and make us aware of authentic context — and it has been a joy to bring this concept to Seattle in the last few seasons. Last season a folk music group sang, played and danced music with us to illuminate some of Stravinsky’s inspiration for his Rite of Spring, and this season a Hungarian Romani band led by the legendary violin virtuoso Roby Lakatos is giving us context to music by fellow Hungarian Kodály, and to Brahms who loved this style.”
February 11, 12 and 13, 2021 sees a program that captures the vibrant energy and artistic direction of Thomas Dausgaard’s collaboration with the Seattle Symphony. Violinist Pekka Kuusisto joins in giving the North American premiere of a new electric violin concerto by Enrico Chapela, co-commissioned by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Dausgaard comments, “Ever since I first heard Chapela’s concerto for electric cello I have been a fan of his music. With a background as guitarist in a heavy metal band and with a wide array of musical interests, this leading Mexican composer is a unique voice among composers today.” Continuing the seasons-long exploration of music by Carl Nielsen, his Symphony No. 6 will be performed and recorded live in concert as part of the Nielsen Cycle on Seattle Symphony Media. Full of mystery and spirit, the program closes with Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite. In this story, an enchanted feather from the firebird saves the world from evil. “Performing this fantastic score,” Dausgaard notes, “is a way for us to pass on that feather — in the hope that somehow music can help us save this world from evil.”
On June 17, 19 and 20, 2021, it’s all about the horn. Fellow Dane Hans Abrahamsen’s newly composed Horn Concerto receives its North American premiere with Stefan Dohr, Principal Horn of the Berlin Philharmonic. The work was co-commissioned with the Berlin Philharmonic, NTR Zaterdag Matinee, NHK Symphony Orchestra and Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. Seattle Symphony horns Jenna Breen, Jeffrey Fair, Danielle Kuhlmann and John Turman are featured in Robert Schumann’s Konzertstück for Four Horns and Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra closes the program.
As a counterpart to Beethoven’s Missa solemnis earlier in the season, Thomas Dausgaard and the Seattle Symphony present a contemporary liturgical work on June 24 and 26, Tan Dun’s Buddha Passion. Stirred by the city of Dunhuang and its ancient caves, Tan Dun created a powerful score that weaves chants, stories and sounds into a breathtaking vocal masterpiece that captures the Buddha’s teachings and the timeless, universal concepts of compassion through love, forgiveness, sacrifice and salvation. Indigenous singers Tan Weiwei and Batubagen, fantan pipa soloist and dancer Chen Yining, in addition to soprano Sen Guo, mezzo-soprano Huiling Zhu, baritone Yunpeng Wang, the Northwest Boychoir and the Seattle Symphony Chorale joins the orchestra.
EXPANDING THE CANON
For the 2020–2021 Seattle Symphony season, the Seattle Symphony’s history of expanding the canon and sharing diverse voices continues with 24 contemporary composers. There are four commissions, three world premieres, four North American premieres, one West Coast premiere and one U.S. premiere.
The orchestra is proud to present the North American premiere of Erkki-Sven Tüür’s Phantasma and the Three Continents Cello Concerto, a new work jointly composed by Nico Muhly (North America), Sven Helbig (Europe) and Zhou Long (Asia); the West Coast premiere of Charlotte Bray’s At the Speed of Stillness and the U.S. premiere Kabeláč’s Symphony No. 4. The orchestra will also give the world premiere of the 2021 Seattle Symphony Celebrate Asia Composition Competition winner, which will be announced in the fall.
Additional contemporary works include Sarah Gibson’s warp & weft, conducted by Gemma New; Jörg Widmann’s Con brio, conducted by former Seattle Symphony Associate Conductor Pablo Rus Broseta; Hannah Kendall’s Kanashibari, conducted by Jonathon Heyward; and Betsy Jolas’ A Little Summer Suite, conducted by Judith Fong Conductor Emeritus Ludovic Morlot.
The late-night [untitled] series returns with three programs featuring boundary-pushing contemporary music performed by chamber ensembles of Seattle Symphony musicians in the Samuel & Althea Stroum Grand Lobby. Expanding on the three continents theme reflected throughout the rest of the season, this year’s series includes three programs featuring voices from Asia, North America and Europe. The first concert, on October 16, includes Kenji Bunch’s String Circle, Juri Seo’s Lost Songs, and another work by Tan Dun, Elegy: Snow in June. [untitled] 2 on February 26 features A Fiddler’s Tale Suite by Wynton Marsalis, Caroline Shaw’s Entr’acte, Ned Rorem’s String Quartet No. 4 and John Zorn’s Obscure Object of Desire. Works by Arnold, Hindemith and Gernot Wolfgang are programmed for the final concert in the series.
CREATIVE COLLABORATORS
Pianist Khatia Buniatishvili will serve as the Seattle Symphony’s Artist in Residence in the 2020–2021 season. Her residency includes performing on the Opening Night Concert, a recital, a service project in collaboration with Mary’s Place Family Center and performing on the First Concert series for young children in Octave 9: Raisbeck Music Center.
Composer in Residence Reena Esmail is commissioned for two world premieres with the orchestra and will be deeply embedded in the local community. Building on her experiences working with Street Symphony in Los Angeles, Esmail will collaborate with Seattle Symphony musicians to create lullabies together with families experiencing homelessness. Additionally, she will engage the local South Asian community through neighborhood chamber concerts, mentor young composers through the Merriman Family Young Composers Workshop and have works featured on school and family concerts.
Beloved conductor and former Seattle Symphony Music Director Ludovic Morlot returns for his first engagement with the orchestra as the Judith Fong Conductor Emeritus on June 10, 11 and 12. Joined by Augustin Hadelich for Prokofiev’s Second Violin Concerto, the program begins with Betsy Jolas’ A Little Summer Suite and concludes with Franck’s Symphony in D minor. The lifetime title of Conductor Emeritus was bestowed on Morlot in recognition of his past accomplishments and his future relationship with the orchestra. As Conductor Emeritus, Morlot continues his fruitful relationship with the Seattle Symphony, which resulted in an expanded orchestra, nearly 60 commissions and premieres, 19 recordings on the Seattle Symphony Media label, five Grammy Awards and Gramophone’s Orchestra of the Year Award.
ADDITIONAL FEATURED ARTISTS
The In Recital series includes debuts for the violin/piano duo Ray Chen and Julio Elizalde on October 19; Artist in Residence Khatia Buniatishviili in a solo piano program on February 14; and a recital of Debussy’s Préludes by Jean-Yves Thibaudet on April 6.
In addition to the featured artists and orchestra musicians mentioned above as soloists, several more Seattle Symphony musicians will take center stage throughout the 2020–2021 season.
David & Amy Fulton Concertmaster Noah Geller performs Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto on October 29, 31 and November 1. Led by former Associate Conductor Pablo Rus Broseta, Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante for Winds on January 21 and 22 features Principal Oboe Mary Lynch, Principal Clarinet Benjamin Lulich, Principal Bassoon Seth Krimsky and Principal Horn Jeffrey Fair. On May 6, 8 and 9, First Assistant Concertmaster Eduardo Rios and Principal Second Violin Elisa Barston are featured soloists in J.S. Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins. On the same program led by Lina Gonzalez-Granados, cellists Nathan Chan and Eric Han will perform Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Cellos.
For a full list of artists and debuts, visit the Seattle Symphony Press Room.
SEATTLE SYMPHONY MEDIA
The Seattle Symphony’s first-ever Nielsen cycle began in 2017 with the Grammy-nominated recording of Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4 with Thomas Dausgaard. On June 5, 2020, the orchestra will release the next album of live concert recordings of Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2. Nielsen’s Symphony No. 6 will be performed and recorded live in concert during the 2020–2021 season, on February 11, 12 and 13, 2021. Dausgaard and the orchestra also have plans to release an album with works by Strauss and Scriabin in the fall of 2020.
Thomas Dausgaard has previously released three critically acclaimed recordings with the Seattle Symphony: Mahler’s Symphony No. 10 (Deryck Cooke version), Nielsen Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4, and a coupling of Langgaard’s Prelude to Antichrist with Strauss’ Alpine Symphony. His future recordings with the Seattle Symphony will continue to capitalize on the orchestra’s compelling live performances, recorded masterfully for the Seattle Symphony Media label by the orchestra’s Grammy Award-winning recording engineer, Dmitriy Lipay.
SPECIAL PERFORMANCES*
The Seattle Symphony’s 2020–2021 season opens with a sparkling Opening Night Concert & Gala program on September 19, featuring guest pianist Khatia Buniatishvili in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. The orchestra will also perform John Adam’s I Still Dance and Janáček’s Sinfonietta.
The Seattle Symphony will again collaborate with local Asian communities to present the 13th annual Celebrate Asia concert in March, conducted by Keitaro Harada. The program includes the world premiere of Reena Esmail’s Sitar Concerto featuring sitar player Guarav Mazumdar and is dedicated to Ravi Shankar’s 100th anniversary. Cellist Zlatomir Fung, the youngest musician to ever win First Prize in the International Tchaikovsky Competition’s cello division, will be featured in Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations. The winning piece from the Celebrate Asia Composition Competition, dedicated to finding and nurturing young composers who are inspired by the music of Asia, receives its world premiere at this concert.
Additional special concert events include Stewart Copeland: Police Deranged for Orchestra conducted by Seattle Symphony Associate Conductor Lee Mills; An Evening with Audra McDonald and the Seattle Symphony featuring the six-time Tony Award-winning singer, conducted by Andy Einhorn; a presentation of China NCPA Orchestra, the resident orchestra of Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts led by conductor Lu Jia, with works by Qigang Chen, Unsuk Chin and Tchaikovsky; and special guests Chick Corea Trio: Vigilette with Chick Corea, Carlitos Del Puerto and Marcus Gilmore.
* Special concert events are not included in the subscription series and are currently only available to subscribers.
EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
The Seattle Symphony presents a robust season of programming for families in the 2020–2021 season. The youngest listeners (ages 0–5) will be treated to a five-concert Tiny Tots series in the 540-seat Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall. Each concert features a different section of Seattle Symphony musicians (strings, winds, brass and percussion) with the last concert featuring a chamber orchestra. First Concerts (ages 3–5), performed in Octave 9: Raisbeck Music Center, introduce families to the instruments of the orchestra. Through short pieces and an opportunity to ask questions, curious little ones learn about the different sounds and people behind the instruments. The four-concert Family Concerts series (designed for ages 6–12) features the full orchestra in the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium. Associate Conductor Lee Mills will lead the orchestra and audiences in exploring the four elements of nature through music in concerts featuring The Firebird (fire), The Snowman (air), Ferde Grofé’s The Grand Canyon Suite (earth), and selections from Duke Ellington’s The River Suite (water). More details on the education and community engagement programming will be announced in April.
In addition to presenting a full schedule of performances, the Seattle Symphony is deeply committed to creating meaningful community partnerships and education programs. The orchestra’s extensive education and community initiatives reach more than 65,000 people each year through a variety of programs tailored to meet the needs of various audiences including families, young artists and schools. Link Up, a national program of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, is a highly participatory multi-year music curriculum for 3rd to 5th graders. In the 2020–2021 season, it will serve more than 10,000 students from over 100 schools in 30 districts. In addition, the Symphony continues its commitment to mentoring young musicians in the community and presents numerous, free Side-by-Side Concerts with local high school, college and community orchestras.
The Symphony’s Community Connections program provides nonprofit organizations across the Puget Sound region with equitable access to high-quality cultural experiences. The Symphony builds bridges with diverse communities throughout the region through access to free tickets to concerts, music-making and special projects. This program serves over 75 local nonprofits that work with youth, active military and veterans, seniors, cultural organizations, health services and social service organizations. Examples of this work includes the Lullaby Project, a national program of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, in partnership with Mary’s Place for families experiencing homelessness, and prison visits by Symphony musicians.
POPULAR PROGRAMMING
The John & Ginny Meisenbach Foundation Pops Series includes Gene Kelly: A Life in Music hosted by Patricia Ward Kelly and conducted by Neil Thomson; Holiday Pops conducted by Stuart Chafetz with vocalist N’Kenge; Cirque Goes Hollywood conducted by Jack Everly who will be joined by vocalists Ron Remke, N’Kenge and Troupe Vertigo; The Linda Rondstadt Songbook with soloist Ann Hampton Callaway, conducted by Stuart Chafetz; a presentation of the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra; and Stuart Chafetz will lead vocalists Capathia Jenkins, Ryan Shaw, Phillip Ferrell II, Nicole Eskridge and Grace Ferrell for Aretha: A Tribute.
The Delta Masterworks Season encompasses the Symphony’s core programming of symphonic repertoire. Additional subscription series include Pops, In Recital, Baroque & Wine, Untuxed, [untitled], Chamber, Family Concerts and Tiny Tots. Non-subscription performances may be added to subscription orders now and will go on sale to the general public on June 20, 2020.
THOMAS DAUSGAARD | MUSIC DIRECTOR
Music Director of the Seattle Symphony, Danish conductor Thomas Dausgaard is esteemed for his creativity and innovative programming, the excitement of his live performances and his extensive catalogue of critically acclaimed recordings. His programming in recent seasons have seen an increased focus on context, exploring the influences found in folk and liturgical music on orchestral works by a range of composers including Beethoven, Rachmaninov, Sibelius, Nielsen and Bartók.
Performing internationally with many of the world’s leading orchestras, Dausgaard is also the Chief Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He also holds titles as Honorary Conductor of the Orchestra della Toscana (ORT) and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, having previously served as its Chief Conductor from 2004–11; and Conductor Laureate of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, having served as Chief Conductor from 1997–2019.
A renowned recording artist, Dausgaard’s releases with the Seattle Symphony have garnered critical acclaim resulting in international honors including a 2017 Gramophone Award nomination for Mahler’s Symphony No. 10 (Deryck Cooke version), Gramophone’s 2018 Orchestra of the Year Award, and a 2019 Best Orchestral Performance Grammy nomination for Nielsen’s Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4. An avid champion of contemporary works and the music of his homeland, Dausgaard and the Seattle Symphony are releasing the much-anticipated cycle of symphonies by Carl Nielsen throughout his tenure. His most recent release with the orchestra couples Rued Langgaard’s Prelude to Antichrist with Richard Strauss’ An Alpine Symphony.
Additional recently released recordings are Sibelius’ Kullervo with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra for Hyperion and the first of a multi-disc survey of Bartók’s orchestral music with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra for Onyx. Other projects, all for BIS, include Brahms symphonies with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos combined with six newly commissioned companion works also with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and Bruckner symphonies with the Bergen Philharmonic, one of which was recently released as well.
In total, he has made well over 70 CDs to date, including complete cycles of symphonies by Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann and Rued Langgaard, and a disc of Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen’s orchestral repertoire with the BBC Symphony Orchestra for Da Capo. Opening Doors, his ground-breaking series for BIS with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, has consistently won praise for performances of 19th-century repertoire more usually associated with symphony orchestras.
In the early part of his career he studied with Leonard Bernstein and assisted Seiji Ozawa, and now regularly appears with the world’s leading orchestras including the Bavarian Radio Symphony, BBC Symphony, Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Salzburg Mozarteum Orchester, Staatskapelle Dresden and the Vienna Symphony.
He began his North American career as Assistant Conductor with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and has since appeared with the Baltimore Symphony, The Cleveland Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony, New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Toronto Symphony and the Washington National Symphony Orchestra.
He is also a regular visitor to Asia and Australia, appearing with the Singapore and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphonies; the New Japan, China and Hong Kong Philharmonics; and the Sydney and Melbourne Symphonies. Festival appearances have included the BBC Proms, Edinburgh International Festival, George Enescu Festival, Hollywood Bowl, Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, Salzburg Festival and Tanglewood.
Dausgaard has been awarded the Cross of Chivalry by the Queen of Denmark and elected to the Royal Academy of Music in Sweden. His interests beyond music are wide-ranging, and include architecture, landscape, and a love of learning the life and culture of different communities. He is based in Denmark with his family.
SEATTLE SYMPHONY
Led by Music Director Thomas Dausgaard, the Seattle Symphony unleashes the power of music, brings people together and lifts the human spirit. Recognized as one of the “most vital American orchestras” (NPR), the Seattle Symphony is internationally acclaimed for its inventive programming, community-minded initiatives and superb recordings on the Seattle Symphony Media label. With a strong commitment to new music and a legacy of over 150 recordings, the orchestra has garnered five Grammy Awards, 26 Grammy nominations, two Emmy Awards and was named Gramophone’s 2018 Orchestra of the Year. The Symphony performs in Benaroya Hall in the heart of downtown Seattle from September through July, reaching over 500,000 people annually through live performances and radio broadcasts.
The Seattle Symphony thanks its entire family of sponsors and donors,
whose gifts help make each and every performance a reality.
Major corporate, foundation, and government support for the Seattle Symphony is provided by 4Culture, Arakawa Foundation, ArtsFund, Bank of America, The Benaroya Company, The Boeing Company, Davis Wright Tremaine, Delta Air Lines, Foster Pepper PLLC, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, John Graham Foundation, JP Morgan Chase, Laird Norton Wealth Management, League of American Orchestras, Microsoft, National Endowment for the Arts, Nordstrom, Perkins Coie LLP, Precept Wines, Scan|Design Foundation by Inger and Jens Bruun, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle Foundation, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, The Wallace Foundation and Wild Ginger
Thomas Dausgaard sponsored by the Scan|Design Foundation by Inger and Jens Bruun.
Beethoven Missa Solemnis underwritten by The Nesholm Family Foundation.
Handel’s Messiah supported by a gift in memory of Gwen Jones Whyte.
Tan Dun: Buddha Passion underwritten by Jeff & Rita Xiong.
Artists generously supported through the Seattle Symphony’s Artists Circle:
Khatia Buniatishvili underwritten by Nader & Oraib Kabbani
Principal Trumpet David Gordon’s performances on October 15th, 16th, and 17th, 2020 underwritten by Robert & Sue Collett.
Concertmaster Noah Geller’s performances on October 29th, 31st, and November 1st, 2020 underwritten by Betty Graham.
Nobuyuki Tsujii underwritten by The Nakajima Family.
Roby Lakatos underwritten by Grant & Dorrit Saviers.
Alexander Melnikov underwritten by Stephen Whyte & Rebecca Ralston.
Steven Osborne underwritten by Muriel Van Housen and Tom McQuaid.
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet underwritten by James & Sherry Raisbeck.
Augustin Hadelich underwritten by Charles & Maria Schweizer.
Ludovic Morlot underwritten by Dr. Susan Detweiler and Dr. Alexander Clowes*. Additional support is provided by The Nakajima Family.
Ludovic Morlot's position underwritten as the Judith Fong Conductor Emeritus.
Stefan Dohr underwritten by Eric and Margaret Rothchild.
Season-long support for Seattle Symphony Principal Musicians:
Principal Oboe Mary Lynch supported by Stephen Elop & Susan Johannsen.
Principal Flute Demarre McGill supported by David & Shelley Hovind.
Associate Principal Horn Mark Robbins supported by Stephen Whyte.
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An Artist Roster, Repertoire List, Chronological Listing of Concerts and a hard-copy of the 2020–2021 Season Brochure are all available upon request. Please email press@seattlesymphony.org to request any additional materials or visit the Seattle Symphony Press Room.
Media requests for photos, interviews and other press items relating to Seattle Symphony and all guest artists are welcome.