SEATTLE SYMPHONY’S COMMUNITY STAGES FUND SELECTS INAUGURAL RECIPIENTS
KEY TO CHANGE, OLYMPIA SYMPHONY AND ARC DANCE COMPANY TO PERFORM AT BENAROYA HALL THROUGH GRANT
Seattle, WA — On January 25, the Seattle Symphony launched the Community Stages Fund, an initiative that supports fellow nonprofit organizations of the Pacific Northwest by providing them access to resources needed to create digital presentations for their audiences while large in-person gatherings are restricted due to the pandemic. The Symphony is excited to announce the inaugural recipients of the Community Stages Fund: Key to Change, Olympia Symphony Orchestra and ARC Dance Company.
Key to Change aims to inspire underserved youth of South King County through world-class music instruction and support their development as self-aware leaders. Founded and directed by educator and violinist Dr. Quinton Morris, the organization offers a proven pathway to educational excellence for public school students through rigorous, personalized programming. Through the Community Stages Fund, Key to Change will present their Solo String Festival at Benaroya Hall this April. The three-day livestream event gives middle and high school violin and viola players a chance to showcase their skills and talent as well as the opportunity to receive music scholarships.
The Olympia Symphony Orchestra is a semi-professional orchestra that serves the South Puget Sound region. The organization’s mission is to provide the highest quality live music to enrich, educate and entertain through performance, outreach and community collaboration. In mid-April, the orchestra will make use of the Benaroya Hall stage and the Seattle Symphony’s streaming equipment, assisted by Symphony crew members, to capture a performance of a composition created by elementary school students of the Tumwater School District in collaboration with Emerald City Music teaching artist Claire Bryant and composer Brad Balliett. The performance is meant to serve as the capstone of the Tumwater students’ Fall 2020 music education workshop, which was interrupted by pandemic restrictions. The completed performance will be broadcast to audiences later this season.
ARC Dance Company is an ensemble of diverse, classically-trained professional dancers. The Company was founded in Seattle in 1999 under the direction of current Artistic Director Marie Chong. ARC Dance Company is committed to high production and artistic values through its varied repertory of works that promote dance as a universal language. The organization's normal activities, from studio classes to workshops and live performances, have been severely disrupted by the pandemic. As a Community Stages Fund participant, ARC Dance will be able to make use of Benaroya Hall for staging and filming a new ballet production in May to share with their audiences.
Through the Community Stages Fund, the Seattle Symphony looks to use its digital platform to amplify the voices of the Pacific Northwest and give back to the organizations who have helped to shape and grow the region’s cultural landscape.
“The Seattle Symphony’s Community Stages Fund helps ensure that our city’s diverse communities gain equitable access to our performance venues,” shared Krishna Thiagarajan, President & CEO of the Seattle Symphony, at the initiative’s launch. “We are eager to share our lessons learned and assist other organizations in utilizing this space and technology that will help them to reach their audiences in Seattle and beyond.”
The Community Stages Fund initiative serves organizations within the Pacific Northwest who do not have access to technology or spaces of their own to produce digital content, which impacts not only their ability to connect with audiences but also their ability to fundraise. All three newly selected organizations will have heavily subsidized use of the performance and backstage spaces of Benaroya Hall and access to digital streaming equipment, production crew and other streaming infrastructure.
Applications for a Community Stages Fund grant are still being accepted on a rolling basis, and the Seattle Symphony invites inquiries from interested organizations. Applications and more information can be found at seattlesymphony.org/communitystages. Selection will be prioritized based on demonstrated need of the organization as well as service to racially diverse communities. The Seattle Symphony looks forward to celebrating the multitudes of genres, performance styles and voices of the Pacific Northwest.
For questions about the application process, please contact community.stages@seattlesymphony.org.
The Seattle Symphony’s Community Stages Fund is generously underwritten by the Tagney Jones Family Fund at Seattle Foundation.
KEY TO CHANGE
Four years ago, Key to Change opened its string studio to provide violin and viola lessons to middle and high school students living in South King County. Founded by Dr. Quinton Morris in a community that is heavily underserved, Key to Change removes the barrier to entry for low-income students and students of color with an inclusive approach that builds not only talented musicians, but strong characteristics in leadership and accountability. While challenges brought by COVID-19 forced Key to Change to test a more widely adopted online approach, their student enrollment grew from 30 to over 150 students in 2020. At a time when students have been isolated by socially-distance learning, Key to Change has offered an important connection for students to build an even stronger community.
OLYMPIA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Founded in 1947, the Olympia Symphony Orchestra has grown to become the premiere orchestra in the South Sound, acclaimed for its commitment to both community and artistic excellence. Led by six music directors in its 74-year history, the OSO is currently in the midst of a music director search, which attracted candidates from around the world. Four internationally acclaimed conductors will audition in the 2021–2022 season. The Olympia Symphony performs at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts, in heart of Washington's capital city.
ARC DANCE COMPANY
ARC Dance Company is based in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. ARC serves the community through its school's dance training programs as well as professional performances such as its annual Summer Dance at the Center concerts at the Leo Kreielsheimer and Bagley Wright Theatres at Seattle Center. The Company fosters dance as an art form by producing the creative work of current dance makers on an ensemble of 8 to 12 classically-trained professional dancers.
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 730,000 people annually through live performances and radio broadcasts.
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