Program:
SunTrust Classical Series
- Budget:
-
$3,676,931
- Category:
-
Arts, Culture & Humanities, General/Other
- Population Served:
-
General Public/Unspecified
Program Description:
The 2011/12 SunTrust Classical Series includes world-renowned pianists Emanuel Ax and Garrick Ohlsson; soprano Hila Plitmann; and emerging artists, including pianists Natasha Paremski and Jonathan Biss, and violinists Karen Gomyo, Tianwa Yang and Augustin Hadelich. Guest conductors include Gilbert Varga, Peter Oundjian and Stanisław Skrowaczewski.
In 2011/12, the NSO commissioned three new works and presents their world-premiere performances: Béla Fleck’s new concerto for banjo, for which he will join the orchestra as soloist; Richard Danielpour’s Darkness in the Ancient Valley, featuring soprano Hila Plitmann; and the Concerto for Electric Violin, written by minimalist composer Terry Riley especially for Nashville’s own Tracy Silverman. Works by contemporary composers John Adams, Roberto Sierra, and Lowell Liebermann will be complemented by orchestral favorites by Brahms, Mahler, Copland, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, among others.
Program Long-Term Success:
Our ultimate goal is to share the excitement of live orchestral music with an engaged, increasingly diverse and continually growing audience. As we look to the future, we envision performing adventurous programs to sold-out houses on a regular basis. We can achieve this goal through a combination of musical excellence and creative programming that focuses on fresh new works that point the way forward for orchestral music in the 21st century.
Program Short-Term Success:
Despite the many challenges posed by the flood, the Nashville Symphony was able to maintain its full schedule of concerts for the 2010/11 season. All concerts originally planned to take place at Schermerhorn Symphony Center were moved to alternate locations while the building underwent extensive repairs. Following completion of repairs and our return to the Schermerhorn, the Nashville Symphony experienced a notable surge in concert attendance and media coverage, highlighted by a live National Public Radio broadcast of its first Classical Series concert in the newly reopened hall. Attendance figures have averaged nearly 4,000 people per three-concert weekend. In addition, the three GRAMMY® Awards for the Nashville Symphony’s recording of works by Michael Daugherty served as a testament to the high quality of the orchestra’s musicianship and its artistic programming.
Program Success Monitored by:
Program success for our Classical Series is measured through objective means such as ticket sales and attendance; through subjective means such as applause, reviews and audience feedback; and against standards for excellence that have been established in the American orchestra industry.
Program Success Examples:
Already, since the opening of Schermerhorn Symphony Center in 2006, we have experienced significant audience growth. In our first season in the new concert hall, paid audiences increased by 145 percent, and figures for each season since then have maintained that expanded growth. Notably, we earned $1.2 million more in 08/09 ticket sales over that of the year before. Other indicators of success include a total of 13 GRAMMY® nominations and six GRAMMY® Awards for our recordings, which attest to our artistic growth; and our recent invitation to perform on a Saturday night at Carnegie Hall in May 2012, which affirms that both our musicianship and our programming are of a quality to merit national attention.
Program:
Bank of America Pops Series
- Budget:
-
$1,809,179
- Category:
-
Arts, Culture & Humanities, General/Other
- Population Served:
-
General Public/Unspecified
Program Description:
The Nashville Symphony’s 2011/12 Bank of America Pops series consists of eight concert weekends (three concerts per weekend) featuring some of the most renowned pop artists in the world. Guests performing with the orchestra this season include heralded country star Wynonna; Christopher Cross; jazz trumpeter Chris Botti; Broadway guru Marvin Hamlisch; vocalist Kathy Mattea; and Steve Wariner, who will perform a tribute to guitarist and producer Chet Atkins. Concert weekends also include “Wicked Divas,” a concert featuring Broadway showstoppers, and “The Music of John Denver” with vocalist Mike Eldred.
Pops concerts feature cabaret seating on the main floor of Schermerhorn Symphony Center’s Laura Turner Concert Hall, where concert-goers can enjoy wine and desserts during the concert.
Program Long-Term Success:
Our ultimate goal for the Bank of America Pops Series is to attract a broad and diverse audience to Schermerhorn Symphony Center with programming that features some of today’s finest pop artists. We envision presenting the highest-quality programming to sold-out houses, in the process giving music fans an opportunity to enjoy the acoustical splendor of Schermerhorn Symphony Center and the artistic excellence of the Nashville Symphony.
Program Short-Term Success:
As noted above, the Nashville Symphony was able to maintain its full schedule of concerts for the 2010/11 season, despite the many challenges posed by the flood. All concerts originally planned to take place at Schermerhorn Symphony Center were moved to alternate locations while the building underwent extensive repairs. Since the orchestra’s return to the now restored concert hall, audience figures have been brisk, with an average of 4,200 people attending each three-concert weekend. In addition to this quantitative measure, our Bank of America Pops Series has succeeded in bringing a diverse slate of high-quality performers to Nashville, representing styles as wide-ranging as rock, country, jazz and Broadway.
Program Success Monitored by:
Program success is measured through objective means such as ticket sales and attendance and through subjective means such as applause, reviews and audience feedback via phone, email and periodic surveys from our patrons.
Program Success Examples:
As noted above, we have experienced significant audience growth since the opening of Schermerhorn Symphony Center in 2006. In our first season in the new concert hall, paid audiences increased by 145 percent, and figures for each season since then have maintained that expanded growth. These figures indicate that we are continuing to engage our most dedicated patrons while also attracting new audience members.
Program:
Music Education City
- Budget:
-
$1,399,085
- Category:
-
Arts, Culture & Humanities, General/Other
- Population Served:
-
Children and Youth (infants - 19 years.)
-
Other Named Groups
-
Adults
Program Description:
Excellence in music education has been central to the NSO’s mission for more than six decades. The following programs are offered at no charge to encourage access for all.
Young People’s Concerts reach 15,000 children annually with full-orchestra concerts at the Schermerhorn. “Is It a Fiddle or a Violin?,” in partnership with the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum, explores the versatility of the violin. Open Dress Rehearsals and the Classroom Classics program provide free access to rehearsals and evening concerts to more than 7,000 middle and high school students. NSOkids.org is an interactive website designed to enhance the concert-going experience for families. Master Classes, workshops, afterschool lessons and the Curb Youth Symphony provide opportunities for young musicians to study with professional NSO musicians.
One Note, One Neighborhood provides comprehensive music services to students in the Stratford and Pearl-Cohn clusters in Metro Nashville Public Schools.
Program Long-Term Success:
The long-term goal of the Nashville Symphony’s education department is to continue to provide comprehensive, barrier-free access to arts education programs for students across Middle Tennessee, and by doing so continue to be a resource for families and schools. With school budgets facing increasing stresses as a result of the economy, the Symphony wishes to ensure that arts education thrives in the classroom. One means of achieving this goal is to expand the One Note, One Neighborhood program throughout the entire Metro Public Schools system and into other schools in the Middle Tennessee region. At the same time, the Symphony will ensure that its education programs continue to be available to all students and teachers, whether they are in public, private or home schools.
Program Short-Term Success:
The Nashville Symphony engaged more than 70,000 students through its education programs last season, a number which grows annually, demonstrating community demand for educational programming. In addition, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded a $40,000 grant in the category of “Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth” to the Nashville Symphony, for the purpose of expanding One Note, One Neighborhood to the Pearl-Cohn cluster. This expansion, which took effect in the 2010/11 season, allowed the Nashville Symphony to serve nearly 8,000 Metro Nashville schoolchildren through the One Note, One Neighborhood initiative.
Program Success Monitored by:
The quality of the Nashville Symphony’s music education programs is determined by the number of people served, demand for services in the schools, and feedback from teachers, children, volunteers and musicians. For example, evaluation forms are distributed to teachers after every Young People’s Concert, to guide the Symphony’s education staff in revising and refining the program for effectiveness and musical quality. To ensure the success of One Note, One Neighborhood, this program is being independently evaluated by Dr. Robert Horowitz of the Center for Arts Education Research at Columbia University’s Teachers College.
Program Success Examples:
In an evaluation report for One Note, One Neighborhood, Dr. Horowitz reported that parents in the Stratford school cluster noticed positive changes in their children’s behavior as they learned to perform on their instruments, students expressed increased confidence and interest in developing their musical skills, and teachers reported becoming more comfortable using musical techniques in teaching curriculum courses. Music teachers gave positive feedback on how effectively professional-development workshops have assisted them with new teaching techniques.
Program:
Community Engagement Programs
- Budget:
-
$740,954
- Category:
-
Arts, Culture & Humanities, General/Other
- Population Served:
-
Other Named Groups
-
Adults
-
Aging/Elderly/Senior Citizens
Program Description:
The Regions Community Concert Series brings the NSO to public parks in Nashville and surrounding communities during the summer months, and the NSO performs annually for Nashville’s Fourth of July celebration. Community programs also include Let Freedom Sing!, a concert celebrating the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and Regions Free Day of Music, which invites the community to the Schermerhorn for a full day of musical performances, culminating in an evening concert by the NSO. This program is notable not only because it makes the Schermerhorn accessible to the public, but also because it provides a well-attended forum for more than 30 community and student music ensembles. Other efforts include OnStage, which invites patrons to join NSO musicians onstage for informal music performances, and OffStage, which brings musicians into community venues. Classical Conversations, pre-concert talks offered before each classical concert, educate audiences and enhance their concert experience.
Program Long-Term Success:
The Nashville Symphony seeks to share the experience of orchestral music with Middle Tennessee’s growing and increasingly diverse population. Equally important is making Schermerhorn Symphony Center accessible to as many people as possible. The Symphony can achieve these goals by continuing its free concert offerings while exploring new ways of reaching out to different cross-sections of the community.
Program Short-Term Success:
The Nashville Symphony’s community engagement programs annually reach nearly 100,000 people from across Middle Tennessee.
Program Success Monitored by:
The success of the Symphony’s community engagement programs is determined by total number of people served, demand for the orchestra’s services by the public, successful implementation of high-quality presentations, the ability to reschedule due to unforeseen events, and feedback from the public and from community partners.
Program Success Examples:
The Nashville Symphony has held annual community concerts for many years. Some of these, including the “Let Freedom Sing!” concert and concerts in the outlying communities of Lebanon and Shelbyville, are community events, involving volunteer committees and collaborations with other organizations. Attendance at these concerts is routinely high — including a completely packed house for the “Let Freedom Sing!” concert. The NSO routinely performs during Nashville’s annual Fourth of July concert in Riverfront Park – exposing more than 75,000 people to a live orchestral performance. In addition, demand for the Nashville Symphony’s services is high, and the orchestra attempts to accommodate as many concerts as the musicians’ schedules will allow.
Program:
Jazz Series
- Budget:
-
$423,007
- Category:
-
Arts, Culture & Humanities, General/Other
- Population Served:
-
Adults
Program Description:
Entering its sixth season in 2011/12, the Symphony’s Jazz Series continues to attract some of the world’s leading jazz artists to perform in Nashville. In 2011/12, the Jazz Series will welcome guitarist Larry Carlton; saxophonist Branford Marsalis; and enchanting vocalist Cassandra Wilson.
Program Long-Term Success:
Our vision for the Jazz Series is to continue bringing a wide array of top jazz artists to Nashville, with the goal of exciting and energizing local jazz fans while exposing an increasing number of audience members to this distinctly American art form.
Program Short-Term Success:
All three of our 2010/11 Jazz Series offerings were well-attended by enthusiastic patrons, with audience figures topping 1,400 for each concert. In addition to this quantitative measure, our Jazz Series has succeeded in showcasing world-class jazz artists who rarely, if ever, perform for local audiences.
Program Success Monitored by:
The quality of our Jazz Series is determined by ticket sales and attendance, along with applause, reviews and audience feedback via phone, email and surveys from our patrons.
Program Success Examples:
The sustained popularity of our Jazz Series is a reliable measure of this program’s success. Nashville has long lacked a consistent, top-quality venue for jazz concerts, and the Symphony’s Jazz Series has satisfied music fans’ hunger for hearing this style of music in a live setting by presenting such major artists as pianist McCoy Tyner, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, guitarist George Benson and vocalist Al Jarreau over the past five years.