Newszak The Schermerhorn Symphony Center, named in honor of the late Maestro Kenneth Schermerhorn who led the Nashville Symphony for 22 years, opened in the fall of 2006 and is home to the renowned Nashville Symphony.
Construction on the Center began in December 2003 and less than three years later, the doors opened to the public on September 9, 2006 with a gala concert conducted by current Music Advisor Leonard Slatkin and featured Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Zakir Hussain, Frederica von Stade and Janice Chandler-Eteme.
The joy and pride of Nashville was tempered, however, as Maestro Schermerhorn died after a brief battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the spring of 2005, though the inaugural concert’s inclusion of Mahler’s “Resurrection” Symphony – Schermerhorn’s most beloved piece of music – was a fitting tribute to one of Nashville’s most beloved citizens.
Schermerhorn made the Nashville Symphony what it is today and grew the orchestra both physically and artistically during his tenure. In 2000, he took the Symphony on an East Coast tour and to Carnegie Hall, where the orchestra received rave reviews from the always critical New York Times. As a demonstration of the city’s affection and loyalty to its orchestra, more than 1,100 Nashvillians followed the tour and heard for the first time how the symphony sounded in acoustically brilliant halls. The success of the tour and four Grammy nominations later spurred a unified public and private effort to build the center. But the driving force for decades was the late Maestro Schermerhorn.
The Nashville Symphony now performs more than 100 classical, pops and special concert events each season and presents recitals, choral concerts, cabaret, jazz and world music events.
Some of the world’s great concert halls, many of which were built in Europe in the late 19th century, inspired the architecture of Schermerhorn Symphony Center. The shoebox designed 1,860-seat Laura Turner Concert Hall is one of the few halls nationwide to feature natural interior light through 30 special soundproof windows. With 600 fewer seats than the Tennessee Performing Arts Center’s Jackson Hall, the Nashville Symphony’s previous home, Schermerhorn Symphony Center provides audiences and musicians with a more intimate setting. The seats are distributed on three levels, including a special choral loft behind the stage, which can seat up to 146 member chorus or audience during non-choral performances. The stage can accommodate up to 115 musicians.
New jewel in Nashville’s musical crown reviewed by Rananjay Parmar on July 31, 2015 rated 5.0 of 5
No comments:
Post a Comment