Our Mission

Mission Statement
The Nashville Symphony is dedicated to achieving the highest standard for excellence in musical performance and educational programs, while engaging the community, enriching audiences and shaping cultural life.

Artistic Vision Statement
Achieve recognized artistic excellence in the performance and presentation of the highest quality music, with a focus on the creation, promotion and preservation of a distinctly American repertoire.

Education Vision Statement
Engage and enrich people of all ages by exploring, experiencing and creating music.

History

Until his death in early 2005, the Nashville Symphony flourished under the dynamic leadership of Music Director and Principal Conductor Kenneth Schermerhorn for more than 20 years. A noted conductor, composer and music educator, Maestro Schermerhorn led the ensemble to new levels of artistic achievement, while nurturing the tradition of excellence that has characterized the symphony since its inception.

The Nashville Symphony’s story began in 1920 when a group of amateur and professional musicians formed their own orchestra and organized The Symphony Society, electing Nashville Banner music critic and Vanderbilt University professor George Pullen Jackson their president and manager. Despite steady growth over the next decade, the organization fell victim to The Depression.

In 1945, World War II veteran and Nashville native Walter Sharp returned home intent on establishing a new symphony orchestra for Middle Tennessee. With the assistance of a small number of fellow music lovers, he convinced community leaders of this need and the Nashville Symphony was founded.

Sharp retained William Strickland, a young conductor from New York, to serve as the first music director and conductor. Strickland was responsible for setting the high performance standards that the orchestra and its conductors have maintained to this day. Guy Taylor (1951-1959), Willis Page (1959-1967), Thor Johnson (1967-1975) and Michael Charry (1976-1982) followed Strickland in the role of music director, preceding Maestro Schermerhorn’s arrival. Under Charry’s direction, the symphony moved its subscription series from War Memorial Auditorium to the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC). With the Nashville Symphony's move to Schermerhorn Symphony Center in September 2006, the search for a new music director to succeed Maestro Schermerhorn continued under the direction of music advisor and conductor Leonard Slatkin as well as Blair School of Music Dean Mark Wait. In September of 2007, it was announced that Giancarlo Guerrero would become Music Director of the Nashville Symphony beginning with the 2009/10 season.