About the Nashville Symphony

Led by Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero and President and CEO Alan D. Valentine, the GRAMMY® Award-winning Nashville Symphony has a growing international reputation for its recordings and innovative programming. With 148 performances annually, the 83-member Nashville Symphony is an arts leader in Nashville and beyond, offering a broad range of classical, pops and jazz concerts; special events; children’s concerts and community outreach programs.

As a national and international ambassador for the citizens of Tennessee, the Nashville Symphony has received far-reaching acclaim for its 16 recordings on Naxos, the world’s leading classical label, and one on Decca, making the Nashville Symphony currently one of the most active recording orchestras in the country. These recordings have received seven total GRAMMY® nominations and, in 2008, three GRAMMY® wins for Made in America, a recording of works by American composer Joan Tower. The winning categories included “Best Classical Album” and “Best Orchestral Performance.”

Music education is a top priority for the Nashville Symphony. In April 2007, the Symphony announced a major new education initiative called Music Education City. This four-year initiative will help mobilize local school systems, community leaders and area residents to increase music education opportunities in Nashville, as the Symphony continues to present and further develop education-focused programs. These programs include ensemble visits to area schools, which reached 4,130 students this past year, as well as Young People’s Concerts at Schermerhorn Symphony Center, which served more than 17,000 students. During the 2008/09 concert season, the Nashville Symphony reached more than 145,000 Middle Tennesseans through various music education and community engagement programs.

In 2003, the Nashville Symphony broke ground on the $123.5 million Schermerhorn Symphony Center, the orchestra’s new home, which opened on September 9, 2006, to critical acclaim. Highlights of the Symphony Center include the 1,844-seat Laura Turner Concert Hall and the 3,000-square-foot Mike Curb Family Music Education Hall. This new cultural center in downtown Nashville has had a significant artistic, social and economic impact on the city, and has given the Nashville Symphony a venue equal to its growing reputation and superb music-making.