A Year in Review: 2021/2022

By Leilani Polk

There’s no feeling quite like being in a room full of people who are collectively enjoying a thrilling concert — and the Seattle Symphony’s return to performing for in-person audiences has made the experience all the more special after feeling like we’ve gone without it for so long.

Our streaming service, Seattle Symphony Live, has allowed audiences to enjoy performances in the comfort of their own homes. But it’s a far different experience from being in Benaroya Hall right before the music starts, when the lights dim, a hush falls across the room and expectations are peaking. The launch of the 2021/2022 season brought it all rushing back, and the relief and musical release has only continued since. Though it’s only been a little over a year since the full return of audiences to the Hall, that time has been jam-packed with musical moments that have all felt meaningful in some way. Here are a few of our favorites.

FALL/WINTER

The String Break That Went Viral Taiwanese Australian violinist Ray Chen made his Seattle Symphony debut with Tchaikovsky’s enchanting Violin Concerto, and while both performances were perfectly executed, he made headlines during the first night when his E-string abruptly snapped. The show went on almost seamlessly as an unruffled Chen swapped instruments with Concertmaster Noah Geller and picked up where he left off. Video of the moment went viral, earning nearly 6 million views on YouTube.

Mills Beach Lash During the pandemic, the Symphony’s then Douglas F. King Associate Conductor, Lee Mills, stepped up to the podium to lead a range of diverse performances over his extended tenure (from the 2019/2020 through 2021/2022 seasons). His hero moment happened in November of 2021, when he was tapped last minute to conduct a program that included Han Lash’s world premiere double-harp concerto, The Peril of Dreams, featuring Lash playing alongside Principal Harp Valerie Muzzolini, and Amy Beach’s “Gaelic” Symphony, the first big classical work published by a female American composer. From The Seattle Times: “Mills, who clearly knew the score, did considerably more than direct traffic; he brought out the subtle textures and balances of the music.”

EO9066 To mark the 80th anniversary of Executive Order 9066 — which led to the incarceration of more than 100,000 innocent American citizens of Japanese descent during World War II — the Symphony presented a work informed by the order, Kaoru Ishibashi’s Improvisations on EO9066. The classically trained violinist (who releases vibrant symphonic-fused psych pop as Kishi Bashi) also performed, alternately singing, playing violin and acoustic guitar, and narrating as video footage and imagery was projected onto the big screen. Opening the program was Beyond the Hills, a Symphony commission and world premiere by Japanese American composer Paul Chihara that grappled with his lived experience as a survivor of the order. It was a heartfelt, stunning, moving program, and we aren’t afraid to admit we shed a few tears.

Sibelius Responses The Symphony performed two world premiere commissions that responded to and were paired with the symphonies of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The first by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ellen Reid debuted in February, and was dually informed by Sibelius’ Symphony No. 1 and the pandemic: TODAY AND TODAY AND TODAY AND TODAY AND TODAY AND TODAY AND TODAY AND TODAY AND TODAY AND TODAY. According to Reid, it “evokes a sense of the present and also of ’foreverness’ that feels constraining, yet expansive. ‘Today and today’ was how I experienced a lot of the last year.” Angélica Negrón, a composer who writes for an astonishing variety of instruments and ensembles, had the debut of her own Symphony commission Color Shape Transmission in April alongside Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2. The next and final Sibelius response (to his Seventh Symphony) comes this February with Dai Fujikura’s Wavering World.

#What2022SoundedLike Cutting-edge piano duo HOCKET teamed up with the Symphony to stage a celebratory two-part program that had seven composers imagining #What2022SoundsLike — dedicated to a hopeful future emerging from the pandemic. Taking its cue from HOCKET’s #What2020SoundsLike project (where they commissioned composers to write about their pandemic experience), the first part was performed by HOCKET in Benaroya Hall’s innovative Octave 9: Raisbeck Music Center. Symphony musicians then joined HOCKET for the second part, presented as an [untitled] 2022 late-night concert program in the Samuel & Althea Stroum Grand Lobby and featuring modern works from composers Hitomi Oba, Jonathan Richards and HOCKET soloists Sarah Gibson and Thomas Kotcheff.

The Barvinok Ukrainian Dance Ensemble performing at the Mayors’ Concert for Ukraine. Photo by James Holt

SPRING

Celebrating Collaboration A truly memorable weekend showcased the talents of the Seattle Symphony’s then-Composer in Residence, Reena Esmail, in two different programs. The first, Ragamala — A Journey into Hindustani Music, was her curated Octave 9 program that found virtuoso Indian violinist Kala Ramnath performing a set of solo improvisations, then new compositions with a Symphony string quartet. The following Sunday, an astounding Celebrate Asia concert showcased a Symphony commission and joint composition by Esmail and Ramnath, Concerto for Hindustani Violin & Orchestra, inspired by the challenges of climate change and by Indian ragas for the five elements, and featuring Ramnath on Hindustani classical violin with the orchestra. Also on the program: an unforgettable Symphony co-commission and the U.S. Premiere of Tan Dun’s Trombone Concerto, offering up a taste of what was to come in the 2022/2023 season’s robust suite of programs featuring the composer’s works.

Roderick Cox Introduces Dawson Georgia-born, Germany-based Roderick Cox joined the Symphony to conduct a program that included William L. Dawson’s neglected masterpiece, Negro Folk Symphony. “Cox turned in an impassioned, flowing performance, which benefited from his sculpted phrasing,” wrote Seen and Heard International. “Also striking was his command of the climaxes: each provided a poignant release, even eliciting an ovation from the audience at the end of the first movement. But they never worked against the spirituals and folk tunes, and Cox elevated the basic popular music underpinning the piece into high art.” Cox has said that Dawson’s work lives close to his heart: “I’ve made a plan for myself to do it every season for the rest of my life, somewhere; I just love it that much.”

We Stand with Ukraine The Symphony partnered with Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and King County Executive Dow Constantine along with 36 regional mayors to present the Mayors’ Concert for Ukraine, made possible by the generous donation of every musician’s time and talent, including Conductor Emeritus Ludovic Morlot’s. The program of music and movement celebrated the rich culture and history of Ukraine with special performances by the Barvinok Ukrainian Dance Ensemble and Slavic United Choir, among others. The concert concluded with the Symphony’s stirring presentation of the Ukrainian National Anthem, a solemn reminder of the brutal struggle happening overseas. The benefit concert raised over $350,000, which was donated to the Seattle Refugee Fund to help Ukrainian and other refugees in the Seattle area.

Multi-Media Messiaen Messiaen’s 1978 cosmic epic Des canyons aux étoiles... (“From the Canyons to the Stars...”) takes inspiration from birdsong, the divine and the breathtaking national parks of Utah, most notably Bryce Canyon. Performed with Conductor Emeritus Ludovic Morlot on the podium, it featured an expanded percussion section, strings reduced to a 13-piece ensemble, and a series of challenging solos, like those delivered by Principal Horn Jeffrey Fair who, according to Bachtrack, “executed his intricacies with dazzling skill, starting with a prominent solo in Le Désert.” Topping it off were Seth Reiser’s lighting design and the luminous still photographs and videography projections of artist Deborah O’Grady. Simply sublime.

Verdi Requiem The Seattle Symphony Chorale enjoyed a soft return in a baroque program and then the intriguing Sound of Space concert. But its full mighty force wasn’t truly felt until Verdi’s monumental Requiem, the terrifying climax of its Dies irae chorus, and the feats of choral gymnastics studded throughout. Nothing like voices raised in dramatic harmony to captivate the ears and raise the hairs.

Thorgy Thor performing at Pride Pops. Photo by Nick Klein.

SUMMER

Thorgy Thor Hosts Pride Pops The Symphony’s first-ever Pride concert featured a famous drag artist who also happens to be a fantastic violinist, Thorgy Thor (RuPaul’s Drag Race, Dragnificent!), and was conducted by Lee Mills (his last assignment as the Symphony’s Associate Conductor). The result was a wildly fun and colorful event.

Joe’s Studio Packing the Hall for four sell-out shows, Joe Hisaishi Symphonic Concert: Music from the Studio Ghibli Films of Hayao Miyazaki found the composer behind the scores of Studio Ghibli films in attendance to conduct the Symphony through a selection of songs from Ponyo, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and many others while scenes from the films were projected onto the big screen. The joy in the room was palpable and the blissful faces abundant.

FALL

Police Deranged for Orchestra Nothing like having a rock icon unofficially kick off your season. In this case, it was drummer, composer and co-founder of The Police, Stewart Copeland, with a full band, guest vocalists, and backing from the orchestra in a setlist of his biggest hits. It got loud and no one in the building seemed to mind one bit.

Busting the Season Wide Open The launch of the 2022/2023 season featured a two-day Opening Night Gala, Concert & Party. It started with the Friday evening gala, where attendees enjoyed a sneak peek of Saturday’s soloists and the Symphony honored Joan Watjen and her late husband, Craig, for their tremendous impact on the orchestra, and Joan’s leadership support of the musicians throughout the pandemic. Conductor Emeritus Ludovic Morlot led the Opening Night Concert, which featured, among other highlights, Concertmaster Noah Geller and Principal Cello Efe Baltacıgil in Saint-Saëns’ La muse et le poète, the premiere of a Symphony commission, Breathe, Come Together, Embrace, by new Artist in Residence Angelique Poteat (also the director of the Merriman-Ross Family Young Composers Workshop), and guest soloist Jan Lisiecki performing Chopin’s Andante spianato and Grand polonaise brillante. Good times were had by all at the after party in the Samuel & Althea Stroum Grand Lobby, where Chef Shota Nakajima served up tasty bites while KEXP DJ Marco Collins fueled the grooves and dance moves.

Jonathon Heyward Conducts a Masterclass The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s Music Director Designate returned to Seattle to conduct our own orchestra in a program culminating in Dvořák’s dramatic Symphony No. 7. His special masterclass, offered by the Seattle Symphony and Key to Change (a local nonprofit working to remove barriers around musical enrichment and development for young, underserved musicians and students of color), made an equally meaningful impact. He worked with four students from the studio, giving some technical pointers but mostly extending suggestions on what he is well known for: communicating music deliberately and intentionally to an audience. In turn, the students shared how inspiring it was to learn from someone in whom they could see a reflection of themselves — a compelling glimpse at the intersection of music education and outreach.

Hilary Hahn and Alpesh Chauhan Conquer Brahms The only thing more exciting at the Hilary Hahn concert, outside of the virtuosic violinist herself tackling Brahms’ Violin Concerto, was the rock star chops of young British conductor Alpesh Chauhan, who “not only showed a fluent command of this repertoire but conveyed a sense of conviction in the performances he inspired,” wrote Bachtrack. “To judge by the musicians’ responsiveness and rapt involvement throughout the evening, Chauhan was able to establish a rapport with the [Seattle Symphony] that made it sound as if they had been performing together for some time.”

A Sunny Start to In-Person Family Concerts The Seattle Symphony welcomed a new Douglas F. King Assistant Conductor, Sunny Xuecong Xia, at the start of the season, and her debut at the podium also marked the return of in-person Family Concerts. The nature-themed program for children and their families featured mostly living composers, with two (Gabriella Smith and Angelique Poteat) in attendance, a performance of Mozart by 2022 Young Artist Ruohan Huang, and a fun interactive component to Tan Dun’s Passacaglia: Secret of Wind and Birds that had everyone in the room pulling out their phones to add bird sounds to the piece.

Tan Dun Triumph One of the Seattle Symphony’s most anticipated projects of this season did not disappoint. Between Buddha Passion’s indigenous singing, pipa playing and dancing, and compelling storytelling, Tan Dun himself conducting his ambitious composition was a highlight of the season. It was a stunner that took over Benaroya Hall, from the appearance of his Passacaglia: Secret of Wind and Birds in Nature Resounds to his Ghost Opera and the immersive, multi-media Mogao Caves presentation, both in Octave 9: Raisbeck Music Center. It was a feast for the eyes, ears, mind and soul.

Tan Dun conducting Buddha Passion. Photo by Brandon Patoc.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS:

2021/2022 Masterworks Series Sponsor: Delta Air Lines
Pops Series Sponsor: John & Ginny Meisenbach Foundation
Octave 9: Emerging Artists is supported by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.
Ludovic Morlot’s position is generously underwritten as the Judith Fong Conductor Emeritus.
Lee Mills’ position was generously underwritten as the Douglas F. King Associate Conductor.
Sunny Xia’s position is generously underwritten as the Douglas F. King Assistant Conductor. 
Noah Geller’s position is generously underwritten as the David & Amy Fulton Concertmaster.
Efe Baltacıgil’s position is generously underwritten as the Marks Family Foundation Principal Cello.
Jeffrey Fair’s position is generously underwritten as the Charles Simonyi Principal Horn.
The Merriman-Ross Family Young Composers Workshop is generously underwritten by Pamela Merriman, Sonja Ross, and Kelley Ross.
Seattle Symphony Family Programs are supported by The Klorfine Foundation.
Delta Air Lines proudly supports the Seattle Symphony’s Community Partnerships for Youth and Education.
The Seattle Symphony’s New Music WORKS initiative is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Beach Gaelic Symphony was generously underwritten by The Richard E. Lang and Jane Lang Davis Living Music Program.
Celebrate Asia was generously sponsored by Naomi and Yoshi Minegishi.
Reena Esmail’s residency was generously supported by Parul and Gary Houlahan.
Hilary Hahn’s performances were generously sponsored by Charles and Maria Schweizer.
Performances of Tan Dun Buddha Passion were generously underwritten by Jeff and Rita Xiong.
The Mogao Caves: An Immersive Experience was generously sponsored by Mimi Gardner Gates and the Dunhuang Foundation.