The First 120 Years of the Seattle Symphony

By Leilani Polk

We’ve encapsulated the Seattle Symphony’s 120 years into a timeline of facts that touch on moments both significant and just plain interesting in the orchestra’s history. A tip of the cap to the Symphony’s Co-Principal Librarian Robert Olivia for his insightful commentary on an intriguing collection of archival newspaper clippings and materials. 

1903: The Seattle Symphony gives its first performance on December 29, 1903, with Harry F. West conducting the 24-member ensemble at Christensen Hall (located on the second floor of the Arcade Building — opposite where Benaroya Hall stands today). The orchestra was immediately well received and praised by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer for its high quality of performance: “The Seattle Symphony Orchestra ought to progress towards a state of perfection.”  

1909: Seattle Symphony Music Director Michael Kegrize is determined to bring popular symphonic music to the masses at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (aka the 1909 World’s Fair) and especially to young people, because, as he puts it in a June 18 Seattle Times story, “musical progression depends much upon the education of the younger generation, and that education must begin in childhood or it is seldom obtained.” The free outdoor concerts at the Forestry Building on the University of Washington campus in June and July of 1909 are attended by as many as 4,000 people. They are considered such a success that the orchestra gives its first “Pops” concert on Independence Day that same summer on the Exposition grounds. 

1936: George Gershwin brings his Rhapsody in Blue to the Seattle Symphony. A Seattle Post-Intelligencer clipping from December 13, 1936, with the headline “Symphony Won’t Go Hi-De-Ho,” references the noticeable jazz influence in Gershwin’s Rhapsody and the stuffy audience members who disparaged the orchestra for playing that “type” of music, casting its “vaunted dignity” to the winds and embarking on an “orchestral slumming tour.” But a review of the concert in the P-I the next day deems it a great success, calling Gershwin’s work “a pulse-enlivening thing with plenty of genuine melody,” while also commenting on lots of new faces at the auditorium “to prove that someday people may remember that Beethoven, too, was considered revolutionary.” 

1937: The 1936/1937 season of the Seattle Symphony culminates in a performance by Sergei Rachmaninov on his first U.S. tour. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer takes a unique peek at the rehearsal, reporting that Rachmaninov plays easily, sometimes with his hand in his pocket. The concert’s selections are all Russian and include Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 as well as Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto performed by the composer himself. The P-I headline the next day proclaims, “Rachmaninov conquers his Seattle audience.” The virtuoso/composer returns to visit Seattle eight more times.   

1941: Sir Thomas Beecham conducts his first concert as the Seattle Symphony’s Music Director. The legendary, self-taught, self-financed Beecham, who co-founded the London Philharmonic Orchestra, guest-conducts all over the world while juggling the dual roles of Seattle Symphony Music Director and Senior Conductor of the Metropolitan Opera. Beecham remains in Seattle from 1941–1944, helping to propel the Symphony from its smaller, more provincial status to wider renown, and generating much interest and publicity merely by existing (and occasionally behaving badly) in Seattle.  

1954: Milton Katims conducts his first concert as Music Director, a post he holds for 22 years (1954–1976). 

1962: Igor Stravinsky conducts the Seattle Symphony at the 1962 World’s Fair joined by guest piano soloist Van Cliburn. The very special concert (which includes Stravinsky’s own Firebird Suite) also marks the grand opening of the Seattle Opera House on the newly completed Seattle Center grounds. The Symphony remains at the Opera House (later McCaw Hall) until its move to Benaroya Hall in 1998.  

1966: The Symphony welcomes school students to attend free Arts in Education Concerts, establishing lasting partnerships with local schools that introduce generations of young people to the beauty and joy of symphonic music.   

1968: The Seattle Symphony hires its first Black musician, bassist Bruce Lawrence (1928–2015). Lawrence arrives from New York with a deep musical background that covers the spectrum from classical to jazz, and his education includes mentorship from the great “Dizzy” Gillespie. He plays in the Symphony until his retirement in 2005. 

1976: Rainer Miedél conducts his first concert as Music Director. He holds the role until his death in 1983. Also in 1976: The Seattle Chorale (originally formed in 1953) is officially established as the Seattle Symphony Chorale. 

1985: Gerard Schwarz conducts his first concert as Music Director. He holds the post from 1985–2011 and is named Rebecca & Jack Benaroya Conductor Laureate at the end of his tenure. 

1988: Seattle Symphony musicians certify the International Guild of Symphony, Theater, Opera and Ballet Musicians as their union, and establish the Seattle Symphony & Opera Players’ Organization, a chapter of IGSTOBM that becomes instrumental in facilitating the Symphony’s pioneering work in symphonic recordings, as it allows the musicians to retain a greater degree of control and freedom than was possible with musicians’ unions that existed at the time.  

1990: The Seattle Symphony receives its first Grammy nomination in January 1990 for a 1989 live recording of the music of Howard Hanson, conducted by Gerard Schwarz.  

1992: Gerard Schwarz and Composer in Residence Bright Sheng inaugurate the Young Composer’s Workshop, which is originally named in honor of American composer great David Diamond. It continues to this day as the Merriman-Ross Family Young Composers Workshop, providing young composers with the chance to hone their skills and develop their own creative voices. 

1998: The Seattle Symphony moves into and holds the grand opening of its sparkling new performance space, Benaroya Hall — $118.1 million is raised for the project, including historic investments by the City of Seattle and building namesakes, Jack and Rebecca Benaroya.

2000: The Watjen Concert Organ receives its inauguration, the gift of longtime Seattle Symphony supporters Craig and Joan Watjen. 

2001: The Seattle Symphony opens Soundbridge Seattle Symphony Music Discovery Center at Benaroya Hall. Located on the corner of Second Avenue and Union Street, it is the only symphonic music education facility of its kind in the nation, offering interactive exhibits for children and adults to explore orchestral music as well as the composers and musicians who create it. 

2004: The Seattle Symphony celebrates its Centennial with a Carnegie Hall debut. The program includes Strauss’ Death and Transfiguration, Sibelius’ Second Symphony and the New York premiere of a Symphony co-commission, Bright Sheng’s Phoenix, which The New York Times describes as “an attractive combination of lyricism and bite.” 

2006: The Seattle Symphony premieres The Healing Heart of the First People of This Land by composer Bruce Ruddell, commissioned by Upper Skagit elder Vi Hilbert and drawing inspiration from two sacred Coast Salish songs Hilbert entrusted to Ruddell. The Symphony’s efforts in developing a closer relationship with local tribes is set in motion, leading to Potlatch Symphony in 2013 and 2020, and in 2021, the commissioning of a cedar mat by Native artist and Chief Seattle descendant DeAnn Sackman that is currently on display in The Boeing Company Gallery. A new Potlatch project is slated for 2024. 

2011: Ludovic Morlot conducts his first concert as Music Director. He holds the post until 2019 and is subsequently named the orchestra’s Judith Fong Conductor Emeritus.

2013: Composer John Luther Adams premieres his Seattle Symphony commission, Become Ocean. The composition goes on to win the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Music. It also prompts Taylor Swift to send a personal note to Ludovic Morlot and the orchestra after hearing the recording, along with a donation expressing her gratitude for sharing the piece with the world. Also in 2013: The Symphony partners with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute to pilot the Link Up Music Education program at two public elementary schools in Seattle. The program — which includes classroom curriculum and culminates in opportunities for third through fifth graders to play along with the Symphony at Benaroya Hall — expands rapidly over the coming years to serve over 10,000 students in six counties annually. 

2014: The orchestra’s in-house recording label, Seattle Symphony Media, is established, with the Symphony assuming full control of its recording output for the first time. Also in 2014: Sir Mix-A-Lot joins Ludovic Morlot and the orchestra on stage as part of a Sonic Evolution concert. Their performance of one of the legendary rapper’s biggest hits, “Baby Got Back,” spurs a viral YouTube video that has been viewed more than 12 million times to date. 

2015: The Seattle Symphony wins its first Grammy Award in the Best Contemporary Classical Composition category, for John Luther Adams’ Become Ocean, which was commissioned and recorded by the Symphony. Also in 2015: another Sonic Evolution concert brings surviving members of Mad Season (Mike McCready and Barrett Martin) to play selections from the band’s repertoire, with Ludovic Morlot conducting, guest artists that include Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell (filling in for the late Layne Staley) and Pearl Jam’s Matt Cameron, and performances of Temple of the Dog songs. The Seattle Times calls it “a beautiful dream come true.” 

2016: The Seattle Symphony expands its commitment to working with community partners that serve individuals experiencing homelessness by creating the ongoing Simple Gifts initiative, which encompasses the Symphony’s free tickets program alongside artistic partnerships and residency programs. This deeper level of support includes providing free rehearsal space for Path with Arts’ community choir as well as community composition projects with YouthCare, New Horizons, Compass Housing Alliance and Plymouth Housing that result in several world premiere performances by the Symphony. The 2023/2024 season will see a re-launch of The Lullaby Project with Mary’s Place in partnership with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute. 

2019: The Seattle Symphony opens Octave 9: Raisbeck Music Center at Benaroya Hall in the space formerly known as Soundbridge, creating an intimate new performance venue with an immersive, state-of-the art Constellation sound system and 360-degree visual technology.  

2020: The global COVID-19 pandemic forces the closure of businesses across the country. The Symphony launches Seattle Symphony Live (now Seattle Symphony+), pivoting to streaming live performances, for free, and broadens its global fanbase while bringing comfort and music to quarantined audiences around the world.  

2021: The Seattle Symphony performs to live audiences again at Benaroya Hall for the first time in 18 months. Also in 2021: the Symphony establishes its Community Stages Fund initiative, with grants providing local artists and organizations from a range of diverse backgrounds opportunities to use Benaroya Hall stages, technical crew and the Symphony’s streaming platform at significantly reduced or no cost. 

2022: The 30th Anniversary of the Merriman-Ross Family Young Composers Workshop is celebrated with full orchestrations of students’ works in the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium of Benaroya Hall.  

2023: Seattle Symphony opens its 2023/2024 season, celebrating the 25th anniversary of Benaroya Hall alongside its 120th birthday. Let the festivities commence!