Up to three organizations will be selected to participate throughout the 2026/2027 season.

The following grants will be awarded:

• A fully funded CSF grant (10-hour day)

• A fully funded Octave 9 Residency (Up to $4,000)

• A partially sponsored CSF grant (Grantee covers direct expenses only)

Selections will be prioritized based on demonstrated need of the applicants as well as their service to racially diverse communities. Selected grantees for the previous year are not eligible to be selected for this current year.

Fundraising activities supported through your Community Stages Fund project may be permitted in limited circumstances. If you are seeking to raise funds in conjunction with your use of Benaroya Hall, please note this in your application and we will be in touch to explore in greater detail. Visit the “ Funding and Support Details Page” page for more information.

Pre-application Open Houses

To help you in creating a strong application, we will offer four open houses for the Community Stages Fund that will include information sessions, during which we will respond to your questions and offer onsite visits of Benaroya Hall stages. In-Person Open Houses are held at Benaroya Hall's Octave 9, located on the corner of Second Avenue and Union Street.

• Thursday, April 2, at 5pm (VIRTUAL)

• Monday, April 6, at 5pm

• Thursday, May 7, at 5:30pm

• Monday, May 11, at 5pm

• Thursday, May 14, at 5pm (VIRTUAL)

Important Dates

• Monday, June 8: Applications Close

• Monday, July 6: Awardees Notified

Fundraising activities supported through your CSF project may be permitted in limited circumstances. If you are seeking to raise funds in conjunction with your use of Benaroya Hall, please note this in your application and we will be in touch to explore it in greater detail.

Your Event Timeline

To adequately produce and market your event, if your project is selected, all details of your project will need to be confirmed 12 weeks prior to your event date.

Octave 9 Residency

One grantee will receive a fully funded Octave 9 Residency (up to $4,000) for the 2026/2027 season. Octave 9: Raisbeck Music Center is an immersive, experimental and educational performance arts venue at Benaroya Hall. Through state-of-the-art technology and design, Octave 9 creates an immersive yet flexible environment for truly unique concert experiences, its Meyer Sound Constellation Sound System allowing the space to feel acoustically as reverberant as a concert hall or as compact as the 2,000-foot room it actually is.

From its inception, Octave 9 was guided by a desire to serve communities equitably. The project provides access to experimentation and creates an incubator for demographics that have been historically omitted from the traditional symphony format. Octave 9 expands on the Seattle Symphony’s well-established educational focus while serving as an experimental, transformable space for artists and composers, with numerous options for interactive videos, including nearly 360-degree projection screens that can help create an immersive experience.

The residency would occur during the 2026/2027 season and would include the following:

• Consultation Meetings with Octave 9 Production Manager

• Two Technical Days with Two Stage Technicians

• One Dress Rehearsal/Performance Day with multi-performance option

Learn more about Octave 9 here. 

Based on need, grantees will either be fully sponsored or will be asked to cover direct expenses only, which consists of hourly stage crew labor and janitorial/cleaning costs. Applications for sessions longer than 10 hours will be accepted, although sponsorship only applies to the initial 10 hours.

Production Support

Grantees will receive:

Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall package

• Use of the stage for a 10-hour day, which would include: load-in (two hours), rehearsal (two hours), concert (two hours), and strike (one hour).

• Front of house staff, which would include a house manager, ushers and security.

• Concert with lights and sound package (Full Value: $5,200; Subsidized CSF Grantee Cost: $2,900). Package includes: Crew Audio support with individual and hanging mics Lighting support with a general wash and pre-focused specials

• AV add-on (Full Value: $2,300; Subsidized CSF Grantee Cost: $520). Package includes: Crew 14K projector Screen Switcher Laptop Confidence Monitor

• Film/Stream add-on (Full Value: $7,400; Subsidized CSF Grantee Cost: $3,900). Package includes: Two-to-three camera film crew to record your concert/event Full Video Village

Octave 9: Raisbeck Music Center package

• Use of Octave 9 for up to three sessions: Two Technical Days with two Stage Technicians One Dress Rehearsal/Performance Day with multi-performance option

• Front of house staff, which would include ushers and security

• Audio support with the Meyer Sound Constellation Acoustic System

• Lighting support

• Projectors and/or Video Wall

Samuel & Althea Stroum Grand Lobby Reception add-on

• Use of the stage for a 10-hour day, which would include: load-in (two hours), rehearsal (two hours), concert (two hours) and strike (one hour).

• Front of house staff, which would include a house manager, ushers and security.

• Event with lights and sound package (Full Value: $8,300; Subsidized CSF Grantee Cost: $2,700). Package includes: Use of small stage for announcements/performances Audio system with mics Reception lighting Reception-style tables and chairs

Concessions (bar service) will be provided as part of the grant. Any catering needs and costs are not supported by CSF and must be provided by Benaroya Hall’s caterer DSquared.

Marketing Support

Grantees will receive:

Listings in/on:

• This Month at Benaroya Hall vitrines

• This Month at Benaroya Hall monthly email

• This Week / Next Week, the week of the concert

• Encore, the Symphony’s concert program

• Up to two (2) organic posts on Benaroya Hall’s social media platforms

The selection committee will consist of Seattle Symphony leadership in addition to leaders in our community. We look forward to celebrating the multitudes of genres, performance styles and voices of the Pacific Northwest, and continuing the Symphony's vital mission to unleash the power of music, bring people together, and lift the human spirit.

The selection criteria include:

Emerging arts performance organizations, groups or artists working in music, dance, film, theater, spoken words, literary arts or visual arts who can demonstrate a financial need for support.

In order to reflect the Seattle Symphony’s commitment to investing in greater on-stage prominence for ALAANA (African, Latinx, Asian, Arab or Native American), LGBTQ+ and female artists, organizations, groups or artists from these communities will be prioritized.

The selection committee will consist of a group of Seattle Symphony staff and past CSF awardees.

2025/2026

JESSI HARVEY || OCTAVE 9 RESIDENCY

Jessi (George) Harvey is a Montana-born, Puget Sound-based freelance composer and teacher. Harvey’s works are rooted in a passion for bringing together scientific and musical audiences, integrating social curiosity, humor and a love of knowledge. Performing across North and South America as well as Europe with the piece, by the nature of our conversation, and winning first place at the 2020 Darkwater Womxn in Music Festival, Harvey’s music has been described by Seattle Magazine as “full of surprises and consistently attention holding.” Commissions, residencies, and festival and conference features have included the Robb Commission, the Denver Botanic Gardens Landline Residency, New Music Gathering and Círculo Colombiano de Música Contemporánea, with projects being supported by 4Culture, the Prop Foundation, the Harnisch Foundation, the National Science Foundation and more. Since 2022, Harvey has been part of the Emlen Artist Co-Lab, a collaboration with choreographer Julynn Wildman, the Emlen Evolutionary Biology Lab, Open AIR and organizations across Western Montana, bringing to life the mysterious mating songs and dances of the Japanese Rhino Beetle through music, dance and the documentary Scarabic Serenades.

PUCKDUCTION

Puckduction is a Black- and Queer-led arts and culture organization based in Seattle and fiscally sponsored by Shunpike, a 501(c)3 arts nonprofit. Puckduction’s programs are centered around providing space and support for marginalized performers, creators, educators and activists, with a focus on BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, People with Disabilities and People of Size. From education to festivals to documentaries, Puckduction is committed to empowering these marginalized artists by activating spaces, building community and providing them with financial compensation.

2024/2025

CAMP JITTERBUG

Camp Jitterbug presents The Jump Session Show, which is a theatrical dance production celebrating the history and joy of vernacular Jazz and Swing based dances such as Lindy Hop, Tap, Jazz, Charleston, Hip Hop and more. Camp Jitterbug is an annual Swing and Jazz dance and music festival that features workshops, lectures, dances, competitions, performances, live music and more in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle every Memorial Day weekend for the past 24 years.

RESOUNDING LOVE CENTER FOR THE ARTS

Resounding Love Center for the Arts is a social-justice organization in the form of a multiracial, interfaith, LGBTQIA- embracing choir. We sing to honor the African-American gospel tradition, historical protest movements, and our values of unity and love. Our members celebrate and learn from their many differences in race, ethnicity, gender, gender expression and identity, sexual orientation, spirituality and beliefs, abilities, neurodiversity, socioeconomic status, age, background, and more. As a mixed-race choir, we require that our members engage in a collective antiracism practice while also pursuing musical excellence.

Resounding Love fosters racial healing, co-laboring toward social justice for all, and transformative experiences through music and other forms of artistic expression. Our motto is 'love is our default' and our vision is a world where the arts are central to racial liberation. We formed in the spring of2020 and created community and music virtually for 2.5 years. Since coming together in person, we have performed live several times, with a particular emphasis on the most marginalized in our community, such as incarcerated individuals and people experiencing homelessness.

YOGA BEHIND BARS

Since 2008, Yoga Behind Bars has shared trauma-informed yoga and meditation with our community behind and beyond bars to support individual healing and a more just society for all. We envision a world that prioritizes healing and growth over punishment, so we can learn to be in community with each other to stop cycles of trauma, violence, and harm.

2023/2024

ASIA PACIFIC CULTURAL CENTER

Asia Pacific Cultural Center bridges communities and generations through art, culture, education and business, providing programs and services that promote greater awareness, understanding, equity and inclusion of the Asian and Pacific Islander people.

SEATTLE WOMEN'S JAZZ ORCHESTRA

Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra (SWOJO) performs jazz standards, Latin and Brazilian jazz, and has been showcasing many of the finest female jazz artists in the region since 2000. SWOJO also proudly features the contemporary, original music of regional and international women composers and arrangers.

SPEAK WITH PURPOSE

Speak With Purpose (SWP) exists to cultivate inclusive and creative learning spaces that allow young scholars to deconstruct the dominant narratives by using public speaking to uplift their culture, self-authored identities, and communities.

2022/2023

KEY TO CHANGE

Key to Change inspires underserved youth of South King County through world-class music instruction and supports their development as self-aware leaders. Founded and directed by educator and violinist Dr. Quinton Morris, Key to Change offers a proven pathway to educational excellence for public school students through rigorous, personalized programming. A second-time CSF awardee, Key to Change will present their annual Solo String Festival and Spring Salon Fundraiser at Benaroya Hall in April 2023. The multi-day event gives middle and high school violin and viola players a chance to participate in workshops and masterclasses, perform for a panel of renowned professional musicians compete for the chance to win prizes and raise funds for underserved youth.

MOVIMIENTO AFROLATINO SEATTLE

Movimiento Afrolatino Seattle (MÁS) raises awareness about the history and cultural contributions of artists of Latino and African descent to ensure the sustainability of ongoing Afrolatino-focused cultural and arts education activities. MÁS will use the Community Stages Fund grant to produce an event at Benaroya Hall that showcases a range of traditional Afrolatino music and dance. This event will feature nine performance groups bringing the spirit and aesthetic of community-based art, inviting the audience to participate and experience Afrolatino art and culture.

PUCKDUCTION

Puckduction’s mission is to support BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ creators, with a focus on neo-burlesque, cabaret and film. Puckduction aims to educate the general public about these artforms while providing space and financial compensation for marginalized performing artists. Puckduction will use the Community Stages Fund grant to host Queer Prom Seattle at Benaroya Hall, featuring a full burlesque and drag show plus the crowning of a new Queer Monarch, a silent auction and a dance party. The event brings the QTCBIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities together to fundraise in support of their important mission.

SHARON NYREE WILLIAMS

Sharon Nyree Williams is an Emmy Award-winning voiceover artist, storyteller, producer, presenter and teacher. She believes in experiencing life through the artistry of storytelling and leadership and loves telling stories about her life, the lessons she’s learned and the things she’s observed. Sharon’s hope is that she will reach at least one person and that her stories will act as a bridge in bringing communities closer together. With the Community Stages Fund grant, she will host An Evening with Sharon Nyree Williams, featuring poetic and narrative stories around compelling social issues, accompanied by a small musical ensemble.

THE RHAPSODY PROJECT

The Rhapsody Project is a community that celebrates music and heritage through an antiracist lens. The Rhapsody Project provides music instruction, cultural events, virtual programs and consulting services that help to establish racial and cultural equity. The Rhapsody Project will use the Community Stages Fund grant to host a concert celebrating the contributions of Black American musicians in Seattle and featuring youth performers as well as The Rhapsody Project’s professional teaching artists.

2021/2022

KEY TO CHANGE

Key to Change inspires underserved youth through world-class music instruction and supports their development as self-aware leaders through a holistic environment where they can flourish. Key to Change removes the barrier to entry for underserved students and students of color with an inclusive approach that helps build trust and connection. By offering excellent music instruction below the market rate, Key to Change extends the benefits of a classical music education to a new generation of young musicians.

OLYMPIA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Founded in 1947, the Olympia Symphony Orchestra has grown to become the premiere orchestra in the South Sound, acclaimed for its commitment to both community and artistic excellence. Led by six music directors in its 74-year history, the OSO is currently in the midst of a music director search, which attracted candidates from around the world. Four internationally acclaimed conductors will audition in the 2021–2022 season. The Olympia Symphony performs at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts, in heart of Washington's capital city.

ARC DANCE COMPANY

ARC Dance Company is based in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. ARC serves the community through its school's dance training programs as well as professional performances such as its annual Summer Dance at the Center concerts at the Leo Kreielsheimer and Bagley Wright Theatres at Seattle Center. The Company fosters dance as an art form by producing the creative work of current dance makers on an ensemble of 8 to 12 classically-trained professional dancers.

EVERGREEN CITY BALLET (ECB)

Evergreen City Ballet (ECB) was established in 1994 in Auburn, Washington, as both a pre-professional ballet school and a performing company. ECB’s mission is to provide high quality dance education and performance opportunities to students of all ages, and to enrich the diverse communities in the Puget Sound region through performances, outreach and community engagement initiatives. ECB’s long-term vision is to be a nationally recognized, premier, pre-professional ballet school with a studio company that cultivates excellence, diversity, inclusiveness and innovation. ECB offers a rigorous, well-rounded and holistic approach to learning and development. The diverse program offers classes for all ages and students take a wide variety of classes, from ballet, pointe, variations and partnering, to contemporary, modern, jazz, hip-hop, improvisation and more.

PUGET SOUND COMPANY

Puget Sound Co. is an eight-member vocal ensemble founded in Seattle in October 2018. It specializes in unaccompanied musical performance, using only voices to cover popular artists ranging from The Beatles to Fleetwood Mac to Ariana Grande and more.

CHAMBER MUSIC MARYSVILLE

Chamber Music Marysville provides a rich classical music experience by presenting performances that range from solo recitals to small ensembles, both in-person and online. Our concerts help cultivate a love of classical music through programming music from many different cultures and time periods. Live and online recitals, performed or recorded in intimate settings, have celebrated the natural beauty and charm of the small city of Marysville while making it a better place to live as a musician and concertgoer.