FARAJI BLAKENEY: Claiming, Broken crayons still color, The Poets Tree
Faraji Blakeney (Yoga Behind Bars)
RUTHIE FOSTER: Woke Up This Morning
The Rhapsody Project
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL: "Let the Bright Seraphim" from Samson
Jenn Evora, soprano
Shelly Devlin, trumpet
Chamber Music Marysville
SHARON NYREE WILLIAMS: LEGACY: I Miss Going to the House
Sharon Nyree Williams, narrator
Park Evans, guitar
ARC DANCE: Romeo and Juliet: A Cinematic Ballet
ARC Dance
TRADITIONAL, arr. Kenyon Duncan: The Parting Glass
Puget Sound Co.
INTERMISSION
DUKE ELLINGTON & BILLY STRAYHORN, arr. Bill Holcombe: Take the "A" Train
Sunny Xia, conductor
Evergreen Rhythm (Camp Jitterbug)
Seattle Symphony
ANTONIO VIVALDI, ed. Alfred Einstein: Violin Concerto in A minor
I. Allegro
Sunny Xia, conductor
Avi Spillers, violin (Key to Change)
Seattle Symphony
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH: Violin Concerto in A minor
I. Allegro moderato
Sunny Xia, conductor
Siddharth Siravara, violin (Key to Change)
Seattle Symphony
MARSHAN MOULTRY, arr. Andrew Joslyn: Walk on the Water
Sunny Xia, conductor
Marshan Moultry, conductor
Resounding Love Center for the Arts
Seattle Symphony
FLORENCE + THE MACHINE, arr. Andrew Joslyn: Big God
Sunny Xia, conductor
Puckduction
Seattle Symphony
SAM COOKE, arr. Andrew Joslyn: A Change is Gonna Come
Sunny Xia, conductor
Speak With Purpose
Seattle Symphony
LEONARD BERNSTEIN: Mambo from West Side Story
Sunny Xia, conductor
Evergreen Rhythm (Camp Jitterbug)
Seattle Symphony
Recognized for her innate musicality, compelling presence and technical precision, conductor Sunny Xia’s ability to forge an immediate and captivating connection with orchestras and audiences alike has led to engagements around the country. Appointed the Seattle Symphony’s Douglas F. King Assistant Conductor in September 2022, she began her position as the Associate Conductor with the Symphony in the 2023/2024 season and continues this role in the 2025/2026 season. She also takes on three new positions in the 2025/2026 season: Associate Conductor of the Seattle Opera, Principal Conductor of the Ozark Music Festival and Conducting Fellow of the San Diego Symphony. Recent engagements include performances with the San Diego Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, Seattle Opera, Baltimore Symphony, New Jersey Symphony and Chandler Opera Theater. A dynamic advocate for contemporary music, Xia led the Seattle Symphony in works by Samuel Adams, Quinn Mason, Reena Esmail, Jerod Impichcha̱achaaha' Tate, Bruce Ruddell, Gabriela Ortiz, Gabriella Smith, Paul Chihara, Tan Dun and others, as well as the world premiere of former Composer in Residence Angelique Poteat’s climate change-inspired Dear Humanity for Youth Chorus and Orchestra.
Yusef is a queer artist from Detroit and a new Seattleite who is excited to host this year’s Community Stages Fund celebration. He is most excited by ways he can amplify community and enhance its upliftment. He hosted ArteNoir’s Fade to Black three-year celebration and was also on the advisory board for Black Panther in Concert with the Seattle Symphony. He is a director, actor and choreographer who has studied West African dance, Fitzmaurice Voicework, and taught movement and voice as a Resident Artist at Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA). He holds an MFA in Acting from Southern Methodist and a BFA in Musical Theatre from Santa Fe University. With his company (In)Joy, he curates body awareness and emotional intelligence training for non-artistic organizations, in pursuit of expanding their connected capacity. He is eternally grateful to community and his mother and father for a foundation of love. Select local performance credits include TopDog/UnderDog at ArtsWest; Elf The Musical, After Midnight, Waitress, Something’s Afoot and Sweeney Todd at the 5th Avenue Theatre; Blues for an Alabama Sky at Seattle Rep; Black Nativity at Intiman Theatre; and Last Drive to Dodge at Taproot Theater.
Since 2008, Yoga Behind Bars (YBB) has shared trauma-informed yoga and meditation with their community behind and beyond bars to support individual healing and a more just society for all. YBB 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.
The Rhapsody Project is a community that celebrates music and heritage through an anti-racist 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 used the Community Stages Fund grant to host a concert celebrating the contributions of Black American musicians in Seattle and featured youth performers as well as The Rhapsody Project’s professional teaching artists.
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. Their 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.
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 hosted "An Evening with Sharon Nyree Williams", featuring poetic and narrative stories around compelling social issues, accompanied by a small musical ensemble.
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 company performances such as its annual {Summer Dance at the Center concerts} ITALICIZE, which are held at the Seattle Center's Leo Kreielsheimer and Bagley Wright Theatres. The company fosters dance as an artform by producing the creative work of current dance makers via an ensemble of eight to 12 classically trained professional dancers.
Puget Sound Co. is an eight-member vocal ensemble founded in Seattle in 2018. It specializes in a capella, or unaccompanied musical performance, using only voices to cover popular artists ranging from The Beatles to Fleetwood Mac to Ariana Grande and more.
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 the 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.
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 violinist and educator Dr. Quinton Morris, Key to Change offers a proven pathway to educational excellence for middle and high students through rigorous, personalized programming. Key to Change is two-time CSF awardee who most recently presented their annual Solo String Festival and Spring Salon Fundraiser at Benaroya Hall in March 2026. The multi-day event functions as a conference, giving middle and high school violin and viola students an opportunity to participate in workshops and masterclasses, perform for a panel of distinguished professional musicians, compete to win prizes, and raise funds for underserved youth.
Resounding Love Center for the Arts is a social-justice organization in the form of a multiracial, interfaith, LGBTQIA- embracing choir. Their members sing to honor the African American gospel tradition, historical protest movements, and their values of unity and love. Resounding Love's 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, members are required to engage in a collective anti-racism practice while also pursuing musical excellence.
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 used their 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.
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.
Sunny Xia’s position is generously underwritten as the Douglas F. King Associate Conductor.
The Arakawa Foundation proudly supports the Seattle Symphony’s Youth Education Partnerships. Additional support is provided by Delta Air Lines.
The Seattle Symphony’s Family, School & Community programs are supported by 4Culture, ArtsFund, the Merriman-Ross Family, and individual contributions to the Seattle Symphony Annual Fund.
Free or reduced cost access is supported by 4Culture.
