The Tacoma
Symphony Orchestra (TSO) has been a vital part of Tacoma’s cultural landscape for 65 years, and
has operated as a professional symphony orchestra for the past 18. As a leader in the arts community, the Tacoma
Symphony attracts audiences of all ages, from
all walks of life and with varied musical interests by presenting classical, pops, seasonal and educational
repertoire.
The Tacoma
Symphony Orchestra was established in 1946 with 30 volunteer musicians from the
University of Puget Sound. Today the TSO is Tacoma’s metropolitan professional symphony
orchestra with eighty-plus members, an affiliated community chorus, a highly
regarded Music Director and a full-time administrative staff of three. Each year, the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra
brings music into the lives of nearly 20,000 citizens throughout Pierce County
and the Greater Puget Sound area.
Offering quality classical and contemporary orchestral performances,
pre-concert lectures and an award-winning youth education program that reaches
more than 50% of all Pierce County fifth-grade students each year, the Tacoma
Symphony is a respected professional arts organization that helps define Tacoma
and Pierce County as a community committed to the highest ideals; excellence in
education, an exceptional quality of life, rich cultural traditions, inspiring
natural surroundings and a thriving business community.
Programmatically
the Tacoma Symphony presents four classical concerts, two pops concerts
including its popular annual Sounds of the Season holiday choral pops, Handel’s Messiah
featuring its volunteer chorus, multiple in-school residencies and three days
of educational concerts each season. The
Tacoma Symphony’s education program, Simply Symphonic, earns the
accolades of educators who value the program’s integrated approach and quality
presentation.
- The TSO’s 80 musicians are paid
professionals who perform in other regional ensembles and as soloists, as
well as teaching at academic institutions and privately.
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- The TSO begins rehearsing for a
performance five days in advance and holds a maximum of four 150-minute
rehearsals for each concert.
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- Every musician in the orchestra
was chosen by audition. During an
audition, musician candidates are concealed behind a screen and perform a
series of short musical excerpts for an audition committee that includes
Music Director Harvey Felder and members of the orchestra.
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- When a position in the
orchestra becomes vacant, the TSO advertises nationally for musicians, and
may receive hundreds of applications from across the U.S.
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- The TSO’s Simply Symphonic
program impacts 5,000 5th Grade students, parents and teachers
from throughout Pierce and the adjoining counties.
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- 2009-2010 marked the 15th
Anniversary of Music Director Harvey Felder’s first performance with the
TSO.
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- The Tacoma Symphony Chorus
consists of 60 volunteer singers, selected by audition, who rehearse
together weekly.
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- Music Director Harvey Felder
has been a conductor for the St. Louis and Milwaukee symphonies, and has guest-conducted the
Chicago National, Baltimore, Atlanta, Seattle, Indianapolis, and Honolulu symphonies, among many
others. He describes his years with
the TSO as “the most rewarding musical experience of my life.”
The above quote from an audience member encapsulates
what makes the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra stand out in the South Sound region. The TSO’s organizational values are founded
on two tenets. First, live orchestral
music is vital, compelling, and essential to community quality of life. Second,
it is not enough to simply present concerts; we have an organizational
imperative to reach across demographic barriers to attract and engage people,
young and old, using both performance and education.
This is typified by Music Director Harvey Felder’s
personal, warm approach from the podium and by the relaxed, informal ethos of
our concerts. Beloved
for his welcoming stage personality, Maestro Felder talks to the audience
frequently, explaining the music and what to listen for. Our musicians smile and acknowledge the
audience and have many fans and personal friends among patrons. The TSO
provides regional audiences with a “user-friendly” opportunity to hear great
live orchestral music in the heart of downtown Tacoma
without traveling to Seattle, Portland or further afield.
The Tacoma Symphony Orchestra’s mission – to
“inspire, educate and enrich” – is realized through three primary
offerings: the Classics series, Pops
series, and Simply Symphonic education program.
The core music of the TSO’s concert offerings is
the great Classical and Romantic orchestral repertoire, composed between about
1750 and 1900 (although we also present music written before and after these
dates). This magnificent and powerful
body of music has inspired, educated and enriched generations of music lovers
throughout the world for hundreds of years.
Although the modern symphony orchestra traces its
roots back to 19th Century Europe, Symphony Pops is a musical genre
unique to America. In orchestral pops, the power and versatility
of the 80-piece symphony orchestra is brought to bear on American popular
music, including Jazz, Motion Picture Soundtrack, Folk, Christian Pop,
Broadway, and even Country & Western.
During the past several years the TSO has presented concerts featuring all
of these. The TSO’s musicians play this
music with the same professionalism and delight that they bring to the
traditional repertoire.
Education is intrinsic to the TSO’s mission, and the
award-winning Simply Symphonic program is its most significant educational
offering. In this day and age, even
though more data exists than ever before citing the critical importance of
music and arts in youth education, the majority of South Sound children have
few opportunities to experience a live professional symphony orchestra. For many and perhaps most participating
students, Simply Symphonic marks their first exposure to live orchestral music
and their first time ever at the Pantages Theater in downtown Tacoma. The impact this has on them has to be seen to
be fully appreciated.
Exposing children to the symphony without
preparation and context, however, would be of limited impact. Focusing on 4th and 5th
grade students, the program includes a curriculum guide for teachers and an
accompanying listening CD specially prepared by Maestro Harvey Felder. As a result, by the time students arrive at
the concert hall, they are familiar enough with the music to practically hum it. This greatly enhances the impact of the
experience.
Classics, Pops, and Education – these are the
three legs of the TSO’s stool, the three elements of how it realizes its
mission. Together, these elements impact
10,000 adult concertgoers and 5,000 students annually.
The TSO makes its home at the Broadway
Center for the Performing Arts (BCPA) in
downtown Tacoma. Most of our concerts take place in the center’s
historic Pantages Theater, or in the smaller and more intimate Rialto
Theater. Our administrative offices moved
to the BCPA in 2008. The TSO is the
largest and second oldest of nine arts organizations that regularly present or
perform at the BCPA.
The TSO is a resident
performing arts organization, employing 80-plus local musicians.
(This is a distinction from presenting
performing arts organizations, which bring nationally and internationally
acclaimed artists to town.) The economic impact of this is significant,
since virtually all of the money invested remains squarely in the regional
economy. Taken collectively, Tacoma’s vibrant performing and visual arts
community has served as a catalyst for the city’s re-emergence from the severe
downturns of the '70s and '80s into a burgeoning destination for arts
activities, specialty shops and restaurants, as well as a thriving center for
new urban living. Downtown Tacoma
has experienced remarkable growth and rehabilitation during the past
decade. The Tacoma Symphony Orchestra
has seen a remarkable transformation as well, showing that the TSO is in step
with Tacoma.
The TSO gives back to the community in many
ways. The organization offers ticket
discounts to seniors, students and enlisted military personnel. In collaboration with The United Way of Pierce County
and generous corporate grantors, the TSO regularly provides free tickets to
community agencies serving the economically challenged in our midst. Students participating in Simply Symphonic
pay only a nominal $3 per student fee, with the TSO absorbing the remaining
program costs. Early during the current recession
the TSO began offering its concerts as a dropoff point for donated
nonperishable food items to the Emergency Food Network. Hundreds of tickets are also donated annually
to other area not-for-profit and community organizations to support their
charitable auctions.
The TSO is governed by a Board of Directors of more
than 20 members. The current President
is Jon Duncan, CEO of Seneschal Advisors.
The artistic vision of the organization is led by Music Director Harvey
Felder; the administration by Executive Director Andy Buelow. The latter is assisted by two full-time staff
members: a general manager who runs the
orchestra itself, and a patron services manager who manages the box office,
subscriber and donor relations. The TSO
emphasizes professional orchestral operations and personalized customer
service.
Under new Board and administrative leadership since
2007, the TSO has emerged from a period of earlier financial instability, making
significant recent inroads in diversifying revenue streams and creating greater
long-term sustainability. Ticket sales
are on an upswing, with capacity houses at most recent concerts. Every seat is filled for the TSO’s Simply
Symphonic concerts this April, with more than 4,500 students enrolled and a
waiting list of additional schools.
But sold out concerts are not enough. The reality of a modern professional symphony
orchestra is that even if every ticket were sold, it would still require
additional community support to maintain a financially sustainable
organization. Only 30% of the TSO’s
budget is covered by ticket sales and other earned revenue. The balance is raised by annual individual
contributions, corporate sponsorships, foundation grants, and special events.
Your support of the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra is more
important now than ever. The organization
has responded to the community’s call for accessible, affordable concerts and impactful
education programs.
It has shown its leadership in maintaining a
stable, efficient yet personal organization during challenging economic times. The TSO gives back to the community with such
activities as its United Way
ticket donation program. It comprises
the musical hub of a thriving performing arts community in downtown Tacoma that is critical
to the city’s continued vibrancy and health.
Its 80-plus musicians impact thousands of people beyond the walls of the
Broadway Center as teachers, mentors, clinicians
and solo performers.
In spite of the rapid, unanticipated downward
spiral of the national economy in 2008, the TSO has balanced its budget for the past two seasons. Every Board member makes a
leadership gift, subscribes to the concerts, brings in new audience members,
and participates in fund raising. Contributed Revenue has increased every season for four years.
In all our actions, we strive to convey our twofold
organizational tenets: the essentiality of live orchestral music, and the
imperative to reach across barriers to draw people in. We ask all of our stakeholders, new and old,
to give generously to the TSO this season and for the future. Join us in the exciting partnership of building
the most vital, responsive and impactful performing arts organization in the South
Sound.