music | symphony tacoma turns 75

The 2021-2022 season will be the Diamond Anniversary Season for Symphony Tacoma (ST) as they celebrate the legacy of the first 75 years. With a spotlight on composers such as Patrice Rushen, Joseph de Bologne, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Vivian Fung, and David Ludwig, audiences will also enjoy the works of Tchaikovsky, Schumann, Beethoven and other great artists. Season subscriptions are available and single tickets are on sale now.

“Symphony Tacoma is delighted to be able to once again gather with audiences to share the richness of one of the most exciting and longest-living performance media. While we have awaited this return with great anticipation, our online programming held us through a difficult time, and I wish to thank everyone for watching from home and sustaining us this last year,” said Executive Director Karina Bharne.

Symphony Tacoma has been an anchor performing arts institution in the community. Started as a volunteer orchestra in 1946, it evolved into a professional orchestra whose leaders have been willing to break traditional barriers and truly be an orchestra of the community. For 20 years, Symphony Tacoma was led by Maestro Harvey Felder, one of only a few Black conductors leading mid-sized orchestras at the time. And with Sarah Ioannides as the current music director, the Symphony is among a small percentage of orchestras in the nation led by a woman. But the Symphony sees that their work is not over.

“Up until now, our focus on fostering inclusivity has been on educational efforts serving students in Title I schools. Gradually we are infusing new and different voices into other areas—from world premieres with socially impactful themes to presenting music from young, female and BIPOC composers and guest artists,” stated Bharne.

During its COVID closure, the Symphony produced a variety of virtual performances which can be found on their YouTube page. One of these productions is a preview of Tacoma Method, an opera composed by PLU professor Dr. Gregory Youtz and developed in conjunction with Tacoma’s Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation that is centered around the expulsion of the Chinese population from Tacoma in the late 1800s. ST had planned to perform the opera in November 2020, but it was postponed due to COVID-19. The virtual program presents three dramatic arias performed by New York mezzo-soprano Hai-Ting Chinn as a glimpse into the full story which will premiere in a future season.

“I look forward to celebrating this important milestone with a season that reaches further and invites the future of classical music to engulf you with deep inspiration, reflection and passion,” noted Music Director Sarah Ioannides.

vHILLARY RYAN

For Additional Information and Tickets symphoonytacoma.org

SHOWCASE MAGAZINE 23