Seattle Symphony Expands 2021–2022 Season

The Seattle Symphony has announced additional exciting programming in the upcoming 2021-2022 season. Joining previously announced core repertoire in the Delta Air Lines Masterworks Series and John & Ginny Meisenbach Foundation Pops Series, expanded programming includes special performances and recitals with featured guest artists, the brand-new immersive Octave 9 Series, chamber concerts showcasing Symphony musicians, and Baroque music performed by its foremost interpreters.

Special Performances and In Recital Series

Star soloists are set to grace the Benaroya Hall stage in dazzling displays of technique and artistry. Next season's In Recital Series features premier pianists of this generation. Jan Lisiecki performs an all-Chopin program on January 25. In April, audiences can also look forward to performances by Yuja Wang and Nobuyuki Tsujii.

The iconic violinist Itzhak Perlman returns to Seattle on January 18, leading concertgoers through an evening of music and storytelling with anecdotes and personal photos from his extraordinary life and career. Sensational pianist Lang Lang also returns to Benaroya Hall on March 22 to perform J.S. Bach's venerated Goldberg Variations.

The Seattle Symphony presents one of the season's most highly anticipated special performances on March 20, 2022 - the 14th annual Celebrate Asia concert. Each year, Celebrate Asia honors Seattle's Asian American community by exploring the rich musical traditions of Asian countries and their contributions to the music of today. The program features two Symphony-commissioned works by acclaimed composers Reena Esmail - who will serve as the Symphony's Composer in Residence in the upcoming season - and Tan Dun. The orchestra's Principal Trombone Ko-ichiro Yamamoto performs the U.S. premiere of Tan Dun's Trombone Concerto. Known for her "singing violin" and for revolutionizing vocalized Hindustani violin technique, Kala Ramnath then joins the orchestra to give the world premiere of Reena Esmail's Violin Concerto. The program also includes Toshio Hosokawa's Meditation, written in memory of the victims of the 2011 tsunami in Tōhoku, and Debussy's La mer; Kahchun Wong is set to conduct.

Octave 9 Series & [untitled] 2022

The Symphony's 2021-2022 season will see the launch of the all-new Octave 9 Series in January 2022. The five-concert series set in the Symphony's newest venue, Octave 9: Raisbeck Music Center, will feature acclaimed champions of new music as they bring to life works by revered and emerging composers of the era.

Situated in downtown Seattle's Benaroya Hall, Octave 9: Raisbeck Music Center opened its doors on March 3, 2019 and is the first performance space of its kind, providing an immersive environment for inventive performances. Outfitted with the sonically dynamic Meyer Sound Constellation acoustic system and 360° of projection surface customization, the intimate venue is designed to transform the performance experience for musicians and audiences alike.

In the upcoming season, the artists and composers slated to present their collaborations with Seattle Symphony musicians in the inaugural Octave 9 Series test the boundaries of creative possibility. The series explores the art and music that lie in the intersection of vision and sound. From January through May, each month features a new installment of the series.

Boston-based Hub New Music and Silkroad Ensemble shakuhachi artist Kojiro Umezaki open the Octave 9 Series in January with Tied Together, a program featuring new works from composers of the Asia/America New Music Institute, building dialogue between eastern and western musical traditions.

In February, HOCKET piano duo presents #What2022SoundsLike, a follow-up to their critically acclaimed #What2020SoundsLike digital album, which collected commissioned works from composers across the nation to reflect on their pandemic experience. HOCKET invites new works from seven emerging composers for #What2022SoundsLike in a two-part celebratory program dedicated to a hopeful future emerging from the pandemic. The first concert takes place in Octave 9 and features works by Sakari Vanderveer, Jen Shyu and Jane Meenaghan. The second companion concert will be presented as [untitled] 2022 in the Samuel & Althea Stroum Grand Lobby of Benaroya Hall with HOCKET and Symphony musicians premiering four new commissions by Hitomi Oba, Jonathan Richards and HOCKET's Sarah Gibson and Thomas Kotcheff.

Violinist Kala Ramnath precedes her March Celebrate Asia concert with Ragamala: A Journey into Hindustani Music, featuring ensemble performances with Symphony musicians. Curated by Composer in Residence Reena Esmail, the program takes the audience through a musical journey of improvisation blended with new composition.

In April, Seattle Symphony Clarinet Eric Jacobs brings to the series newly commissioned works for singing clarinet and electronics by Angélica Negrón and Peter Shin. Evolution of Voices explores the ways musicians use their voices and their space in their communities in a program conceived for the acoustic and visual capabilities of Octave 9.

The Octave 9 Series closes in May with 'Bells': Piano & Electronics, featuring pianist Anthony Romaniuk. In collaboration with composer Scott Worthington, the two combine the piano works of composers like Purcell, Beethoven, Glass and Ligeti with electronic soundscapes, in an acclaimed showcase of contrasting musical styles.

Chamber Series

Seattle Symphony musicians take center stage to present an exquisite collection of chamber works in the upcoming season's Chamber Series. The three-concert series sees performances on November 2, April 19 and May 3.

Series highlights include the complete Beethoven Cello Sonatas Nos. 1-5; string quartets by Shostakovich and Arensky; Beethoven's Horn Sextet; Portland-based composer Kenji Bunch's bluegrass- and funk-inspired String Circle; and Wynton Marsalis' jazz-infused A Fiddler's Tale Suite.

Baroque & Wine Series

The beloved Baroque & Wine Series returns to its full form next season, with an evening of Baroque music paired with wine tastings at Benaroya Hall. Performances feature the leading interpreters of Baroque repertoire conducting and performing works by Handel, J.S. Bach, Sammartini, Corelli, Muffat and more.

Joining the concert for the three-concert series are harpsichordist Jory Vinikour on October 22 and 23; violinist Elisa Citterio on March 11 and 12; and harpsichordist and organist Anthony Romaniuk on May 20 and 21. Other featured soloists include Seattle Symphony musicians First Assistant Concertmaster Eduardo Rios, Associate Principal Flute Jeffrey Barker and PONCHO Principal Viola Susan Gulkis Assadi.

For more information on the Seattle Symphony's 2021-2022 season, please visit the Seattle Symphony Press Room. Details about tickets for the current series offerings can be found at seattlesymphony.org/subscribe.

Health and Safety

The Seattle Symphony's top priority remains the well-being of its patrons, staff and musicians. The organization has carefully planned for the safe return of audiences to Benaroya Hall. Comprehensive health and safety measures have been implemented to accommodate limited-capacity in-person audiences in the current season. Such measures includes controlled air filtration, rigorous cleaning procedures and health screening protocol, among others.

Select concerts will be available in the 2021-2022 season through Seattle Symphony Live, the Symphony's streaming service.

Additional guidelines for in-person concert attendance will be announced as the upcoming season approaches. The Seattle Symphony looks forward to welcoming everyone back to Benaroya Hall soon.

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