Seattle Symphony receives $5.6 million to Recovery Fund to launch 2021-22 Season

Seattle Symphony receives $5.6 million to Recovery Fund to launch 2021-22 Season

Symphony Opening Night Gala raises $1.6 million for music community and education programs

Symphony Recovery Fund receives $3 million from philanthropist Joan Watjen

Additional $1 million donated to fund by Sherry and the late James Raisbeck

Seattle, WA — The Seattle Symphony’s 2021–2022 season was officially launched on September 18, 2021, and its road to recovery following the onset of the pandemic has seen recent transformational support.

This past weekend, the Symphony’s Opening Night Gala on Saturday, September 18, raised $1.6 million. The fundraising event was held at Benaroya Hall and celebrated the season’s start with a concert that featured the world premiere of Composer in Residence Reena Esmail’s RE|Member, a Seattle Symphony co-commission, alongside Richard Strauss’s Don Juan and Stravinsky’s iconic Firebird Suite. The Opening Night Gala honored Charles and Lisa Simonyi for their philanthropic support of the Symphony and recognized the inaugural President’s Council, a group of principal supporters instrumental to the Symphony’s resilience and innovation during the pandemic. The funds raised will go toward supporting the organization’s broad spectrum of programming and initiatives during this pandemic recovery period.

Furthering fundraising efforts, the Seattle Symphony is pleased to announce the launch of the Symphony Recovery Fund, which recently received $3 million as a lead gift from philanthropist Joan Watjen, who sought to alleviate the pandemic’s impact on the Symphony and its musicians. An additional $1 million was contributed by longtime Symphony supporters Sherry and the late James Raisbeck. The combined $4 million gifted to the Symphony Recovery Fund, alongside ongoing support from the Symphony’s entire family of donors, will restore orchestra musician compensation (which had been reduced due to the pandemic’s effect on the orchestra’s budget) as part of ongoing efforts to return the Symphony to full operations this season.

These gifts prove especially valuable as they help to offset the lasting damage the pandemic inflicted on the creative economy. Performing arts have been among the hardest hit, and the impact on independent nonprofit arts organizations like the Seattle Symphony has been far-reaching. During the pandemic, the overall percentage of Puget Sound arts, cultural and scientific nonprofits reporting staff furloughs and layoffs was a staggering 73%. In 2020, the professional musician unemployment rate jumped from 1.1% in 2019 to 27.1% (though the Seattle Symphony was able to maintain its musicians’ employment during the extended period without live audiences by implementing temporary salary reductions).

The Symphony Recovery Fund is a critical fundraising effort intended to expedite the orchestra’s recovery from the long-term impacts of the pandemic. These funds provide a lifeline to the Symphony by supporting the orchestra’s musicians and concert productions, and will position the Symphony to play a key role in the revitalization of the arts in downtown Seattle.

“My late husband Craig and I have drawn strength from music and the arts, particularly so in times of difficulty,” said Joan Watjen. “The pandemic has placed substantial hardship on musicians and their families, and I feel immense gratitude for the sacrifices they’ve made to keep producing music for all of us. These wonderful musicians are a part of our community. I hope this support inspires others to join in this effort to ensure that the arts recover fully and quickly, so that music can continue enriching our community for years to come." 

“We see the Seattle Symphony as a cultural cornerstone of downtown Seattle,” said the Raisbecks, before James Raisbeck’s recent passing. “The musicians are the lifeblood of the Symphony. When we learned about Joan’s leadership in launching the Recovery Fund, we knew this was critically important for our community. We wanted to join the effort toward aiding the Symphony’s recovery and easing the impact the pandemic has had on the musicians in the orchestra.”

The pandemic’s long-term effects on audience behavior and other aspects of the performing arts are yet to be seen, and the Symphony anticipates these effects will be felt for years to come. This has a direct impact on ticket sales, which normally account for half of the organization’s annual revenue. The Fund proactively bolsters efforts to rebuild the Symphony as quickly as possible and help sustain the musical vitality that the Symphony and its musicians provide within the Seattle arts community and beyond.

“The recovery of the arts sector is not simply a matter of opening a venue’s doors — it is the long road of restoring every layer of the organization after being damaged during the last 18 months,” said Seattle Symphony President & CEO Krishna Thiagarajan. “The Seattle Symphony is fortunate to be weathering this storm with supporters like Joan and the Raisbecks who value the people behind the organization as much as the music itself. We remain fully committed to retaining our wonderful musicians — without whom the Seattle Symphony’s music would not be possible — and emerging from this together.” 

“As musicians, we devote our lives to connecting with people through music,” said Alexander White, Seattle Symphony Associate Principal Trumpet and former Seattle Symphony & Opera Players’ Organization Chair. “While challenging, we made sacrifices so that our music would provide comfort, joy and inspiration. We are humbled by the generosity of Joan, James, Sherry and so many other orchestra supporters. They empower us to make music more boldly than ever, all while being here for our community — this is our home, too. On behalf of the musicians, we extend our sincerest gratitude and the promise to play on.”

Joan Watjen’s generous gift is made in memory of her late husband Craig. Well known for their donation of the 4,490 pipe Watjen Concert Organ in Benaroya Hall, the Watjen family has been a steadfast partner of the Seattle Symphony for three decades.

Sherry and the late James Raisbeck also have been longtime supporters of the Seattle Symphony and Benaroya Hall. In 2019, their foundational gift helped build Benaroya Hall’s innovative performance venue, Octave 9: Raisbeck Music Center. The Raisbeck’s immense generosity to the Symphony and throughout the community during James’ lifetime has made a lasting impact in Seattle, and the Symphony is honored to celebrate his legacy.

The Seattle Symphony is grateful for all who stepped forward to enable the reopening of Benaroya Hall and the launch of the 2021–2022 season. From leadership gifts to Annual Fund donations of all levels, the support the Symphony has received from its donor family is critical to the orchestra’s future.

Additional support is still needed to secure the Symphony’s full operational recovery during the anticipated multi-year recovery period. For more information about  ways to support the Symphony and its musicians, please visit www.seattlesymphony.org/give or contact Maria K. Yang, Vice President of Development, at maria.yang@seattlesymphony.org.

SEATTLE SYMPHONY

Led by Music Director Thomas Dausgaard, the Seattle Symphony unleashes the power of music, brings people together and lifts the human spirit. Recognized as one of the “most vital American orchestras” (NPR), the Seattle Symphony is internationally acclaimed for its inventive programming, community-minded initiatives and superb recordings on the Seattle Symphony Media label. With a strong commitment to new music and a legacy of over 150 recordings, the orchestra has garnered five Grammy Awards, 26 Grammy nominations, two Emmy Awards and was named Gramophone’s 2018 Orchestra of the Year. The Symphony performs in Benaroya Hall in the heart of downtown Seattle from September through July, reaching over 730,000 people annually through live performances and radio broadcasts.