Summary

Nationally recognized Orchestra wins first Grammy

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The Metropolitan King County Council today recognized the Seattle Symphony, a beloved local institution that received its first Grammy Award in the 111-year history of the orchestra.

“It was an honor and a pleasure to highlight this latest in a long string of honors bestowed upon our Seattle Symphony Orchestra,” said Council Vice Chair Jane Hague, the sponsor of the recognition. “Even though this is their very first Grammy, I’m confident there will be more in their future.”

Led by Music Director Ludovic Morlot, the Symphony was recognized for the “Best Contemporary Classical Composition” for its recording of Become Ocean by John Luther Adams, a composition commissioned by the Seattle Symphony. In addition to this award, the Symphony was nominated for an additional five 2015 Grammy Awards.

Over the last two decades, the Seattle Symphony has grown from a regional orchestra to a nationally recognized group. It is now considered one of the top 15 orchestras in the nation.

Always a source of entertainment, the Symphony has also become a regional cultural resource. They symphony’s extensive education and community-engagement programs reach over 100,000 children and adults each year.

WHEREAS, the Seattle Symphony, founded in 1903, is one of America’s leading symphony orchestras and is internationally acclaimed for its innovative programming and extensive recording history; and

WHEREAS, the symphony is heard live from September through July by more than 300,000 people annually, and its extensive education and community engagement programs reach over 100,000 children and adults each year; and

WHEREAS, under the leadership of Music Director Ludovic Morlot since September 2011, the symphony has become one of the most forward-looking orchestras in America, reflecting the energy and spirt of innovation in Seattle and the region; and

WHEREAS, the symphony has to its credit more than 140 recordings, two Emmy Awards, and eighteen Grammy nominations; and

WHEREAS, by commissioning many works from living composers each season, the Seattle Symphony has shown a deep and abiding commitment to new music; and

WHEREAS, the symphony commissioned a composition from John Luther Adams that it premiered in June 2013, and this composition, “Become Ocean,” won a Pulitzer Prize for Adams in 2014; and

WHEREAS, in an unprecedented season of six Grammy nominations in five categories, the Seattle Symphony’s recording of “Become Ocean” won the “Best Contemporary Classical Composition” award at the 2015 Grammy Awards;

NOW, THEREFORE, we, the Metropolitan King County Council, recognize the

for its historic first win of a Grammy award and congratulate the musicians, music director, staff, and board on this honor.

DATED this twenty-second day of June, 2015.