More than two weeks after the floods, the Schermerhorn's basement was still filled with over 20 feet of water; Nashville Symphony president and CEO Alan Valentine told a local television station that the water was within five inches of the slab that is the concert hall's main floor.
Not even five years since its opening, Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center, home to the Nashville Symphony, has been seriously damaged by the flooding that has plagued Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mississippi. The hall is located in downtown Nashville, where the Cumberland River crested over 51 feet; the area received in just two days what amounted to a quarter of its typical yearly rainfall, and the hall’s two basements quickly filled with over 5.25 million gallons of water. More than two weeks after the floods, the Schermerhorn's basement was still filled with over 20 feet of water; Nashville Symphony president and CEO Alan Valentine told a local television station that the water was within five inches of the slab that is the concert hall's main floor.
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In the immediate short-term, Nashville has had to scramble to find alternate venues for high-profile visitors and hometown players. A performance by Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet on May 15, as well as a Nashville Symphony performance featuring mezzo Denyce Graves on May 20, were relocated to the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, a venue more accustomed to hosting Broadway touring productions than classical orchestras. But in the midst of these hardships, the musicians of the symphony and singer-songwriter Christopher Cross performed a free concert on May 7 in the city's Public Square to buoy the spirits of their fellow Nashvillites. |
That generosity is being reciprocated: Naxos, the Nashville Symphony’s longtime label, is planning to soon release an album to help the orchestra rebound, with all net proceeds benefiting the ensemble. In addition, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Dudamel, and Thibaudet—who had hand-picked one of the Steinways lost in the flooding—have donated $25,000 towards the orchestra's rebuilding efforts.
Filled with natural light, the shoebox-shaped hall was built at a cost of $123 million, and is one of the most important classical music venues in the Southeast. The flooding caused heavy damage to the Schermerhorn’s pipe organ, a $2.5M Schoenstein instrument that was installed in 2007: both the operating mechanism and console have been affected. Two Steinway concert grand pianos were destroyed, as were a kitchen, and the center’s heating and cooling equipment. While nothing above ground was damaged, administrators say that the venue will be closed until at least September.
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by Anastasia Tsioulcas
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