I have been going to Seattle Symphony concerts for about twenty years. I have enjoyed the orchestra's spirited and committed performances, the good mix of soloists (from up-and-coming to world-famous), and some of the most varied repertoire offered by a professional orchestra. I will continue to support the Symphony; should a strike for a fair living wage come about, I do not feel that this will "taint" the musicians in any way. The misconception that a professional musician's life is an easy one could not be more inaccurate: the continuous refinement of individual skills, hours of practicing outside of rehearsals and concerts, adjusting to the beats and interpretations and temperaments of dozens of conductors every season, merciless self-criticism, and adhering to constantly fluctuating working hours are just some of what goes into making a two-hour concert a success. The Seattle Symphony's musicians take justifiable pride in what they do, and deserve their public's support to the fullest.

I do go to the Seattle Symphony concerts. I think they are an important part of Seattle's cultural scene and that the musicians show their love of music in their performances. I look forward to the internal differences being worked out so the public can continue to enjoy the great music-making.

I think the Seattle Symphony is a very important part of the city's cultural scene. I agree with sl23, all organizations have some skeletons in the closet. I believe the Seattle Symphony musicians to be talented and professional individuals that come together as a team to create something beautiful and special and we should really respect them for doing such a great job, even as there are rifts in the management and finance departments.

In this rainy Seattle, what would you do?

Seattle Art Museum/Seattle Symphony concerts plus a dinner in a restaurant is one of my favorite treats.
It is great to have two of these wonderful arts right in busy Seattle downtown!
I enjoy them very much.

Bigger or small, any businesses have gossips like them...

Yes we do go to the Seattle Symphony Concerts. And it is with great pleasure to see and hear some of the best musicians in Seattle. I beleive Management had better get their act together before WE all lose something very special in our community

L&M in Auburn

I attend occasionally and enjoy it thoroughly. This is an important community and educational institution. It deserves a vision and commitment that will enrich future generations.

Yes! It is so important to have a symphony in Seattle, especially in today's technology, fast paced, mass produced society! I am always amazed when people do not see value in the arts. Our culture, as does any culture, needs the arts. We need to support the symphony. Maybe now, more than ever.

The Symphony is so important to our city. We go to concerts, have been season ticket holders, and have children who have learned to play string instruments, in part because of the heritage we have in Seattle from the Symphony. I truly hope that the differences can be worked out so the musicians can do what they do best.... play beautiful music.

Please keep the orchestra strong. The city and the region benefits from it greatly.

I live on the East Coast. I've never been to Seattle. But if I had the chance to see the Seattle Symphony, I would not miss it. I have heard them on the radio and on recordings. (Radio was a while ago.) They are a treasure. The musicians that make up such a symphony are a product of great talent and many years of hard work. In most fields, such accomplished performers would command astronomical salaries. From what I have read about this situation, it sounds like the board thinks it can get out of a whole by digging deeper. It makes no sense to compromise an orchestra precisely when it needs to be infused with more support. As to the question of whether it is an important part of Seattle, I would ask whether or not the concerts are well attended. If they are not, maybe Seattle is not a first-class city deserving of such an orchestra. If they are, I wonder how Seattle can justify the expense of the Seahawks, who play 8 home games each year if they cannot see the value of an excellent symphony orchestra.

Despite the management issues, the Seattle Symphony continues to play superbly, and I truly enjoy the many fine concerts I attend. Isn't that what it's all about? Hopefully the organization will get sorted out before too much damage is done, but the best thing everyone can do is to support the fine musicians and fill the hall.

Absolutely...I have gone for years and what I look forward to is a new music director with fresh ideas and more repertoire choices. David Robertson would be a great choice BTW. The concert with Leila was the hottest ever...in all ways imaginable. Bring on the Messiaen and Philip Glass!! That said, I will be there tomorrow for the legendary Kurt Masur and Bruckner 4.

I play the cello because of the Seattle Symphony!  I can't imagine this city without this orchestra.  What kind of world are we living in???

I go! I care! They have many cool concerts like Psycho, Cirque de la Symphonie, Ben Folds, Pink Martini and Marvin Hamlish, on top of their standard classical concerts. The musicians work hard for their pay.
I'm looking forward to hearing the concert this week. World renowned German conductor, Kurt Masur, conducting Bruckner!

Yes. Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Yes. Yes!

Of course Seattle cares about the Symphony! It's vital to have a professional orchestra in this highly cultural city, where the same musicians also perform for the internationally respected Seattle Opera. They not only create a forum for new works, they play the masterpieces of the past and give new generations the chance to hear works like Beethoven's Ninth and Handel's "Messiah" live. Furthermore, the musicians make possible an entire community of teachers, students, chamber musicians and composers. It is a privilege just to walk into Benaroya Hall. I can't imagine not going.

I do go to the symphony and Seattle definitely needs a symphony orchestra. I think that one of the most important things about a city is it's culture. New York, London, Paris..., all these cities are beloved and visited by millions of people partly because of the culture experience that they offer. Institutions like the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle Opera...., only enrich the lives of the Seattle community.

As a student hoping for a career in music, I attend the symphony as often as I can afford to. It's an excellent group musically, and if they fold the nearest orchestra anywhere near as good would be Portland. Yes there are amateur orchestras in the Seattle area, but it's absolutely worth the price (or more) to hear such a fine group of musicians. No community band could replace these artists, and I hope not to lose their example and inspiration.

I think the citizens of Seattle deserve to have a great symphony orchestra!! They perform TRULY amazing works of art and nothing can match the excitment of hearing these works in live performance! Take, for example, Tchaikovsky's last symphony, the Pathetique, written at the end of a life full of heartbreak and struggle. (And performed recently by the Seattle Symphony.) This piece will take you on a 60 minute long emotional JOURNEY through gut-wrenchingly beautiful melodies, soulful harmonies, and rich symphonic colors, all pouring out of 100 passionate artists onstage! Such music has the power to move your soul... Seattle is known as a town that cares about the the arts and the Symphony is a very important part of that landscape! Go to a concert - hear it for yourself! (Hip cities like LA and New York are rallying around their orchestras and energetic new conductors - lets see our orchestra through this rough patch!)

What kind of question is "Does Seattle even need a symphony?" Should we just let all arts organizations die? If we don't need a symphony, than I guess we don't need the opera or ballet (goodbye Nutcracker) or the art museum. I mean really, who "needs" to see displays of Michaelangelo's drawings, or hear Tchaikovsky's music with Mauice Sendak's art design, or experience Hillary Hahn in Benaroya Hall? OF COURSE Seattle, and every major city, needs an orchestra. These organizations can certainly be flawed, just like every business, but it is vital to preserve an art that already has such a small place in our culture. The Seattle Symphony is absolutely necessary to our vibrant artistic community. Finally, when the Crocodile Cafe temporarily closed, I highly doubt that anyone at The Stranger was asking if Seattle really "needed" such a fantastic, historical venue such as that. Saying we don't "need" a symphony isn't any less ridiculous.

I am quite certain that Seattle needs a symphony. Symphonic music is well worth preserving, and deserves to be performed for those who like it, usually people who are mentally capable of handling complexity.

Big cities typically pride themselves on having a symphony, in part because it distinguishes them from podunk lumber towns, in part because it shows they care about higher things than mere survival, things such as cultural diversity.

I'm much less certain Seattle needs a newspaper that wastes its time and resources to question whether or not Seattle needs a symphony; however, I continue to believe in the value of a free press, despite individual examples of mental masturbation masquerading as intellectual inquiry. If you have difficulty with some of these concepts, dear Stranger, I suggest you ask an adult to enlighten you.

Yes!! yes!! yes!!! Please don't let this historic institution crumble! The symphony brings tremendous joy and escape from a stressful world, not to mention the opportunity to hear a variety of works beautifully performed by a world class orchestra.

YES!!! The Seattle Symphony and its members have been an integral part of my musical education to date. Not only do they have fantastic players in their orchestra, but they bring in many great players and conductors from around the world. Of course they have had rocky times, but that can be said about most major symphony orchestras in this country. If Seattle were to lose the Symphony the city would suffer an immense loss artistically and culturally.

Yes !! Who does not love SSO ? ! It is fun and beautiful. They accompany great artists and are a true source of peace away from our daily work work work !!

Yes I go. And OFTEN! There are little enough resources for high-quality entertainment in todays' world. We need this source of positive, peaceful, relaxing and beautiful experience as individual people and as a community.

Is Seattle a community of notable consequence? Is it a city of cultural significance? Has Seattle a true intellectual and emotional life? Is anything going on there beside banality and triteness? Should the city continue to embrace a half-millennium of accomplishment expressing mankind's premier non-objective art?

The answers are, respectively, yes!, yes!, yes!, and yes! The real question is not whether Seattle needs a major symphony orchestra, but whether it deserves such a fabulous gift.

I absolutely love the symphony--a real treat every time I go! I definitely support our skilled musicians, and encourage all those involved in negotiations to press on in this process. I am grateful for the hours and hours of practice and hard work that goes into each performance, and support fair wages for our musicians. I look forward with hope to many more years of beautiful music in Seattle.

Yes we need it, it's part of an uplifted environment and essential to everyone's well-being. The money it takes is a pittance in return for the benefits it provides - the display of beauty as a clue to a sane emotional life. Any organization functions esentially like a family, there are ups and downs - so what? Of course I would keep going regardless.

Yes, I go!! Not as often as I would like, but I always enjoy and appreciate it. I know they've had difficulties.... but what institution hasn't? OF COURSE Seattle needs its symphony! Musicians need jobs -- and we the people need MUSIC! The "business model" is a tragically limited and short-sighted yardstick with which to evaluate whether or not the SSO should exist. Measured by "business model," is there any art that could survive? I agree with Robert Shaw, who said: "In a world of political, economic, and personal disintegration, music is not a luxury but a necessity, not simply because it is therapeutic nor because it is the "universal language", but because it is the persistent focus of man's intelligence, aspiration, and good will."

Yes I go at least four times each academic season. I also go to the Seattle Chamber Music Society concert series every M,W,F i July. I also go to every Simple Measures concert (usually 4/year). I am interested in many of the concerts at Town Hall but do not always go. I also ocassionally go to Esoteric's concerts and Medieval Women's chorus concerts. Yes, it is a good thing to have the symphony. I am lookng forward to some new leadership and revived enthusiasm amoungst the orchestra members when Schwartz moves on in 2011. The strike should be avoided by working together to make the SSO viable and strong.

Yes, yes, yes!! Without our wonderful Symphony, the world class opera would suffer, broadway shows that rely on pickup orchestras would suffer, PNB would suffer. We have world class musicians here, brought by our world class symphony. Seattle needs to keep this orchestra here and furthermore should do whatever necessary to maintain the fine standard it has achieved over these many years. Attending symphony concerts brings me (and many others) into the city to enjoy pre-concert dining and the occasional post-concert appertif. Attending the symphony is an oasis in the desert of politics and bad news. Save the symphony, even if we have to sell a sports team to do it!!!

I have had season tickets to the Seattle Symphony for more than 20 years, currently subscribing to the Musically Speaking series. I enjoy the concerts immensely--even the selections I might not want to hear again. Hopefully, there will not be a strike, and I would also hope that the Symphony management recognizes the orchestra for the treasure it is. Replacing the contracted musicians who provide expertise, professionalism, and commitment both to the orchestra and the area with part timers, as competent as they might be, would be short sighted in the short run and devastating for the future.

I love the SSO.
I subscribe to the Masterpiece series and several others and have been doing so for the past 17 years.
I would continue to support them through troubled times.

The most important part of the organization Seattle Symphony are the musicians. They are the "product"...what we all see and most importantly hear. I sincerely hope that management does not get in the way, but instead make it easier for the musicians to concentrate on doing what they do best: present high level concerts. Seattle most definitely needs a symphony. What would our country become without culture?

Seattle is a major city with a major symphony orchestra.It has quite a sterling history.Some wonderful conductors have been at the healm and have greatly improved the quality to a very high caliber.It would be unconscionable and a tremendous blow to this city and region if the orchestra was left to disappear from the roster of major American orchestras.All who are concerned with the welfare of the Seattle Symphony and understands its importance,must get involved in every way possible to keep this storied and treasured organization at its highest level.

While I live further out from Seattle, I have heard the Symphony on a few occasions and own a number of their recordings. It is a fantastic group, performing at the highest level in my opinion.
No, I do not think that at their degree of artistry the musicians will be "tainted" by a strike. Just like the rest of us they are trying to preserve their ability to survive and support families and children.
Moreover, in a world that chooses war, fast food and even faster technology, this art form is still there to keep us thinking of the better things in life. In this world that prefers everything to be given out on a silver platter, art keeps us imagining and thinking.
I hope it is still there to keep our children and grandchildren cultured as well !!!
Every art institution, or educational institution that goes under or gives up on it's high level is a loss for us and a bigger loss for future generations who will not know what they missed out on.
I believe we should all support this art institution as if it is the last one.

Yes, I go to the Seattle Symphony! I feel privileged to attend concerts by this great orchestra, which is among the best in the country. And I come a long way to do so - all the way from Port Angeles. I attend a Sunday afternoon series so I can make the trip - over 6 hrs. - in one day without staying over in Seattle. The performances always leave me feeling that I spent my time well filling me with the wonderful sound of such a great group of musicians. I especially enjoy the variety of conductors and artists that come to perform with the symphony. I would be very disappointed if I didn't have such an opportunity here in the NW.

Some might say that the Seattle Symphony is not performing a vital service like the electritions of seattle or the machanics of seattle. However, the element of culture the symphony brings to our city is truly irreplacable, and the loss of that culture would result highly change the impression and credibility of our city. Many pride themselves on the versitility and culture in Seattle and without the enormous contribution of the Symphony, the exposure residents gain to the arts would diminish highly. This week the Symphony has been proving in their performances of Mozart and Bruckner with Kurt Masur that they are more than a group of musicians, but a magical ensemble. They have proven that the Symphony could never be "tainted" because music is music and on they're stage it is magic. As the people who recieve such an honor as to be granted with that music, we owe it to them and the community to preserve it.

Yes, Seattle absolutely needs a symphony. It is a huge part of the cultural identity of our city and provides numerous opportunities for educating young students about music.

I am a displaced Seattle native, I have not enjoyed the artistry of the SSO for nearly 3 years and I miss it. Recordings are great but they can't take you where a live performance by incredibly talented musiceans can.

Every vibrant city across the globe has an orchastra, maybe Seattle is not really ready to take a place on such a stage. Perhaps we should look to Bellevue, Tacome, Everett or Yakima to pickup the baton, all have orchastra now. Perhaps Redmond or Issaquah would be interested in establishing a symphony. They could get a critically aclaimed orchastra ranked 8th in the country without having to go through the years that it takes to bring such talent together and with the obvious management capability they probably would not need more than one staffer for each player resulting in balanced books!

What Seattle needs and we all deserve is a management team at the SSO that is professional and accountable to the community it serves in a transparent manner.

I love going to the symphony! Seattle is truly lucky to have such a gem - the musicianship is fantastic, the guest artists are top-notch, and the programs are varied and interesting. It would be a travesty to lose them.

My wife and I attend Seattle Symphony events and enjoy them very much. We would be very disappointed to lose this valuable resource in Seattle.

I moved to Seattle to study music. Attending SSO concerts is part of my studies! It would be shameful and disastrous if Seattle did not have a symphony, every other important city has one and Seattle's is one of the best!

Personally I feel the Symphony is a very important piece of Seattle's art scene. I don't attend that much, but do subscribe to the opera, which uses Symphony players. I think it would be a blow to Seattle to lose its Symphony or a significant number of players though -- you can't be a real world-class city without a quality orchestra. I hope the management takes a long-term view and does what it can to invest in and keep the talent here.

Yes we go, yes we enjoy it. Not sure if i would cross a picket line. Being an unemployed IT worker (outsourced) i find my attitude about unions has changed a bit.

I do care. I voted against the stadium. I appreciate sports but prefer to participate rather then pay grown men to be my segregate. The arts are a little different. I wonder what the Symphony budget is verse what the state is paying for 2 stadiums. Where would Seattle be on the map if they voted to spend a billion $ on education and the arts. We don't even have room for local student to transfer into UW.

Yes we do need a first rate symphony as well as an arts Czar!

But it think that our problem is indicative of what is happening around the country. I think I read an article about pay cuts in Cleveland.

I do go, and I think they're one of the best in the country. It's very rare to hear such passion and expression. They deserve the full support and aggressive fund-raising efforts of their board.

Private donations (and lots of them) are important to arts institutions not just because the artists deserve a living wage (though they do), and not just because it's fashionable or charitable or hoity-toity to make them. Donations exist to keep ticket prices low enough so that EVERYONE can partake of the great art, and we as a society believe that EVERYONE deserves access to these institutions of great art. That's why there is government support, and where government falls short there is private support.

I hope the current situation can be resolved, so that the musicians are supported and can continue to provide great music to the city, the region, and the world. I'm sure the 120,000+ people who see the SSO live every year would agree!

Yes, I attend the Symphony. In fact, I'm going this evening.
I go BECAUSE I enjoy it.
Your third question is a bit tricky...do you mean, would I cross a picket line to see a scab symphony? No.
Would I keep going if a strike occurred and was resolved, regardless of the battles and new management? It would depend on how the current musicians in the Symphony feel about these issues. I am fully in support of them. They have been emotionally and otherwise beaten down for several years and are currently being strong-armed by a management negotiator who has destroyed at least one other orchestra in his history.
I think the fact that I care is evident, and yes, Seattle needs a symphony.

It also could use an NBA franchise, but that's another story altogether...or is it? We seem to be satisfied being a mediocre city in many ways.

My wife and I have been going to Seattle Symphony for nearly ten years, even though we live in Port Angeles and it is three hours in and three hours back. It is entirely worth it, or we would not do it. We have never been to concert at Benaroya Hall we did not thoroughly enjoy, even if there was a piece here or there that we were unfamiliar with and did not care to hear the piece again. We consider the SSO one of the finest in the world and with the finest string and brass sections we have heard, and we are very familiar with many other orchestras. It is not as if we didn't have other venues available, Port Angeles is the smallest city in the US with a full (and fine!) orchestra that we love. Seattle Symphony Orchestra is entirely worth the 6 hour round trip for us!

Yes, I do attend the symphony and thoroughly enjoy each time I go. They are a class act full of dedicated musicians. The institution is important to the fabric of our city. I do care about the future of this organization and sincerely hope a strike can be avoided.

I used to go.
I used to be a season subscriber.
I used to donate.
I used to volunteer at Soundbridge. Then one day somebody upstairs decided something and had security toss me out. The last I heard from the brain damaged head of that sick institution was a threat to have me arrested because they found me on the sidewalk outside the building talking to a friend.
Except for the high regard I have for the musicians and a few people I know from my time there, the SSO can go to hell in a bucket of coal.