Led by music director Giancarlo Guerrero, the Nashville Symphony has been an integral part of the Music City sound since 1946. In a typical year, the ensemble performs more than 150 concerts annually, with a focus on contemporary American orchestral music through collaborations with composers including Jennifer Higdon, Terry Riley, Joan Tower and Aaron Jay Kernis. The orchestra is equally renowned for its commissioning and recording projects with Nashville-based artists including bassist Edgar Meyer, banjoist Bela Fleck, singer songwriter Ben Folds and electric bassist Victor Wooten.
An established leader in Nashville's arts and cultural community, the Symphony has facilitated several community collaborations and initiatives, most notably Violins of Hope Nashville, which spotlighted a historic collection of instruments played by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust. This community-wide effort engaged tens of thousands of Middle Tennesseans in 2018 through concerts, exhibits, lectures and more, and represents one of the largest initiatives ever organized around the Violins of Hope. As part of the project, the Nashville Symphony commissioned Jonathan Leshnoff's Symphony No. 4 ""Heichalos"" for the Violins of Hope. The orchestra's recording of this work, which was premiered during a string of sold-out performances in Nashville, is now available on Naxos.
