Schermerhorn Symphony Center

We are now on the southwest corner of the Schermerhorn Symphony Center—named in honor of the late Maestro Kenneth Schermerhorn. He led the Grammy Award-winning Nashville Symphony for twenty-two years. In addition to a beautiful building, which opened in 2006, the Schermerhorn also features several notable artworks which are located on the symphony hall grounds and along the exterior.

The Recording Angel built by Audrey Flack is a bronze statue standing fourteen feet tall on its marble base. Pay close attention to this statue’s location between the Schermerhorn Symphony Center and the Country Music Hall of Fame. From the classical music of the symphony to the country, pop, and rock sounds of Nashville—this angel serves as a guardian for all those in the music-making business. The statue reaches out towards the Country Music Hall of Fame, with an inscription that speaks to the power of music: “The recording angel inscribes the tones that envelopes the heart and heal the bones, that lighten life’s toll, and soothe the soul.” 

Walk up the sidewalk toward Broadway just a few yards to reach The Flutist statue, which is located on your right. Press pause on the narration and hit play again when you reach the garden courtyard.

The Flutist is a marble sculpture by Hungarian artist Marton Varo—located in the Martha Rivers Ingram Garden Courtyard on Fourth Avenue. Soon after Maestro Schermerhorn’s death in 2005, Martha Ingram, one of the center’s main benefactors, said: “People should know something about the man for whom the center was named.” Kenneth’s ashes were placed below the statue of The Flutist in the garden. And, though his days of conducting the symphony are over, many believe that he still resides in spirit. To this day, the sound system will "gradually turn on and off sending a beaming sound throughout the entire building,” according to Alan Valentine, who is the President and CEO of the Nashville Symphony. Valentine said that when this happens, “The musicians just smile and say that it’s Kenneth making sure that everything is running smoothly.” 

Continue walking up the sidewalk on Fifth Avenue South until you reach the corner of the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Turn RIGHT and walk just past the fountain so that you can also see the front of the building, then hit play. 

The 1,860-seat symphony hall took just under three years to build at a cost of $123.5 million. Given that Nashville is known both as “Music City” and “the Athens of the South” it seems only fitting that the Schermerhorn features a Neo-Classical style and blends with other Nashville landmarks such as the full-scale Parthenon replica and Nashville’s Public Main Library. Look above the center’s main entrance to see the limestone relief sculpture Orpheus and Eurydice created by Ray Kaskey of Washington D.C. On the corner, view The Birth of Apollo. Casey Eskridge of Avondale, Pennsylvania, created the bronze sculpture, which serves as the centerpiece to the large fountain located just off Fourth Avenue and Symphony Place.

During the May 2010 flood in Nashville, the building sustained significant damage as twenty-four feet of water filled the basement, damaging its air circulation system, instruments, and more. It was due to Martha Ingram’s generous donation that the building was able to reopen in 2013. Just days before the grand reopening, approximately four hundred people gathered in the garden, named after Martha, to surprise her and thank her for her contribution.

There is a fourth and final sculpture, but it is optional. If you would like to see the Nashville Firefighters Memorial walk past the building toward the river and turn RIGHT. The Nashville Firefighters Memorial is located northeast side of the center, and it may seem out of place, but its placement is near the original site of the Nashville Fire Station Number 9, now located a few blocks south. The bronze sculpture by RC “Bobby” Hunt and Richard Thompson was commissioned by the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Local Chapter 140 who dedicated it in November 2007.

Facing the front of Symphony Center, turn RIGHT and walk back to Fourth Avenue South. Turn RIGHT on Fourth Avenue South and walk to Broadway. Cross Broadway and then cross over to the other side of Fourth Avenue. Continue up the hill for half a block. The Ryman Auditorium and our next stop will be on your left.