Schermerhorn Symphony Center

Try saying Schermerhorn Symphony Center three times fast! Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center was opened to the public in 2006. Named in honor of former music director Kenneth Schermerhorn, the design was inspired by some of the world's great concert halls, many of which were built in Europe in the late nineteenth century. In addition to this state-of-the-art concert hall, Schermerhorn Symphony Center houses the Mike Curb Family Music Education Hall. The building regularly hosts concerts for schoolchildren and a wide variety of special events. Each year the organization reaches 60,000 children and adults with more than twenty free or low-cost programs, including Young People’s Concerts for K-12 students; sectional lessons with band and orchestra students; and free community concerts. 

If you’re in Nashville on a Saturday, be sure to check out the Saturday-morning Family Series concerts which are sensory friendly, offering a relaxed atmosphere for patrons of all ages and accommodating those with autism and other disabilities that cause sensory sensitivities. Family-friendly activities, including the Symphony’s Instrument Petting Zoo, begin one hour before all performances. We won’t enter the Schermerhorn on this tour, but outside there are several statues and kid-friendly discoveries.

First up, The Recording Angel 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® across the street. 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.” Can you see the two items she is holding in each hand? A quill and a compact disc, known as a CD, which was an early form of digital music. Again, she is tying in the music from the past with the music of today. Behind the Recording Angel you will find the treble clef bicycle racks, another shout out to Music City USA. 

Hit pause on the narration, walk along Fourth Avenue, towards Broadway, and stop at the sculpture and fountain named “Birth of the Apollo.” Resume the narration when you are ready.

The fountain and statue titled The Birth of Apollo is a fun feature near the entrance of the symphony center. Appropriately, Apollo is the Greek god of music, dance, poetry and more. And since Nashville is known as both “Music City” and “the Athens of the South,” you will see plenty of Greek and musical influences and images throughout the city. Have any pennies? Toss one in and make a wish!

Walk past the front entrance of the Schermerhorn. Take in its beautiful Greco-Roman architecture and Doric columns. Turn RIGHT around the far corner of the building to see one other statue and memorial to Nashville firefighters. Hit pause and resume the narration when you are ready.

In a small alcove on the left side of the building is the Nashville firefighters memorial. This bronze statue is near the original site of Nashville Fire Station Number 9, now located a few blocks south. Nashville’s first fire station was built in 1806! The modern Nashville Fire Department now has 38 fire stations, which house 39 engine companies, the trucks that carry water and fire pumps, and 12 ladder companies that can reach up to seven or eight stories of a building. There are over 1,000 firefighters today in Davidson County.

Fun Fact: There is no dress code to attend the Nashville symphony—although your parents may want you to put on something clean! As the current director explains: “The only thing that is required to enjoy the symphony are your ears.” The scramble letter for this stop is “Y” for “You can wear what you want.”

Walk towards Third Avenue South and locate the pedestrian crossing. Cross Third Avenue, and turn LEFT. You will see the Goo Goo Clusters Shop just a few buildings down on your right across from the Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline Museums.