Symphony Space
Mission:
Symphony Space fosters artistically and culturally diverse performing arts, literary, and film programs that bring artists and audiences together in an atmosphere of exploration and intimacy. Reaching audiences throughout New York City, the wider metropolitan area, and – through distribution of programs via media such as radio, recordings, podcasts and touring – the nation, we:
- Present and produce a calendar of innovative, multidisciplinary arts events;
- Provide a first-rate affordable facility for artists and producers;
- Nurture relationships with established and emerging artists and other cultural organizations who will use Symphony Space as a venue for adventurous artistic growth;
- Take a position of leadership in curriculum-based arts education for children and adults.
Symphony Space’s two-fold operating philosophy is to create and present its own artistic offering and, at the same time, to support artists’ own endeavors and enrich our calendar by providing a subsidized rental facility.
HIstory:
Symphony Space got its start on January 9, 1978. That day, Isaiah Sheffer and Allan Miller opened the padlocked doors to the Symphony Theatre to the hundreds of people waiting in the cold to see Wall to Wall Bach, the first of many free twelve-hour music marathons that would become a signature event. The building had started life as a public market, and at various times it was an ice skating rink, boxing arena and movie theatre. It took two unique visionaries to see that this down-at-the-heels theatre would be embraced by its cultured and educated neighbors and become the centerpiece of the Upper West Side Renaissance.
As that first Wall to Wall drew to a close late in the winter night, hundreds of professional and amateur singers raised their voices to join with a pick-up orchestra of classical stars and neighborhood professionals in the stunningly evocative Bach B-minor Mass. It was an inspiring event to those lucky enough to be there, but it also made it to national television, courtesy of Morton Dean and the CBS Evening News. New Yorkers had come together to create their own performing arts center, and Symphony Space was born.
Thirty one years later, a neighborhood favorite has become a New York institution - and Symphony Space still brings artists and audiences together to make magic. A packed house listening intently as an actor conjures up the mood of a short story…the soulful notes of a jazz trumpet fading into the night...children laughing with glee at the antics of a master puppeteer...dancers creating rhythmic patterns across a darkened stage...high school students cheering one of their own as she accepts congratulations after a public reading of her work...images of cinematic brilliance flickering across a screen…families coming together to watch their kids rock out...this is Symphony Space today.
Peter Jay Sharp Theatre Seating Chart:
Address:
Symphony Space
2537 Broadway
New York, NY 10025
Phone: 212-864-5400
Site: www.symphonyspace.org
