Not since the era following World War II has Nashville seen such growth and consolidation in the performing arts as it has in the last few months. The ’40s and ’50s saw the founding of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, the beginnings of Cheekwood, and the establishment of Friends of Music. The ’90s have brought the maturation of the Cumberland Chamber Orchestra into the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, the combination of forces between TPAC and the Sarratt Performing Arts Series, new performing forces such as the Christ Church Schola Cantorum, tremendous growth in both the professionalism and offerings of the Nashville Symphony, and the promise of new, high-profile performance series and organizations.

Leading the way this new fall season is the venerable Ryman Auditorium. Built as the Union Gospel Tabernacle and completed in 1892, the Ryman had its secular uses from the very beginning. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the spirit of the Chatauqua movement combined the spirituality of religion with the inspiration of art and oratory, and this was very much a part of the early years at the Ryman. If the ghosts of the Ryman stage include the likes of Patsy Cline and Hank Williams, they also include political figures such as Theodore Roosevelt and William Jennings Bryan; the New York, Philadelphia, and Russian symphonies; singers Adelina Patti and Amelita Galli-Curci; pianists Ignace Jan Paderewski and Sergei Rachmaninoff; violinists Yehudi Menuhin and Fritz Kreisler; and such performing organizations as the Sousa Band and the Metropolitan Opera. Indeed, the stage at the Ryman was built for a 1901 performance of the Metropolitan Opera.

This tradition of performance returns to the Ryman in November with a concert by The Romeros, who open the Music of the World: Visa Classical Concert Series. In addition to the guitar-playing Romero family, the series will also feature concerts by the Juilliard String Quartet with pianist Ursula Oppens in January, the Israel Camerata with pianist Claude Frank in February, the Beijing-based National Traditional Orchestra of China in March, and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in April. Season tickets go on sale Sept. 23.

“We really wanted to re-establish Nashville as the place for the big groups to come,” notes Ryman Auditorium general manager Steve Buchanan. “So often, performers of international stature will come through the northeast, then down the eastern seaboard to Florida. If they perform in the region, they go to Atlanta. We want to get them here, and we want to attract the stature of performer that will draw audiences from Atlanta and from Louisville and from Birmingham.”

Buchanan also stresses the international nature of the premiere season’s offerings as an attempt to broaden the cultural perspective of the series. He points with special pride to the inclusion of the National Traditional Orchestra of China, a group that uses instruments native to China to perform works stretching from the third millennium B.C.E. to the present.

Buchanan acknowledges that this first season is a new tradition in the making. What might be added in the future? “Vocal music,” he says, not missing a beat. “The great singers were drawn to the Ryman by its fine acoustics, and we want to bring back that tradition of the world’s finest singers at the Ryman in our future seasons.”

If singers and other musicians have been drawn to perform at the Ryman because of its acoustics, Buchanan is well aware that audiences can be attracted to performances at the Ryman Auditorium simply because they’re taking place at the Ryman Auditorium. “People come from Atlanta and Birmingham to hear Bob Dylan play at the Ryman. Dylan is playing in Atlanta, but they come to Nashville because Bob Dylan is playing The Ryman,” says Buchanan. “We want to draw classical music listeners in that same way.”

Raising Voices

If it appears likely that visiting opera will soon be returning to the house made famous by the Grand Ole Opry, we can also celebrate because our homegrown product has been considerably strengthened by the recent merger of Nashville’s two principal operatic organizations, the Nashville Opera and the Tennessee Opera Theatre (TOT). The marriage was made official on Sept. 1.

“It made a great deal of sense for us to do this,” says TOT board member Andy Valentine. “We had come to the point that any further growth meant jumping to a higher level of organization and administrative costs, and we just didn’t want to go that route.” As it stands, the new umbrella organization, which will be called the Nashville Opera Association, will continue to allow TOT, known for its smaller experimental productions and opera in English, and Nashville Opera, which concentrates on standard repertoire in the original language, to continue doing what each does best. In the process, both companies will be able to save substantial administrative costs and to take advantage of unified development and fund-raising activities and joint marketing programs.

Dan Killman, founder of TOT, and Carol Penterman, head of the Nashville Opera and leader of the new organization, are both particularly excited about establishing a training program for new artists. Penterman notes that she’s looking forward to working with the Blair School of Music on aspects of the program dealing with formal training; the smaller productions for which TOT is known, she adds, will be a principal source of practical training for students. These kinds of programs have worked well in such places as Houston and St. Louis, Killman and Penterman observe, and both think this program will be a decisive factor in the regional development of opera.

Although no one will say which partner is Madam Butterfly and which is Pinkerton in this marriage, all agree that the part of Goro, the marriage broker, was played by Columbia/HCA. Killman, Penterman, and Valentine each point out that the creation of the new Nashville Opera Association would have been impossible without both institutional and financial support from the hospital giant. HCA linked the two companies with Keel Hunt, who acted as facilitator during the merger process, and a $20,000 dollar grant has allowed the Association to move from cramped quarters on Belmont Boulevard to space in the 100 Oaks Office Tower.

The new offices represent something of an experiment for the new organization. Indeed, with new productions of La Bohème, an operetta cabaret, and L’Elisir d’amore scheduled for the coming season, the whole next year will be one of experiment and transition. Yet to be discussed is the question of performance space. As of now, the new company is committed to TPAC, but with TPAC’s more aggressive approach to its own productions and its lack of available booking dates, the possibility of a move in the future is not being denied.

The 100 Oaks Office Tower is also the home base for The Gene Thomas Music Group and Nashville Symphony Chorus director Tom Mitchell. Mitchell, who will be taking over conducting duties for some of the pops concerts in the coming NSO season, is forming a professional chorus that will be able to undertake both touring and recording projects. He’s looking to use the ensemble to perform less well-known repertoire needing choral forces up to 40 voices. Although no local performances have of yet been scheduled, Mitchell has already secured a commitment for the group to tour Israel next summer.

If the world comes to Nashville with country on its mind, Nashville is expanding to offer new opportunities for world-class performances. Our city has always been home to much more than country music, and pop music fans are finally beginning to realize this. Maybe 1996 will be the year when people outside our city see that Nashville has plenty to offer in the realm of classical music as well.