Thalia
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THALEIA (Thalia) was one of the nine Mousai (Muses), the goddesses of music, song and dance. In the Classical era, when the Mousai were assigned specific artistic and literary spheres, Thaleia was named Muse of comedy and bucolic poetry. In this guise she was portrayed with the attributes of comic mask, shepherd's staff and wreath of ivy. Her name was derived from the Greek word thaleia meaning "rich festivity" or "blooming."
- From theoi.com
Mission Statement
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To inspire, enrich, and educate musicians and the community at large through the performance of outstanding symphonic music.
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Governance and Finances​
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The Thalia Symphony Orchestra is run by a board of directors that includes both orchestra players and non-musicians. The board manages all non-musical aspects of the orchestra (e.g., insurance, corporate registration, promotion, finance, fund-raising, etc.). The board also commissions a Repertoire Committee of musicians to act as a resource for the Music Director for the coming season. The Music Director works with the Repertoire Committee to make final program decisions. Thalia is essentially a volunteer organization. Our sources of income are ticket sales and donations from businesses and individual supporters. We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
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History
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The Thalia Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1948, making it one of the oldest community orchestras in Seattle. The name Thalia comes from the muses of ancient Greece. The muse Thalia presided over comedy and lyric poetry. With this inspiration in mind, Thalia Allied Artists was founded in 1949, primarily to produce opera. The name was significant to them as it refers to the great variety of art involved in opera and shows loyalty to the Greco-Roman ideals of artistic excellence. The organization included an orchestra needed to support operatic productions, which they named Thalia Symphony.
Thalia’s first season included Madame Butterfly and Englebert Humperdinck’s short opera Hansel and Gretel. After that season its leaders recognized that full opera productions exceeded their long-term capability, and they reduced their scope to production of the smaller musical theater pieces. Their other offerings ranged from chamber music, choral presentations, and symphonic music to youth and adult education. Their community workshops covered dramatics, poetry writing, music appreciation, singing, and even folk dancing and puppetry. In time, the orchestra became the centerpiece of TAA’s operations.
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Thalia Scheremetiew Library
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At over 950 titles, the Thalia Scheremetiew library is one of the largest private music collections in the Pacific Northwest. The library was named for Mikael Scheremetiew in honor of his intense personal commitment and great foresight in building this collection. He and other members of the orchestra routinely donated sets of music. The library has enabled Thalia Symphony to rehearse and perform an extremely wide range of music.
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