Good experience - Anonymous employee Seattle Symphony Employee Review

Musical benefits, great people to work with

Recent turnover at higher levels

Everyone believes in the power of music and has a genuine concern for their peers and colleagues. By and large everyone works hard and tries to make a supportive culture. There is real interest in equity initiatives and and leading the industry in progressive values. The criticism of the CEO on Glassdoor is baseless. The current CEO is trying really hard but was given an impossible situation. The hostility such as what's displayed in the comments below is likely rooted in unconscious bias.

There are very real problems. The top down leadership (inherent to the industry) doesn't align with the stated values of the organization. They have done some work to remove silos, but largely departments do not cross, to the detriment of the overall product in my opinion. Most crucially, finances are so weak that when crises and issues come up, they can frequently lose focus and place the burden of those crises on the most vulnerable staff members. It's a tough place to work overall, although that's not so different from any other arts organization who's susceptible to every economic shift.