Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jun 1928.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
69 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
49 people listed on the 990; $1.5M paid to officers and key staff.
Krishna Thiagarajan’s $493K as President & CEO is at the 78th percentile of top reported officer pay among 749 $10–100M arts & culture nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Krishna Thiagarajan | $492,915 | $507,666 | $482,796 | $571,322 | $304,172 | $415,671 |
| Ludovic Morlot | — | — | — | — | — | $357,749 |
| Thomas Dausgaard | — | — | — | — | $339,466 | — |
| Noah Geller | $319,838 | $301,679 | $280,453 | $151,675 | — | $265,522 |
| Maria Yang | $278,156 | $277,996 | $249,744 | $240,660 | $170,026 | — |
| Cheronne Wong | $275,624 | $277,672 | $234,561 | $238,688 | $159,294 | $169,677 |
| Jennifer Adair | $186,398 | $189,529 | $187,171 | $187,171 | $136,103 | $145,423 |
| Hyerin Kim | $185,551 | $164,735 | — | — | — | — |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
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Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Performs symphonic music and hosts educational programs, youth concerts, and community events to connect and inspire people throughout the Puget Sound region.
Questions for Seattle Symphony Orchestra INC
Your first name shows with your question. Seattle Symphony Orchestra INC answers here, for everyone.
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The seattle symphony is one of america's leading orchestras, and is internationally acclaimed for its innovative programming and extensive recording history. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the cancellation of most of seattle symphony's in-person september-july concerts.
While the COVID-19 pandemic restricted arts education programming, the new streaming platform, seattle symphony live, has enhanced the symphony's education and community engagement outreach, with all programs for public benefit now provided digitally.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2021 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY21 | End FY21 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $555K | $3.9M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $6.9M | $6.9M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $18.9M | $25.7M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $23.1M | $13.5M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | −$4.3M | $12.2M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $350K | $350K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $1.1M | $186K | $479K | $483K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $8.1M | $6.3M | $1.2M | $710K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $921K | $861K | $35K | $24K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $3.1M | $2.5M | $384K | $287K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $918K | $303K | $335K | $280K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $82K | $3K | $78K | |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $60K | $4K | $56K | |
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $174 | $174 | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $837K | $283K | $376K | $178K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $405K | $362K | $7K | $36K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $648K | $206K | $285K | $157K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $21K | $7K | $14K | |
| TravelLn 17 | $104K | $103K | $194 | $706 |
| InterestLn 20 | $156K | $105K | $50K | |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $280K | $214K | $33K | $33K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $76K | $52K | $25K | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $1.1M | $854K | $107K | $142K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $18.4M | $12.6M | $3.4M | $2.3M |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $38.1M | $40.2M | −$2.1M | $2.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $31.1M | $37.3M | −$6.2M | $4.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $31.3M | $34.4M | −$3.1M | $9.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $28.0M | $30.0M | −$2.0M | $9.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 Viewing | $30.2M | $18.4M | $11.8M | $12.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $30.2M | $28.9M | $1.4M | −$4.3M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $30,176,576 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 41 of 41 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $30,176,576 across 13 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $18,384,431 across 18 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $25,684,308 assets, 17 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $12,196,243 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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