The music world knows the Seattle Symphony for two major reasons: first, as "America's Wagner orchestra," playing for Wagner's epic "Ring" for international audiences for the past three decades. And second, as the purveyor of Americana, largely because of a two-decade series of recordings with music director Gerard Schwarz that have brought back to public attention some long-neglected scores by American composers David Diamond, Howard Hanson and Walter Piston (among others).

The recordings earned 11 Grammy nominations, though no Grammy awards, and several of them topped the Billboard classical charts for many months, prompting a wave of interest in these composers.

The orchestra will be active on both Wagnerian and American fronts in the coming months, with three cycles of Wagner's "Ring" set for August, and a monthlong "Made in America" Festival that highlights music of 15 20th-century American composers (most of them still living). A "Part 2" Festival, slated for spring 2006, will feature the next generation of American composers.

"This is our music," says Schwarz of the Americana that audiences will hear. "The Seattle Symphony has had a big part in the resurgence of this music. We have been able to influence the music world from this little corner of the country."

The centerpiece of this month's "Made in America" will be a series of five major concerts by the orchestra and guest artists on May 6, 7, 12, 13 and 19 — but there's much more going on. The symphony organization is drawing in an unprecedented number and variety of community partners for lectures, performances, panel discussions and musical demonstrations during the span of the festival (today through May 26).

Among the festival participants: the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra, Seattle Chamber Music Society, Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra, University of Washington Symphony Orchestra and Bands, Northwest Boychoir and Northwest Girlchoir.

Schwarz is focusing attention on a particular period of the 20th century, 1925-1960, when he believes American composers were in the international forefront creating a uniquely American sound. That era not only was the heyday of Diamond, Hanson and Piston, but also of such composers as Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Charles Ives, William Schuman, Roger Sessions, Randall Thompson, Peter Mennin, Elliott Carter, Ned Rorem, William Bergsma, Wallingford Riegger and Carlos Chávez.

Ten recordings of works by some of the aforementioned have recently been remastered and released on the Naxos "American Classics" label.

Concertgoers have heard this music before — though not in some time, as Schwarz points out: "There are so many (American) composers we've championed, but we're not playing them very much. We gave that repertoire a rest. Now it's time to bring some of it forward again."

David Diamond is a particular focus in this festival, in honor of his upcoming 90th birthday. His health has been variable, but Schwarz still is holding out hope that Diamond may be able to make it to Seattle for the festival.

Schwarz says the orchestra's past festivals — Pacific Rim music, Silk Road pan-cultural music, music of the Americas — have made it clear that "classical music is no longer a European art form. Asian, Latin and American influences have changed it so much. Now we are focusing on where the American style came from, a recognizable voice that developed in the last century."

The 2005 and 2006 "Made in America" festivals, Schwarz believes, will establish the connection — albeit interrupted by a year — between today's younger generation of symphonic composers and those predecessors who crafted a distinguishable "American sound" in the first place.

"This year, we discover the roots of the American symphonic tradition," Schwarz says, "and next spring, we'll hear that tradition evolve in a new generation."

Partner events

The community partner events, which officially began in December with a University of Washington Symphony concert featuring works of Copland, Creston and Gloria Wilson Swisher, continued with a Jan. 16 "Winter Festival" presentation by the Seattle Chamber Music Society and a March concert by the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra. This month's upcoming programs:

May 15, 3 p.m. : Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra concert in Benaroya Hall, with Huw Edwards conducting and clarinetist Laura DeLuca as soloist in the Copland Clarinet Concerto (plus major works of Schuman, Barber, Roy Harris and John Mackey). Tickets: 206-362-2300.

May 26, 7:30 p.m. : In Meany Theater, four UW Bands combine under the direction of Timothy Salzman, J. Bradley McDavid, Mitchell Lutch and Thomas Slabaugh for "A Celebration of the American Symphonists." Tickets: 206-543-4880.

Other programs

Education and community programs taking place in Soundbridge (located in the northwest ground-floor corner of Benaroya Hall) include the Roosevelt High School Drama Department (noon May 5), Emerald City Jazz Ensemble with Wadie Ervin (2 p.m. May 7), "World Influence on the American Dulcimer" with Rick Fogul (noon May 12), "American Music: A Radical Idea!" with lecturer Larry Starr (6 p.m. May 12), "Hip-Hop Experience" with young hip-hop crews (2 p.m. May 14), "Native American Dance" with the White River Drum (noon May 19), "Old Time Fiddle, Mandolin and Guitar" with the Milner Family Fiddles (2 p.m. May 21), and "Music in the American Film" with lecturer/composer Hummie Mann (noon May 26). All Soundbridge programs are free with membership or daily admission ($5-$7, kids under five are free) to Soundbridge.

The schedule

Friday, 7 p.m.: "Leonard Bernstein Celebration," with assistant conductor Christian Knapp on the podium, and selections from such major works as "West Side Story," "On the Town," "Candide," "Dybbuk" and "On the Waterfront."

Saturday, 7:30 p.m.: Schwarz leads the orchestra, plus vocal faculty and students from the University of Washington School of Music in "American Originals." Songs of Rorem and Ives, plus the latter's Symphony No. 3, "Dances from a New England Album" by Bergsma (a former UW School of Music director) and other works of Carter and Sessions.

May 12, 7:30 p.m.: "American Stories," with Schwarz and mezzo-soprano soloist Rinat Shaham in Ives' "America" Variations, Mennin's "Moby Dick," Bernstein's "Jeremiah" Symphony, Thomson's Symphony No. 2 and Diamond's Symphony No. 4.

May 13, 8 p.m.: "Voices of America," with Schwarz leading the orchestra and chorale in Diamond's "Concerto for Small Orchestra" and "Three Madrigals," plus other works of Riegger, Thompson, Fine and Piston (the "Fantasy for English Horn, Harp and Strings," with Glen Danielson, English horn soloist).

May 19, 7:30 p.m.: "New Frontiers," music of Copland and Chávez, with Schwarz on the podium for a concert that also includes Hanson's Symphony No. 2 and Schuman's Symphony No. 3.

Lectures precede all concerts by an hour and are free to ticketholders. All concerts take place in Benaroya Hall. Tickets: 206-215-4747 or www.seattlesymphony.org.

Melinda Bargreen: mbargreen@seattletimes.com