Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Encyclopedia
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is a profession
al American
symphony orchestra based in Baltimore
, Maryland
.
In September 2007, Maestra Marin Alsop
led her inaugural concerts as the Orchestra’s twelfth music director, making her the first woman to head a major American orchestra.
The BSO Board Chairman is Michael Bronfein and President & CEO Paul Meecham. Joining Maestra Alsop on the BSO conductor roster are Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly
, and BSO Music Director Emeritus Yuri Temirkanov
, who led the BSO from 1999 to 2006 and is regarded as one of the most talented conductors of his generation.
.
The BSO's modern history dates from 1965, when Baltimore arts patron Joseph Meyerhoff
became president of the symphony orchestra, a position he held for 18 years. Meyerhoff appointed Romanian-born conductor Sergiu Comissiona
as music director; together, the philanthropist and the conductor ensured the creation of an artistic institution.
The BSO’s leadership includes Board Chairman Michael Bronfein and President & CEO Paul Meecham. Also on the BSO conductor roster are Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly
, noted for his creative pops programming, and BSO Music Director Emeritus Yuri Temirkanov
, who led the BSO from 1999 to 2006 and is regarded as one of the most talented conductors of his generation.
In May 2008, the BSO unveiled a major education initiative, OrchKids, an after-school program designed to effect social change and nurture promising futures for youth in Baltimore City’s low-income neighborhoods. In collaboration with many community partners, the BSO’s OrchKids program provides music education, instruments and mentorship to Baltimore’s neediest youngsters. The program serves more than 300 students age pre-K through fifth grade at Lockerman Bundy Elementary School.
The BSO performs approximately 30 education concerts and open rehearsals each year for more than 50,000 area students in pre-school through 12th grade. Major initiatives include BSO on the Go, a program which brings small groups of BSO musicians into schools for free and interactive music education workshops, and "Side by Side" concerts, which allow student musicians to rehearse and perform a full-length concert alongside BSO musicians. The BSO at Strathmore is actively involved in giving back to Montgomery County and the Greater Washington, D.C. area. The BSO also serves adult music lovers through audience education programs such as pre-concert lectures and post-concert discussions.
Within the classical field, since fall 2007, the BSO has partnered with the Peabody Institute
and the League of American Orchestras
to sponsor the BSO-Peabody Conducting Fellowship, a two-year, master's-level program which gives an aspiring young conductor the opportunity to study at Peabody and with Marin Alsop and the BSO.
as music director in 1985, the BSO's reputation spread internationally. In 1987, the Orchestra conducted a critically acclaimed concert tour of Europe and the Soviet Union. The BSO was the first American orchestra in 11 years to tour the Soviet Union after cultural relations were resumed at the end of the Afghanistan war.
The Baltimore Symphony first visited East Asia in 1994. A second tour took place in 1997 with violinist Isaac Stern
as soloist. A 20-member trade delegation led by Maryland Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend
accompanied the Orchestra to enhance exchange opportunities in the areas of business and economic development, higher education and trade. Subsequent tours were led by Yuri Temirkanov, to Europe in 2001, to Japan in 2002 and again to Europe in 2005.
-Grammy award-winning
+-Grammy nominated
has been the home of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since its opening on September 16, 1982. Named for the late Baltimore philanthropist and former BSO president, Joseph Meyerhoff, the 2,443-seat hall has been hailed for its pristine acoustics and versatility. As one of the city's cultural venues, the Meyerhoff has played host to international classical stars such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma
, violinist Joshua Bell
, and pianist Emanuel Ax
, and popular performers including singer-songwriter Harry Connick, Jr.
, bluegrass singer Alison Krauss
, and comedian Jerry Seinfeld
.
The Orchestra's second home is the 1,976-seat Music Center at Strathmore, located in North Bethesda, Maryland. With the opening of the Music Center at Strathmore in February 2005, the Baltimore Symphony became the nation's first orchestra with year-round venues in two metropolitan areas. As the founding partner and resident orchestra of the Music Center, the BSO presents 35 performances in the concert hall annually.
Profession
A profession is a vocation founded upon specialized educational training, the purpose of which is to supply disinterested counsel and service to others, for a direct and definite compensation, wholly apart from expectation of other business gain....
al American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
symphony orchestra based in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
.
In September 2007, Maestra Marin Alsop
Marin Alsop
Marin Alsop is an American conductor and violinist. She is the music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.In 2012, Alsop will replace Yan Pascal Tortelier as principal conductor of the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra....
led her inaugural concerts as the Orchestra’s twelfth music director, making her the first woman to head a major American orchestra.
The BSO Board Chairman is Michael Bronfein and President & CEO Paul Meecham. Joining Maestra Alsop on the BSO conductor roster are Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly
Jack Everly
Jack Everly is an American conductor and music arranger who serves as Principal Pops Conductor with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic Orchestra and National Arts Centre Orchestra as well as Music Director for the Symphonic Pops Consortium.Born...
, and BSO Music Director Emeritus Yuri Temirkanov
Yuri Temirkanov
Yuri Khatuevich Temirkanov is a Russian conductor of Circassian origin.Yuri Temirkanov has been the Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic since 1988.-Early life:...
, who led the BSO from 1999 to 2006 and is regarded as one of the most talented conductors of his generation.
History
Founded in 1916, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is the only major American orchestra originally established as a branch of the municipal government. Reorganized as a private institution in 1942, it maintains close relationships with the governments and communities of the city and surrounding counties, as well as with the state of MarylandMaryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
.
The BSO's modern history dates from 1965, when Baltimore arts patron Joseph Meyerhoff
Joseph Meyerhoff
Joseph Meyerhoff was an American businessman, fundraiser, and philanthropist based in Baltimore, Maryland. His son is Harvey Meyerhoff.-Biography:...
became president of the symphony orchestra, a position he held for 18 years. Meyerhoff appointed Romanian-born conductor Sergiu Comissiona
Sergiu Comissiona
Sergiu Comissiona was a Romanian conductor and violinist.-Early life:...
as music director; together, the philanthropist and the conductor ensured the creation of an artistic institution.
The BSO’s leadership includes Board Chairman Michael Bronfein and President & CEO Paul Meecham. Also on the BSO conductor roster are Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly
Jack Everly
Jack Everly is an American conductor and music arranger who serves as Principal Pops Conductor with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic Orchestra and National Arts Centre Orchestra as well as Music Director for the Symphonic Pops Consortium.Born...
, noted for his creative pops programming, and BSO Music Director Emeritus Yuri Temirkanov
Yuri Temirkanov
Yuri Khatuevich Temirkanov is a Russian conductor of Circassian origin.Yuri Temirkanov has been the Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic since 1988.-Early life:...
, who led the BSO from 1999 to 2006 and is regarded as one of the most talented conductors of his generation.
In May 2008, the BSO unveiled a major education initiative, OrchKids, an after-school program designed to effect social change and nurture promising futures for youth in Baltimore City’s low-income neighborhoods. In collaboration with many community partners, the BSO’s OrchKids program provides music education, instruments and mentorship to Baltimore’s neediest youngsters. The program serves more than 300 students age pre-K through fifth grade at Lockerman Bundy Elementary School.
The BSO performs approximately 30 education concerts and open rehearsals each year for more than 50,000 area students in pre-school through 12th grade. Major initiatives include BSO on the Go, a program which brings small groups of BSO musicians into schools for free and interactive music education workshops, and "Side by Side" concerts, which allow student musicians to rehearse and perform a full-length concert alongside BSO musicians. The BSO at Strathmore is actively involved in giving back to Montgomery County and the Greater Washington, D.C. area. The BSO also serves adult music lovers through audience education programs such as pre-concert lectures and post-concert discussions.
Within the classical field, since fall 2007, the BSO has partnered with the Peabody Institute
Peabody Institute
The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a renowned conservatory and preparatory school located in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland at the corner of Charles and Monument Streets at Mount Vernon Place.-History:...
and the League of American Orchestras
League of American Orchestras
The League of American Orchestras, known until Fall 2007 as the American Symphony Orchestra League , is an association of U.S. and Canadian orchestras. Over 950 orchestras are members, including youth, community, and professional orchestras....
to sponsor the BSO-Peabody Conducting Fellowship, a two-year, master's-level program which gives an aspiring young conductor the opportunity to study at Peabody and with Marin Alsop and the BSO.
Broadcasts
- XM Satellite RadioXM Satellite RadioXM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...
: Hosted by XM Classics 110 Program Director Martin Goldsmith, each program features a full-length BSO concert conducted by Marin Alsop, as well as exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews with Alsop and guest artists. - iTunesITunesiTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
Clueless About Classical': Hosted by Marin Alsop, these podcasts take novice listeners behind-the-scenes with the BSO, exploring repertoire, composers, musical concepts and orchestra life. - NPR’s "Weekend EditionWeekend EditionWeekend Edition is the name given to a set of American radio news magazines produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It is the weekend counterpart to Morning Edition. It consists of Weekend Edition Saturday and Weekend Edition Sunday , each of which airs for two hours, from 8 a.m. to 10...
" with Scott Simon: Maestra Alsop is a regular guest with her segment "Marin Alsop on Music." - NPR's Performance TodayPerformance TodayPerformance Today is a Peabody Award-winning classical music radio show, currently hosted by Fred Child. It is the most listened-to daily classical music radio program in the United States, with 1.2 million listeners on 237 stations...
: Concerts broadcast across the U.S. - American Public Media's SymphonyCast: Concerts broadcast across the U.S.
Tours
With the appointment of David ZinmanDavid Zinman
David Zinman is an American conductor and violinist.After early violin studies at the Oberlin Conservatory, Zinman studied theory and composition at the University of Minnesota and took up conducting at Tanglewood...
as music director in 1985, the BSO's reputation spread internationally. In 1987, the Orchestra conducted a critically acclaimed concert tour of Europe and the Soviet Union. The BSO was the first American orchestra in 11 years to tour the Soviet Union after cultural relations were resumed at the end of the Afghanistan war.
The Baltimore Symphony first visited East Asia in 1994. A second tour took place in 1997 with violinist Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern was a Ukrainian-born violinist. He was renowned for his recordings and for discovering new musical talent.-Biography:Isaac Stern was born into a Jewish family in Kremenets, Ukraine. He was fourteen months old when his family moved to San Francisco...
as soloist. A 20-member trade delegation led by Maryland Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend
Kathleen Hartington Kennedy Townsend , is an American attorney who was the Lieutenant Governor of Maryland from 1995 to 2003. She ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Maryland in 2002. In 2010 she became the chair of the non-profit American Bridge, an organization that will raise funds for Democratic...
accompanied the Orchestra to enhance exchange opportunities in the areas of business and economic development, higher education and trade. Subsequent tours were led by Yuri Temirkanov, to Europe in 2001, to Japan in 2002 and again to Europe in 2005.
Recordings
The Grammy Award-winning Baltimore Symphony Orchestra has a prolific discography on such labels as Naxos, Argo/London, Telarc and Sony Classical.- 2010: Antonín Dvořák’s Symphonies No. 7-8
- 2009: Leonard Bernstein's Mass+
- 2008: Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 "From the New World" and Symphonic Variations, BSO and Marin Alsop, Naxos label
- 2000: Adolphus Hailstork’s I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes, Daniel Hege, BSO, Morgan State University Choir
- 1999: Leonard Bernstein's Serenade and Beethoven's Violin Concerto, David Zinman, BSO, Violinist Hilary Hahn, Sony Classical+
- 1997: Samuel Barber and William Walton’s violin concertos, David Zinman, BSO, violinist Joshua Bell, London+
- 1994: The New York Album, David Zinman, BSO, cellist Yo-Yo Ma*
- 1987: Barber and Britten, cello concertos David Zinman, BSO, cellistYo-Yo Ma, Sony Classical*
-Grammy award-winning
+-Grammy nominated
Concert Halls
The Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony HallJoseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall
The Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, often referred to simply as the Meyerhoff, is a music venue that opened September 16, 1982 at 1212 Cathedral Street in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, USA. The main auditorium has a seating capacity of 2,443 people, and is home to the...
has been the home of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since its opening on September 16, 1982. Named for the late Baltimore philanthropist and former BSO president, Joseph Meyerhoff, the 2,443-seat hall has been hailed for its pristine acoustics and versatility. As one of the city's cultural venues, the Meyerhoff has played host to international classical stars such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma is an American cellist, virtuoso, and orchestral composer. He has received multiple Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 2001 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011...
, violinist Joshua Bell
Joshua Bell
Joshua David Bell is an American Grammy Award-winning violinist.-Childhood:Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, United States, the son of a psychologist and a therapist. Bell's father is the late Alan P...
, and pianist Emanuel Ax
Emanuel Ax
Emanuel Ax is a Grammy-winning American classical pianist. He is currently a teacher on the faculty of the Juilliard School. He is considered one of the best known concert pianists of the 21st century.-Early life:...
, and popular performers including singer-songwriter Harry Connick, Jr.
Harry Connick, Jr.
Joseph Harry Fowler Connick, Jr. is an American singer, big-band leader/conductor, pianist, actor, and composer. He has sold over 25 million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with...
, bluegrass singer Alison Krauss
Alison Krauss
Alison Maria Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in...
, and comedian Jerry Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld
Jerome Allen "Jerry" Seinfeld is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and television and film producer, known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the situation comedy Seinfeld , which he co-created and co-wrote with Larry David, and, in the show's final two seasons,...
.
The Orchestra's second home is the 1,976-seat Music Center at Strathmore, located in North Bethesda, Maryland. With the opening of the Music Center at Strathmore in February 2005, the Baltimore Symphony became the nation's first orchestra with year-round venues in two metropolitan areas. As the founding partner and resident orchestra of the Music Center, the BSO presents 35 performances in the concert hall annually.
Music directors
|
Massimo Freccia Massimo Filippo Antongiulio Maria Freccia was an Italian American conductor. He had an international reputation but never held a post as music director of a major orchestra or opera house. Unusually for an Italian, he built his career around symphonic music rather than opera... Peter Herman Adler Peter Herman Adler was an American conductor born in Austria–Hungary in Gablonz an der Neiße, which is now in the Czech Republic.... Sergiu Comissiona Sergiu Comissiona was a Romanian conductor and violinist.-Early life:... David Zinman David Zinman is an American conductor and violinist.After early violin studies at the Oberlin Conservatory, Zinman studied theory and composition at the University of Minnesota and took up conducting at Tanglewood... Yuri Temirkanov Yuri Khatuevich Temirkanov is a Russian conductor of Circassian origin.Yuri Temirkanov has been the Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic since 1988.-Early life:... Marin Alsop Marin Alsop is an American conductor and violinist. She is the music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.In 2012, Alsop will replace Yan Pascal Tortelier as principal conductor of the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra.... |
External links
- Baltimore Symphony Orchestra official site
- Marin Alsop official site
- Baltimore Symphony Orchestra musicians site
- Baltimore Symphony Orchestra discography at Sony BMG MasterworksSony BMG MasterworksSony Masterworks is a record label. It is the result of a restructuring of Sony Music Entertainment's classical music division. Before the acquisition of Bertelsmann's shares in the former Sony BMG, the label was known as Sony BMG Masterworks....
- Baltimore Symphony Orchestra discography at NAXOSNaxos-Places:*Naxos , an island in the Cyclades group**Naxos , a town and former municipality on the island of Naxos**Naxos , a Greek government division created from the former Cyclades Prefecture in 2011...
- Art of the States: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra