THE BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA...

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is internationally recognized as having achieved a preeminent place among the world's most important orchestras. Acclaimed for its uncompromising pursuit of artistic excellence, the Baltimore Symphony has attracted a devoted national and international following while maintaining deep bonds throughout Maryland through innovative education and community outreach initiatives.

The BSO made musical history in September 2007, when Maestra Marin Alsop led her inaugural concerts as the Orchestra's 12th music director, making her the first woman to head a major American orchestra. With her highly praised artistic vision, her dynamic musicianship and her commitment to accessibility in classical music, Maestra Alsop's directorship has ushered in a new era for the BSO and its audiences.

Year Established: 1916, as a branch of the Baltimore municipal government; reorganized as a private institution in 1942.

Mission: To make music of the highest quality, and to enhance Baltimore and Maryland as a cultural center of interest, vitality and importance.

Music Director: Marin Alsop
Music Director Emeritus: Yuri Temirkanov
Principal Pops Conductor: Jack Everly
BSO Assistant Conductor and League of American Orchestras Conducting Fellow: Mei-Ann Chen
BSO-Peabody Conducting Fellow: Ilyich Rivas
Concertmaster: Jonathan Carney
Chairman of the Board: Michael G. Bronfein
President & CEO: Paul Meecham

Musicians: 94
Administrative Staff: 58
Board Members: 40

Operating budget: $26.3 million

Annual attendance: 400,000

BSO concerts in 2009-2010: 173, including classical and SuperPops series, Family Series and performances in Wye Mills and Frederick, Md.

World premiere performances since founding: 87, including 40 commissioned works

Local & National Broadcasts: Throughout its history, the BSO has attracted a devoted nationwide following as a result of its prominent radio presence. An avid proponent of using new technology to reach new audiences, Maestra Marin Alsop has partnered with iTunes to produce and host a series of free podcasts directed towards classical music newcomers. Titled Clueless About Classical, these podcasts demystify classical music by taking novice listeners behind-the-scenes with the BSO, exploring repertoire, composers, musical concepts and orchestra life.

Recordings: The Grammy Award-winning BSO has achieved critical success for its prolific discography on such major labels as Naxos, Argo/London, Telarc and Sony Classical. The Baltimore Symphony, under the direction of Music Director Marin Alsop recorded Dvorák's Symphony No. 9, "From the New World" and Symphonic Variations on the Naxos label in February 2008. BBC Music Magazine nominated the album as the best new classical CD of the year, praising, "…there's no sentimentalising or excessive deference to the lyrical moments to rob the work of its essential freshness… It is rare to be able to say that a performance forces one to listen to a work anew, but this is exactly what Alsop's reading achieves. Excellently recorded… this is a superb issue all around."

BSO-Peabody Conducting Fellowship: Beginning in Fall 2007, the BSO partnered with the renowned Peabody Institute and the League of American Orchestras to sponsor the BSO-Peabody Conducting Fellowship, a two-year, master's-level program which affords an aspiring young conductor the opportunity to study intensively at Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University and with Marin Alsop and the BSO. Born in 1993, Ilyich Rivas, a talented young Venezuelan-born conductor will be the program's second recipient.

Education and Outreach: The BSO presents regular daytime educational concerts for area school children throughout Maryland. In addition to these programs and the BSO's Family Concerts Series, BSO on the Go brings small groups of BSO musicians into local schools for free, interactive music education workshops. The BSO also presents annual "Side by Side" concerts with local students from public schools, giving aspiring musicians an opportunity to perform and study with professional musicians. OrchKids is the BSO's after-school music education and life-enrichment initiative, designed to bring social change to Baltimore communities.

Volunteers: The 220 members of the Baltimore Symphony Associates (BSA) use their time, energy and financial support to benefit the education programs of the BSO. Among the BSA's programs are the Symphony Store, the Symphony Decorators' Show House, the Youth Concert Usher program and Symphony Homes for the Holidays.



THE JOSEPH MEYERHOFF SYMPHONY HALL
Opening: September 16, 1982, The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra with Sergiu Comissiona, conductor, and Leon Fleisher, piano

Capacity: 2,443

Celebrating its 25th anniversary in the 2007-2008 season, the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall has been the home of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since opening on September 16, 1982. Ground was broken for the hall in November 1978 in order to provide the BSO with a world-class concert hall befitting of a world-class orchestra. The building was made possible through the financial and administrative support of the late Joseph Meyerhoff.

THE MUSIC CENTER AT STRATHMORE
Opening: February 5, 2005, The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra with Yuri Temirkanov, conductor; Yo-Yo Ma, cello; and Janice Chandler-Etemé, soprano.

Capacity: 1,976

With the opening of the Music Center at Strathmore (N. Bethesda, Md., Montgomery County) in February 2005, the Baltimore Symphony became the nation's first orchestra with year-round venues in two metropolitan areas. As a founding partner and resident orchestra, the BSO presents more performances each year than any other partner on campus.

The BSO also performs outdoor concerts each summer at Oregon Ridge in Cockeyesville, Md.