Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Holds Tenth Anniversary Gala Concert Tonight

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) celebrates its 10thanniversary as a founding partner and resident orchestra at the Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda, Md. with a concert and pre-concert gala event tonight, February 5, 2015, 10 years to the day after the venue's opening concert that featured legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma, then-Music Director Yuri Temirkanov and the BSO. The Music Center at Strathmore serves as the BSO's second home, where it hosts 46 concerts annually for more than 60,000 patrons, making the BSO the only orchestra in the nation that performs year-round in two major metropolitan markets. The inaugural gala at Strathmore will benefit the BSO's growing education and community outreach efforts in Montgomery County Public Schools.

For the concert, Music Director Marin Alsop will lead world-renowned pianist Garrick Ohlsson and the BSO in Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2. Also on the program are Respighi's Church Windows and Pines of Rome. (The concert program will be repeated on Friday, February 6 and Saturday, February 7, 2015 at 8 p.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.) The evening at Strathmore will culminate with a special presentation of the inaugural BSO at Strathmore Arts Leadership Award. This award will be presented annually to leaders who are extraordinary supporters of the arts in Montgomery County. Please see below for complete program details.

The BSO's partnership with Strathmore began back in 2000, when the BSO made the unorthodox decision to expand its reach into the Washington, D.C. area by becoming a founding partner and resident orchestra at Strathmore. The BSO and its then-board chair Calman "Buddy" Zamoiski solidified the decision to build the $100 Million venue by securing a commitment from the State of Maryland to fund $50 Million (the remainder of the project funding provided by Montgomery County). Since Strathmore's opening in 2005, attendance at BSO at Strathmore has continued to grow and reached a record attendance of 82% paid capacity in the 2013-2014 season. Reacting to growing audience demand, in the 2014-2015 season, the BSO introduced a new five-concert Sunday matinee series directed by Marin Alsop, a six-concert Music Box series for babies/toddlers ages 6 months to 3 years old, as well as an additional concert to Alsop's popular Off the Cuff series. In December 2014, the BSO at Strathmore also hosted its first Family Series concert: Duke Ellington's Nutcracker, performed with the dance troupe Step Afrika! to a capacity crowd. Further, the health and popularity of the BSO's concerts at Strathmore represent a significant revenue stream for the organization with fundraising also contributing to the organization's bottom line.

"The BSO's year-round presence at Strathmore has been an incredible success," says BSO President and CEO Paul Meecham. "In just one decade, the Orchestra has embedded itself into cultural life in the greater Montgomery County region. What might have seemed 10 years ago like a risky venture has become an artistic triumph and a landmark business decision for the BSO to solidify its position as one of only 15 full-time orchestras in the nation."

The BSO's service to the community through outreach and education programs at Strathmore has also expanded significantly over the past ten years. The BSO currently serves the greater Montgomery County area with programs such as BSO on the Go, which dispatches musicians into schools for intensive site visits to work with students. In the 2012-2013 season, the BSO also created OrchLab in partnership with the Montgomery County Public Schools to enrich the instrumental music curriculum, enhance students' performance skills and offer professional development to music educators. The OrchLab program reaches more than 700 underserved students per year and is delivered at no cost to students or schools. In all of its outreach efforts the BSO seeks to provide deeper music education experiences and the 10th anniversary gala will benefit these outreach efforts and many others.

"In just ten short years, The Music Center at Strathmore has transformed both this community and this orchestra," says Music Director Marin Alsop. "Playing weekly in this brilliant acoustic setting has opened all our ears in new and rewarding ways. But, it is the enthusiastic response from our Montgomery County and D.C. area audiences that has meant the most to me and the musicians of the BSO."

The BSO at Strathmore's inaugural gala is led by the BSO at Strathmore Gala committee, which includes Sally Amoruso, David Leckrone, Susan Liss, Liddy Manson, Howard Martin and Linda Martin. Corporate Gala sponsors include DLA Piper and M&T Bank. The ticket price for the gala is $350 per person and includes premium seating to the evening's concert. For those who have already purchased concert tickets, the cost of adding the gala is $265 per person. For more information on how to purchase concert tickets or gala packages, please visit BSOmusic.org/Strathmore10 or contact Jack Fishman, vice president of external relations, BSO at Strathmore, at 301.581.5210 or jfishman@bsomusic.org.

Marin Alsop, conductor

Marin Alsop is an inspiring and powerful voice in the international music scene, a music director of vision and distinction who passionately believes that "music has the power to change lives." She is recognized across the world for her innovative approach to programming and for her deep commitment to education and to the development of audiences of all ages.

Marin Alsop made history with her appointment as the 12th music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO). With her inaugural concerts in September 2007, she became the first woman to head a major American orchestra. Her success as the BSO's music director has garnered national and international attention for her innovative programming and artistry. Her success was recognized when, in 2013, her tenure was extended to the 2020-2021 season.

Alsop took up the post of principal conductor of the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra in 2012, and became music director in July 2013. There, she steers the orchestra in its artistic and creative programming, recording ventures and its education and outreach activities. She also holds the title of conductor emeritus at the Bournemouth Symphony in the United Kingdom, where she served as the principal conductor from 2002-2008.

In the summer of 2014, Maestra Alsop served her 23rd season as music director of the acclaimed Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in California. In September 2013, she made history as the first female conductor of the BBC's Last Night of the Proms in London. When Musical America named Maestra Alsop the 2009 Conductor of the Year, they commented, "[Marin Alsop] connects to the public as few conductors today can."

Garrick Ohlsson

Since winning the 1970 Chopin International Piano Competition, pianist Garrick Ohlsson has established himself worldwide as a musician of magisterial interpretive and technical prowess. Ohlsson is noted for his masterly performances of the works of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, and Romantic repertoire. Although long regarded as one of the world's leading exponents of the music of Frédéric Chopin, Ohlsson commands an enormous repertoire of more than 80 concertos, ranging from Haydn to works of the 21st century.

An exponent of Busoni's rarely programmed piano concerto, Ohlsson performed it with the National Symphony and London's Barbican with the BBC Symphony Orchestra this past fall. This January marks the centenary of the death of Alexander Scriabin whose piano music Ohlsson will present in a series of recitals in London, San Francisco, Chicago and New York. He will also return to the orchestras of San Francisco, Detroit, Dallas, Baltimore, BBC Scotland, and Prague where he is a frequent guest.

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