Baltimore Symphony Orchestra - Performances/Tours

Performances/Tours

With the appointment of David Zinman as music director in 1985, the BSO's reputation for musical excellence and high artistic achievement spread far beyond the shores of the Chesapeake to a new and devoted international audience. In 1987, the Orchestra conducted a critically acclaimed concert tour of Europe and the Soviet Union. The BSO holds the distinction of being the first American orchestra in 11 years to tour the Soviet Union after cultural relations resumed towards the end of the Soviet war in Afghanistan.

In Marin Alsop’s fifth season, the BSO made its first West Coast tour since 1988 from March 28th to April 2nd 2012, and its first domestic tour since 2000 (excluding previous Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center engagements). The Orchestra traveled to Orange County to perform at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall presented by the Philharmonic Society of Orange County (Costa Mesa, Ca.), to the Silva Concert Hall of the Hult Center for the Performing Arts (Eugene, Or.) and gave a three-day education and performance residency at the Zellerbach Hall presented by Cal Performances of the University of California (Berkeley, Ca.).

The BSO's first visit to East Asia in 1994 was described as the hit of Tokyo's star-filled concert season. The newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun proclaimed the BSO as "the best of all the overseas orchestras" that performed in Japan during that year, in a field that included the Berlin, Vienna and New York philharmonics. An invitation to return to Japan was promptly extended, resulting in a second tour during the fall of 1997 with legendary violinist and soloist Isaac Stern. Yuri Temirkanov and the BSO embarked on a European Tour in 2001, accompanied by Maryland Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and a 20-member trade delegation to enhance exchange opportunities in the areas of business and economic development, higher education and trade. A third tour to Japan followed in 2002 and the BSO returned to Europe in 2005.

The BSO maintains a regular performance presence at Carnegie Hall. In February 2008, the Orchestra performed a program at Carnegie that featured the New York premiere of Steve Mackey's Time Release with Scottish percussionist, Colin Currie. In October 2008, as part of Carnegie's year-long festival celebrating the legacy of Leonard Bernstein, the BSO performed the late composer's large scale work, Mass: A Theatre Piece for Players, Singers and Dancers.

Through year-round performances at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore and The Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda, the BSO serves as a cultural resource to the entire State of Maryland. The BSO regularly performs in Frederick, the BSO's longest continuing run-out concert series, as well as at Chesapeake College in Wye Mills. Through a number of partnerships and performances throughout the state, the BSO is extending its reach into new communities and remains a cultural resource for all Maryland residents.

For more than 80 years, the BSO has maintained a vibrant educational presence throughout the State of Maryland, supporting the local community not only through concerts and recordings, but also through its commitment to actively giving back with its education, outreach and mentorship program.