BWW Previews: Baltimore Symphony Unveils 100th Anniversary Schedule with Broadway Veterans Featured

The lobby of the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall was filled with press, Board members, musicians, and friends of the BSO to hear Maestra Marin Alsop present highlights of the 100th Anniversary Season of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

The evening began with Board Chair Barbara Buzzuto who proclaimed that the BSO musicians were the "stars" and thanked them for their gift of music. "They are the lifeblood of our organization", she commented.

President and CEO Paul Meecham mentioned that the BSO was the only orchestra in 1916 which was a branch of a city government. A new logo was then unveiled combining BSO and 100.

Famed pianist Leon Fleisher then took the podium and reminisced that he performed with almost every conductor in the 100 years of the BSO. He then sat at the piano to play Jerome Kern's "All the Things You Are", arranged for the left hand by Stephen Prutzman. Kristin Chenoweth has said it is the greatest song ever composed. Well, it was just plain breathtaking. The audience stood in stunned admiration.

Conductor Alsop then took center stage to sing praises of the 100th Anniversary schedule. She was very proud that many artists were returning to Baltimore who made their debuts with the BSO, including Lang Lang and Hilary Hahn (who lives in Baltimore). She talked about her first meeting Yo-Yo Ma stuck in an elevator at Julliard. These three musicians are all part of the season as well Andre Watts, Joshua Bell, and Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg.

Music Director Emeritus Yuri Temirkanov will be returning along with former BSO Resident Conductor Christopher Seaman and Mario Venzago, former Artistic Director of the BSO's Summer Music Fest from 1999 to 2003.

As a theater critic, I was so pleased to see that John Waters would be returning to narrate HAIRSPRAY: IN CONCERT with a full Broadway cast. If you missed it the first time, get your tickets NOW!! It runs June 2-5, 2016.

Center Stage Artistic Director will make his directorial debut April 8-10, 2016 partnering with Alsop and the Morgan Stage University Choir and Center Stage with PORGY AND BESS: IN CONERT.

Two of my favorite Broadway stars will be heading to Baltimore: Brian Stokes Mitchell (December 9-13) and Mandy Patinkin, who had to cancel his 2014 appearance, will be performing an evening of song led by Eric Stern February 18-20, 2016.

There will also be an evening of Four Broadway Divas led by Jack Everly performing March 31-April 3.

Washington's Folger Theatre will contribute to a new full-evening adaptation of "Romeo and Juliet" by Prokoviev combining music and with an ensemble of actors directed by Edward Berkeley (October 16-18, 2015).

The Baltimore School for the Arts will be featured June 9-11 when they use the original Martha Graham choreography for "Appalachian Spring" by Aaron Copland.

A new arrangement of the WEST SIDE STORY SUITE performed by the great Joshua Bell will be the highlight of the 100th Anniversary Concert on February 11, 2016.

You can head to New York and see the Carnegie Hall Centennial Concert on April 16, 1016.

The BSO will also present 12 Commissions featuring two new large-scale commissions - a multimedia project by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts and a percussion concerto by James MacMillan and 10 short Centennial Commissions.

The best bargain anywhere is returning, the BSO Passport. For those between the ages of 21 and 40, for a one-time flat fee of $75 gets you in to every concert either in Baltimore at the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda, MD (pending availability). These will be available starting in September.

To see a great video (also done in house by Joe Rubino and Teresa Eaton) and the whole schedule visit BSOmusic.org. For subscriptions, call 410-783-8000. Single tickets go on sale August 3, 2015.

Finally, don't miss two time Tony-winner Judy Kaye who will play "The Old Lady" in CANDIDE under Alsop June 12-14, 2015.

cgshubow@broadwayworld.com