June 24, 2026 (Baltimore, MD)

Baltimore Chamber Orchestra

Ben Newman

Executive Director

(410) 685-4050 | Ben@thebco.org

For Immediate Release:

 

Baltimore Chamber Orchestra Announces 2026-27 Season

Music Director Robert Moody leads the ensemble in a five-conccert season including a season opening concert with world-renowned clarinetist Ricardo Morales, and a special collaboration with the Handel Choir of Baltimore to perform Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem and the World Premiere of What The Earth Remembers, a new oratorio written by Grammy nominated composer Shawn Okpebholo.

 

(BALTIMORE, MD) — Today, the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra (BCO) announced its 2026-27 season, the orchestra’s forty-third season since its founding in 1984 and its third under Music Director Robert Moody. The Orchestra’s five-concert subscription season includes debut and return performances from some of classical music’s most talented artists including pianist Bryan Wallick, violinist and former BCO Concertmaster Audrey Wright, soprano Margaret Carpenter, countertenor Logan Tanner, a a season opening concert featuring Philadelphia Orchestra Principal Clarinet Ricardo Morales, and the World Premiere of Grammy nominated composer Shawn Okpebholo’s new oratorio What The Earth Remembers in a special collaboration with the Handel Choir of Baltimore. All five concerts will be held at Goucher College’s Kraushaar Auditorium in Towson, MD which begin at 3:00pm on Sunday afternoons with free pre-concert talks at 2:15pm led by WBJC 91.5FM radio host Jonathan Palevsky. Maestro Moody leads every concert in programs designed to meet audience’s desire for timeless classics while also introducing them to accessible new masterpieces.

“After a season of incredible growth culminating in BCO’s Meyerhoff debut during the League of American Orchestras National Conference, I’m delighted to continue exploring the unique colors and characteristics of this remarkable chamber orchestra during our 2026-27 season”, Music Director Robert Moody said. “I’ve designed each concert to highlight the orchestra’s most distinctive qualities in programs unified by themes such as Americana, Baroque, and choral music. BCO’s strings will be heavily featured in works like Barber’s Adagio For Strings and Biber’s Battalia à 10; the winds in Bizet’s Symphony No. 1 and Copland’s Clarinet Concerto, and the brass in Purcell’s Sound The Trumpet, and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 to name a few. I am so grateful to BCO’s Board of Trustees for their support and partnership to create a season of unforgettable concerts for Baltimore’s extraordinary community of music lovers.”

 

The season’s repertoire and guest artist performers include:

 

PORTRAITS OF AMERICA

Robert Moody, conductor; Ricardo Morales, clarinet

Sunday, October 4, 2026, at 3:00pm; Goucher College’s Kraushaar Auditorium

Variations on “America” - Charles Ives (arr. Samuel Adler)

Adagio for Strings - Samuel Barber

Clarinet Concerto - Aaron Copland

Tracing Visions - Valerie Coleman

Appalachian Spring - Aaron Copland

The BCO’s 2026-27 season begins with a showcase of American art music. The concert begins with Samuel Adler’s string orchestra arrangement of Charles Ives’ Variations on “America” inspired by the composer’s work for solo organ immediately followed by Samuel Barber’s seminal Adagio for Strings, performed at the memorials of several American presidents including FDR and JFK. Then the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Principal Clarinet Ricardo Morales joins the orchestra to perform Copland’s jazz-infused Clarinet Concerto, written for Benny Goodman in 1949. After intermission, Maestro Moody leads the orchestra in Valerie Coleman’s evocative and beautiful Tracing Visions before the orchestra returns to Copland to close the concert with the ever popular Appalachian Spring!

 

FRENCH FAVORITES

Robert Moody, conductor; Bryan Wallick, piano

Sunday, November 22, 2026, at 3:00pm; Goucher College’s Kraushaar Auditorium

Le Tombeau de Couperin - Maurice Ravel

Piano Concerto No. 2 - Frederic Chopin

Symphony No. 1 in C Major - Georges Bizet

BCO celebrates the elegant yet ferociously creative French spirit in this concert. The sparkling colors of Le Tombeau de Couperin, Maurice Ravel’s graceful tribute to the French Baroque kicks things off before pianist Bryan Wallick joins the BCO to perform Chopin’s beloved Piano Concerto No. 2 in a dazzling display of virtuosity and some of the most heartfelt melodies ever written for piano. After intermission, the orchestra takes on Bizet’s underrated Symphony No. 1 in C Major, a masterpiece filled with charm, energy, and unforgettable themes written by the Carmen composer at just 17 years old.

 

GERMAN GIANTS

Robert Moody, conductor; Audrey Wright, violin

Sunday, February 7, 2027, at 3:00pm; Goucher College’s Kraushaar Auditorium

Overture in C - Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel

Symphony No. 4 “Italian” - Felix Mendelssohn

Violin Concerto - Johannes Brahms

Bask in the poetic beauty and majestic heft of the German musical tradition in this magnificent concert featuring Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s Overture in C, a vibrant work with remarkable energy written by Felix’s lesser-known but equally talented sister. A dazzling portrait of sunshine and movement fuse together with breathtaking virtuosity in her brother Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4, “Italian”, a masterpiece beloved by audiences. After intermission, BCO’s recently departed concertmaster Audrey Wright reunites with her musical colleagues to perform Brahms’s monumental Violin Concerto.

 

WHAT THE EARTH REMEMBERS

Robert Moody, conductor; Brian Bartoldus, conductor; Handel Choir of Baltimore, chorus

Sunday, March 14, 2027, at 3:00pm; Goucher College’s Kraushaar Auditorium

Lord Make Me An Instrument - John Rutter

What The Earth Remembers - Shawn Okpebholo *World Premiere*

Dona Nobis Pacem - Ralph Vaughan Williams

BCO combines forces with the Handel Choir of Baltimore for a special concert that invites audiences to consider our relationship to one another and with the planet we call home. Handel Choir Artistic Director Brian Bartoldus leads the concert’s first half starting with John Rutter’s Lord Make Me an Instrument, a heartfelt plea for compassion and understanding before leading the combined ensembles in What the Earth Remembers, a World Premiere written by Grammy-nominated composer Shawn Okpebholo with text from Marcus Amaker and commissioned by the Handel Choir that explores the realities of climate change and our responsibility to future generations. In the second half, BCO’s Music Director Robert Moody takes the podium to lead the combined forces of both ensembles in Ralph Vaughan Williams’ powerful Dona Nobis Pacem, a rarely performed masterpiece that addresses the human cost of conflict and humanity’s struggle to create a more peaceful world.

 

BRILLIANT BAROQUE

Robert Moody, conductor; Margaret Carpenter, soprano; Logan Tanner, countertenor

Sunday, May 23, 2027, at 3:00pm; Goucher College’s Kraushaar Auditorium

Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 - Johann Sebastian Bach

"Let The Bright Seraphim" from Samson - George Frideric Handel

“Ah! Stigie Larve” from Orlando - George Frideric Handel

Battalia à 10 - Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber

“Dido’s Lament” from Dido and Aeneas - Henry Purcell

Cantata 51 “Jauchzett Gott in allen landen” - Johann Sebastian Bach

Sound the Trumpet - Henry Purcell

BCO goes for Baroque in this energetic program featuring masterpieces from the celebrated era of classical music that have delighted audiences for more than 300 years. The concert begins with J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 before soprano Margaret Carpenter and countertenor Logan Tanner each make their BCO debuts to perform a series of vocal masterworks including Handel’s radiant Let the Bright Seraphim, the stirring “Ah! Stigie Larve” from the opera Orlando, and “Dido’s Lament” from Purcell’s Dido and Aenaes before the orchestra’s strings showcase their talents in Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber’s Battalia à 10. After intermission, J.S. Bach’s jubilant Cantata 51, “Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen” demonstrates the revered composer’s unmatched inventiveness before the two singers return to the stage for a special finale of Purcell’s Sound the Trumpet.

 

ABOUT ROBERT MOODY

Internationally acclaimed conductor Robert Moody is currently enjoying his 19th season as Music Director of Arizona Musicfest, his 11th season as Music Director of The Memphis Symphony Orchestra, and 3rd season as Music Director of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra. Prior positions have included Music Director for both the Portland Symphony (ME) and the Winston-Salem Symphony (NC) and conducting positions with the Phoenix Symphony, Evansville Philharmonic, Santa Fe Opera, Brevard Music Center, and NYC’s Interschool Orchestras. Maestro Moody has led many of the world’s major operas and orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony, Dallas and Houston Symphonies, the Minnesota Orchestra, Washington National Opera, Germany’s Aachen and Baden Baden Symphony Orchestras, the Orquesta Filarmonica de Bogotá in Colombia, and Austria’s Vienna Chamber Orchestra.

A frequent collaborator with opera superstar Renée Fleming, he has conducted her on many occasions performing Kevin Puts’ The Brightness of Light and “Voice of Nature,” the song cycle created for Ms. Fleming with National Geographic. Robert is a close friend and collaborator of Grammy Award winning composer Mason Bates. Their 30-year friendship has seen Moody commission several major works from Bates, including Rusty Air in Carolina, and the much lauded Desert Transport. A South Carolina native, Moody holds degrees from Furman University and the Eastman School of Music, where he earned his conducting degree with Donald Neuen. Moody celebrates the life and dedicates all his musical endeavors to the work of organist Jimmy Jones, his spouse of 18 years who passed away unexpectedly in early 2024. Moody lives in Memphis with their two dogs. He is an avid runner, swimmer, history buff, “Jeopardy!” addict, and snow-skier.

 

ABOUT THE BALTIMORE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA (BCO):

Since 1984, the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra has offered captivating classical music experiences for music lovers across the Mid-Atlantic region. Characterized by its reputation for artistic excellence and engaging community programs, the BCO has made Baltimore 1 of only 15 American cities with both a top-tier Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra and is Baltimore County’s only professional orchestra with a subscription series. The orchestra made its Meyerhoff Symphony Hall debut in May 2026 during the League of American Orchestras National Conference, presented a New York debut praised by The New York Times, has recorded three CDs released by Naxos Records, and toured internally in China. Building on the artistic legacies of Music Directors Anne Harrigan and Markand Thakar, Maestro Robert Moody became BCO’s Music Director in July 2024 and leads the orchestra’s roster of 35 of the Baltimore region’s most accomplished professional musicians in an annual concert season performed at Goucher College in Towson, MD. A committed group of 16 community leaders dedicated to artistic innovation, community engagement, and education serve on the Board of Trustees and support BCO’s legacy as an enduring presence in the region’s classical music scene.

 

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