August 14, 2023

Baltimore Chamber Orchestra

Info@TheBCO.org

(410) 685-4050

For Immediate Release:

 

Baltimore Chamber Orchestra 

Announces 2023-24 Season

 

 – BCO celebrates its 40th Anniversary season with major works

 by Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn, and Mozart conducted by five 

internationally renowned conductors and Music Director Finalists. 

Additional highlights include works by Carlos Simon, Joseph Bologne, 

Adolphus Hailstork, Florence Price, Jessie Montgomery, 

Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, and the Maryland debut of Ruth Gipps’ 

Oboe Concerto performed by Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Principal Oboist 

and Baltimore native, Katherine Needleman. Plus so much more!

(BALTIMORE, MD) — Today the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra (BCO) announced the 2023-24 season including five classical concerts featuring eight guest soloists and ten debut musical works. Five conductors selected as Finalists in the Orchestra’s current search for a new Music Director will each conduct one concert with audience members and musicians each voting on their favorite candidate. All concerts take place in Kraushaar Auditorium at Goucher College in Towson, at 3:00pm on Sunday afternoons.

“The season’s theme of ‘Visionary Talent, Timeless Music’ is the perfect encapsulation for the excitement we feel having five incredibly gifted conductors lead the Orchestra during our 40th anniversary season,” Ben Newman, BCO’s Executive Director said. “Each one will lead the Orchestra in music spanning the 18th-21st centuries including pieces written by women and composers of color never performed before by the BCO alongside a stunning lineup of new and returning guest soloists including father and son string duo, Alexander & Stefan Hersh, oboist Katherine Needleman, pianist Xiaohui Yang, Stulberg Competition winners, violinists Daniel Bae (2020) and Dongyoung Jake Shim (2022), and our own Concertmaster, Audrey Wright and Principal Viola, Chiara Kingsley Dieguez.” 

The season’s repertoire, guest soloists and Music Director Finalists include: 

DAZZLING DANCES 

Roger Kalia, conductor; Katherine Needleman, oboe

Sunday, September 10, 2023 at 3:00pm; Kraushaar Auditorium at Goucher College

Oboe Concerto - Ruth Gipps, United Kingdom (1921-1999) 

Six Dances for String Orchestra - Ulysses Kay, USA (1917-1995) 

Symphony No. 36 in C Major “Linz” - W. A. Mozart, Austria (1756-1791)

Baltimore’s own Katherine Needleman gives the Maryland premiere of Ruth Gipps’ Oboe Concerto. American Ulysses Kay’s melodic Six Dances for String Orchestra, first heard on CBS Radio’s “String Serenade” in 1953 receives its BCO debut, and Mozart’s Symphony No.36 “Linz”, written in only four days in the bucolic Austrian town, opens BCO’s season.

VISIONARY VOICES

Chia-Hsuan Lin, conductor; Daniel Bae, violin; Xiaohui Yang, piano 

Sunday, November 19, 2023 at 3:00pm; Kraushaar Auditorium at Goucher College 

Symphony No. 2 in D Major - Joseph Bologne, Guadeloupe/France (1745-1799)

Suite of Dances - Florence Price, USA (1887-1953)

Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major - W. A. Mozart, Austria (1756-1791)

Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor - W. A. Mozart, Austria (1756-1791)       

Two of history's under-performed composers, Joseph Bologne, known as the “Black Mozart”, and Florence Price, the first Black American woman recognized as a symphonic composer, both debut with the BCO in this program. In the second half, Stulberg winning violinist, Daniel Bae and fan-favorite pianist, Xiaohui Yang perform contrasting concertos by W.A. Mozart.

STARBURSTING STRINGS

Morihiko Nakahara, conductor; Alexander and Stefan Hersh, cello and violin

Sunday, January 21, 2024 at 3:00pm; Kraushaar Auditorium at Goucher College 

Overture to “The Fair Melusine” - Felix Mendelssohn, Germany (1809-1847)

Starburst - Jessie Montgomery, USA (1981-Present)

Lyric for Strings -  George Walker, USA (1922-2018)

Concerto, Violin & Cello - Johannes Brahms, Germany (1833-1897)

Pulitzer Prize winning composer George Walker’s Lyric for Strings and Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipient, Jessie Montgomery’s Starburst illustrate each of these Americans remarkable compositional skills. Father & son Alexander & Stefan Hersh join forces in the second half performing Brahms’ noble “Double Concerto” for violin & cello.

FANTASTIC FIVE

Jacob Joyce, conductor; Dongyoung Jake Shim, violin

Sunday, March 24, 2024 at 3:00pm; Kraushaar Auditorium at Goucher College 

Aurora - Thea Musgrave, Scotland/USA (1928-Present)

Fate Now Conquers - Carlos Simon, USA (1965-Present) 

Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso - Camille Saint-Saëns, France (1835-1921)

Violin Concerto No.1 in Bb Major - W. A. Mozart, Austria (1756-1791)  

Symphony No. 3, “Scottish” - Felix Mendelssohn, Germany (1809-1847)

Five pieces by five composers from five different countries written over four centuries take audiences on a cross-cultural musical journey in the season's fourth concert. Violinist Dongyoung Jake Shim shows what it takes to win Gold at The Stulberg with two virtuosic works for the violin before the orchestra takes on Mendelssohn’s heroic “Scottish”.

RARE ROMANCE

Robert Moody, conductor; Chiara Kingsley Dieguez, viola; Audrey Wright, violin

Sunday, May 19, 2024 at 3:00pm; Kraushaar Auditorium at Goucher College 

Two Romances for Viola & Chamber Orchestra -  Adolphus Hailstork, USA (1941-Present)

Concerto for Violin & Orchestra - Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, USA (1939-Present)

Symphony No. 4 -  L. V. Beethoven, Germany (1770-1827)

A pair of romantic solo works from 1997 and Beethoven's Symphony No. 4 round out BCO's season of historic debuts. Adolphus Hailstork’s love for viola shines in his Two Romances, played by Principal Viola, Chiara Kingsley Dieguez, and Ellen Zwilich’s love song to the violin, the Concerto for Violin & Orchestra, is performed by concertmaster Audrey Wright.

 

More about the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra: 

The Baltimore Chamber Orchestra (BCO) has delighted audiences with its mission to move, inspire, and educate Baltimore's community through world-class performances since its first performance led by Maestra Anne Harrigan on January 29, 1984. Since introducing audiences to a classical orchestra offering virtuoso performances, the group has grown to occupy an essential niche in greater Baltimore’s thriving arts scene. Today the orchestra continues to meet the same standard of excellent established at its inception to provide accessible, high-quality music in an intimate concert setting performed by extraordinary professional musicians from across the region. A committed and enthusiastic Board of Trustees includes community leaders, philanthropic advisors, and music lovers create partnerships with businesses and media in the region to enhance the visibility and accessibility of the orchestra.

All students attend concerts for free with a valid Student ID. Performances take place in Kraushaar Auditorium at Goucher College. Free parking is available. Tickets for all performances and more information about the BCO can be found at www.TheBCO.org. 

 

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