Marion Alsop

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is a professional American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland internationally recognized as having achieved a prominent place among the world’s most important orchestras. The BSO’s home is the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, it opened a second center, the Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda. In 2007, Marin Alsop led her inaugural concerts as the Orchestra’s 12th music director, the first woman to head a major American orchestra. Founded in 1916, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is the only major American orchestra originally established as a branch of the municipal government. Reorganized as a private institution in 1942, it maintains close relationships with the governments and communities of the city and surrounding counties, as well as with the State of Maryland. The BSO's modern history dates from 1965, when Baltimore arts patron Joseph Meyerhoff became president of the Orchestra, a position he held for 18 years. Meyerhoff appointed Romanian-born conductor Sergiu Comissiona as music director.