While at the helm of the BSO , the outgoing Paul Meecham has seen lots of positive changes .
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How has the BSO changed since you came on board ? The biggest change was Marin Alsop . Her spirit of innovation has inspired those of us on staff and in the orchestra to think more broadly about how we can engage with , and become more relevant to , our community . OrchKids , in particular , was created because there was a deficit in music education in Baltimore City schools . It was followed later with OrchLab in Montgomery County .
The BSO Academy resulted from conversations with our musicians about how they can help reignite the passion for music in adult amateurs . We draw on our musicians as coaches through the Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestras . We also perform Music Box concerts for the very young . All this has stemmed from a vision of providing greater access , understanding what the community needs from us .
A decade of
progress
While at the helm of the BSO , the outgoing Paul Meecham has seen lots of positive changes .
by Martha Thomas
Paul Meecham has been President and CEO of the BSO since October 2006 . A musician by training , he has held leadership positions in classical music in London , San Francisco , New York , and Seattle . At the end of June , Meecham will leave the BSO to become President and CEO of the Utah Symphony / Utah Opera . During his decade in Baltimore , Meecham has partnered with Marin Alsop to lead the BSO into its second century , by increasing community outreach and collaborations with other arts and cultural organizations , as well as bringing new audiences into the concert hall .
The BSO has also become more involved in collaborations with local groups in Baltimore and D . C . Strathmore had only been open a year and a half when I started , and our approach then was to repeat a program prepared and performed in Baltimore . Now , we are more intentional about establishing roots in the D . C . region , and we do this in part by inviting once or twice a year a D . C . -based group as an artistic partner . We have collaborated with such choral groups as the University of Maryland Concert Choir , the Cathedral Choral Society , and the Choral Arts Society of Washington . Later this year , we are creating a version of Duke Ellington ’ s Nutcracker with the wonderful Washington dance troupe , Step Afrika ! Here in Baltimore , we regularly collaborate with Peabody , the Baltimore School for the Arts , City College , and Morgan State , among others .
Does the BSO ’ s role as an ambassador for Baltimore create a certain responsibility ? It ’ s by far the largest cultural organization in the state , and with that comes a great
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