Baltimore Symphony Orchestra About To Celebrate 100th Anniversary

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Thirty-five appearances at Carnegie Hall, eight international tours, 56 commercial recordings and three Grammy awards. That's just some of the amazing accomplishments of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

Ron Matz has more on this remarkable group of musicians as the orchestra gets ready to celebrate its 100th anniversary Thursday night.

They're getting ready for a big celebration. The BSO has been making great music for 100 years.

Music Director Marin Alsop feels the excitement.

"It's pretty exciting to celebrate 100 years of the Baltimore Symphony. It's an orchestra that was founded by the city and for the city and I think we're still here for that reason. We're here for the community and we're totally committed," Alsop said. "Everyone deserves access to great art and we have a world-class orchestra, possibly one of the great orchestras in the world right here in Baltimore."

The symphony hall bears the name of Joseph Meyerhoff; that's not a coincidence.

"How can you not acknowledge Joseph Meyerhoff? Look at what he did, that partnership with Sergio Commissiona to make this orchestra a major orchestra, that inspiration he gave to the community. And how could you not acknowledge Mayor Schaeffer? He was a cheerleader of not just the orchestra but the entire community and the city," said musician and historian Michael Lisicky. "I think there are three people who are so important to the legacy of this organization; the first one being Reginald Stuart. He was director of the Peabody and came in and resurrected the Baltimore Symphony after it dissolved. He kick-started this place. He took the orchestra to Carnegie Hall in 1947."

And they will be here Thursday night celebrating.

"It's a sign of the growth of Baltimore. Back in the early 20th century, who could have imagined there would be a world-class orchestra here 100 years later but here we are," said BSO President Paul Meecham. "It's recognized not just nationally but internationally and that's a tribute to the quality of the music directors, the leaders of the institution who hired them at the time, starting from Sergio Commissiona to David Zinman, Yuri Temarkanov to now, of course, Marin Alsop."

The Baltimore Symphony has had a century of greatness.

"Thursday night's party I think is going to be full on. The program's amazing. We have Joshua Bell playing the suite from West Side Story, we have our youth orchestra kids, we have our Orchkids joining us for Ravel's Bolero. It's got something for everybody and it's going to be a great evening," Alsop said.

The BSO centennial concert is Thursday night at the Meyerhoff, starting at 8 p.m. For ticket information, click here.