Marylanders Invited to Join Celebration of Music Director Marin Alsop Through Free MPT Gala Broadcast and Community Offerings

Marylanders Invited to Join Celebration of Music Director Marin Alsop Through Free MPT Gala Broadcast and Community Offerings

More than 50 Local Organizations Have Joined Effort to Celebrate Statewide

June 2, 2021 (Baltimore) – The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) invites the community to join its celebration in honor of outgoing Music Director Marin Alsop by participating in The Marin Festival and its culminating gala event on Saturday, June 19. More than 50 local organizations from across the state are offering special menus, discounts, and products in honor of Alsop or serving as official viewing locations for the live gala broadcast, The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Honors Marin Alsop: A Live Gala Celebration Featuring Renée Fleming, on Maryland Public Television (MPT).

The one-night-only gala event, conducted by Alsop and emceed by BSO Artistic Partner Wordsmith, includes performances by world-renowned soprano Renée Fleming and BSO OrchKids students, as well as a world premiere by Baltimore composer James Lee III in honor of Juneteenth. The live broadcast, including pre-recorded special surprises, is available exclusively on MPT at 8:30 pm on June 19 and will be broadcast throughout the network’s viewing area and online at mpt.org/livestream, and beyond the MPT viewing area via the BSO’s YouTube channel.

Special offers from restaurants, bars, and businesses throughout the state provide fun and tangible opportunities for residents to join in the BSO’s celebrations throughout the festival (May 27 – June 19). Offerings include a curated “Women in Music” section at the Ivy Bookshop, a floral arrangement inspired by Alsop’s signature red cuffs from Flowers and Fancies, and more than two dozen food and beverage promotions, including the Bittersweet Symphony specialty cocktail at Blue Pit BBQ, BSO Beats + Bibb Salad at Atwater’s, and Marin’s Milanese from The Tilted Row, along with Bach-inspired coffee discounts from Vigilante Café and a Sugar Plum Fairy snowball from Ice Queens, to name just a few.

On June 19, residents can join fellow fans in celebrating Marin’s accomplishments and experiencing the gala concert together by visiting the participating “Watch While You Eat” bars and restaurants, or by heading to an official community viewing hub, including National Harbor, the lawn at the Rotunda, the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, and New Spire Arts Stages. An interactive festival map detailing all festival partners, special offers, and community viewing hub details is now available at BSOmusic.org/FestivalMap.

Patrons are also able to enhance their at-home viewing experience on June 19 through a special Dinner and a Broadcast promotion involving a multi-course food menus and drink pairings from Founding Farmers and The Center Club. Pickup locations and advance orders are available at BSOmusic.org/DinnerAndABroadcast.

While the gala is virtual, residents can see themselves in the MPT broadcast audience. Personalized cardboard cutouts are on sale through Salute From Your Seats, a campaign to fill all 2,443 of the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall’s seats. Proceeds benefit BSO OrchKids and orders are accepted through June 11 at BSOMusic.org/SaluteSeats.

At 8 pm on June 19, before the BSO Gala Celebration, MPT will air Celebrate: Artworks and the BSO, a special that highlights MPT’s arts programming and promotes the BSO concert show which follows at 8:30 pm. The special’s co-hosts Donald Thoms and Carolyn Black-Sortir introduce viewers to Wendel Patrick, the dynamic new host of MPT’s new arts series premiering this fall. The special also showcases interviews with community arts leaders, including BSO Associate Conductor Nicholas Hersh, as a lead-in to the concert.

Other events during The Marin Festival:

• The Enoch Pratt Free Library hosts a free conversation between Baltimore composer James Lee III and BSO Artistic Partner Wordsmith to discuss Destined Words, premiering as part of the Gala Celebration and written to commemorate the history of Juneteenth. Moderated by NPR’s Scott Simon, the conversation will be part of the library’s Writers LIVE! Series on June 15 at 7 pm.
• Alsop leads the finale of the 2020-21 season of BSO Sessions in Episodes 29 and 30, airing June 9 and June 16, respectively. The free episodes include Anna Clyne’s DANCE for Cello and Orchestra with Inbal Segev, Rouse’s Concerto per Corde, and a celebration of the music of jazz pianist and composer James P. Johnson. Available at BSOmusic.org/OffStage.
• March 7 through June 13, WBJC 91.5 FM airs the BSO Encore, Powered by PNC series, including full performances from Alsop’s tenure, as well as Alsop and BSO musicians in conversation. Every Sunday from 1 pm – 3 pm, the series includes Alsop’s signature repertoire, BSO commissions and world premieres, community collaborations, and BSO musicians featured as soloists.

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Media contacts: 

Rosie Constantine 
rconstantine@bsomusic.org
410-487-2582

Tom Williams, APR
tomwilliams@mpt.org
410-205-3677

Ari Hamilton-Gery
ahamilton@nevinspr.com 
410-568-8807

About the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra 
For over a century, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) has been recognized as one of America’s leading orchestras and one of Maryland’s most significant cultural institutions. Under the direction of Music Director Marin Alsop, the orchestra is internationally renowned and locally admired for its innovation, performances, recordings, and educational outreach initiatives including OrchKids. 

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performs annually for more than 275,000 people throughout the State of Maryland. Since 1982, the BSO has performed at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, and since 2005, with the opening of The Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda, MD, the BSO became the nation’s first orchestra performing its full season of classical and pops concerts in two metropolitan areas. More information about the BSO can be found at BSOmusic.org.

About Maryland Public Television
Maryland Public Television (MPT) is a statewide, public-supported TV network and Public Broadcasting Service member offering entertaining, educational, and inspiring content delivered by traditional broadcasting and streaming on TVs, computers, and mobile devices. A state agency, it operates under the auspices of the Maryland Public Broadcasting Commission. MPT creates local, regional, and national content and is a frequent winner of regional Emmy® awards.  MPT’s commitment to educators, parents, caregivers, and learners of all ages is delivered through instructional events and Thinkport.org. MPT’s year-round community engagement activities connect viewers with resources on a wide range of topics.  For more information visit mpt.org.  

 

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