Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's "2007 Celebration Gala" Pays Tribute to 25 Years at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, Saturday, September 15

In Honor of Hall's 25th Birthday, Gala Concert Tickets Available For $25

Gala Chairs Richard and Lois Hug, Ticket Chair Lainy LeBow-Sachs host annual fundraiser featuring Marin Alsop leading the BSO and local performing arts groups in community concert

Baltimore, Md. (August 15, 2007) - Since 1982, the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall has been one of Baltimore's cultural jewels, serving as home of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and host to hundreds of concerts and special events each year. The BSO will kick off the magnificent hall's silver anniversary season with the 2007 Celebration Gala on Saturday, September 15, 2007, the eve of the hall's opening exactly 25 years prior. Hosted by Gala Chairs Richard and Lois Hug and Ticket Chair Lainy LeBow-Sachs, this year's gala features the BSO's new music director, Marin Alsop, leading the Orchestra and local performing arts groups in a community concert. In a BSO "first," as a tribute to the community spirit which has made the Meyerhoff a Baltimore landmark, 1,000 seats for the Gala Concert will be available to the public for a very special price of just $25.

"From the first time I guest conducted the BSO, I loved the Meyerhoff. It's an inspiring place to make music: the architecture is unique, the acoustics are warm and clear, and the audiences are always welcoming," commented Maestra Alsop, who will conduct the Gala Concert and will lead her inaugural concerts as the BSO's 12th music director September 27-30. "The Baltimore Symphony and the Meyerhoff belong to the people of Baltimore, so I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of this great hall than to invite our whole community to join us at the Gala Concert."

The concert will feature arts groups throughout the city, performing alongside the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and under the baton of Marin Alsop. The program will include excerpts from classical favorites such as Orff's Carmina Burana and Verdi's Requiem, both featuring the combined choirs of Morgan State University and the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, as well as works by acclaimed contemporary composers John Adams and Joan Tower, both featured in the BSO's 2007-2008 season. Additional groups scheduled to perform include the Frederick Douglass High School Drum Corps, The Johns Hopkins University Yong Han Lion Dance Troupe and the Children's Chorus of Maryland. And in a very special appearance, members of the construction crew that built the Meyerhoff 25 years ago will return to the hall, joining the BSO for the "Anvil Chorus" from Verdi's opera Il Trovatore. See below for complete program information.

Always a highlight of the Baltimore social calendar, the 2007 Celebration Gala features a complete evening of fine dining provided by Classic Catering, a silent auction and entertainment, as well as the Gala Concert. Gala festivities will take place in a lavishly decorated tent just outside the Meyerhoff. Inside the hall, museum-quality displays will chronicle the history of the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, from its groundbreaking through today. Throughout the evening, performers such as flamenco dancers, the Army Herald Trumpets and the Children's Chorus of Maryland will provide entertainment, both inside the tent for Gala guests and in the Meyerhoff lobby for Gala Concert guests.

The BSO's annual gala is the organization's largest and most important fundraising event each season, with proceeds going to support the Orchestra's educational outreach programs in Baltimore and throughout Maryland. More than 50 local organizations have donated goods for the silent auction, including luxury accommodations in Costa Rica, fine art, and skybox tickets for 12 for an Orioles home game. Other items include signed scores from all 11 contemporary composers featured on the BSO's 2007-2008 season, a lunch for four at Petit Louis with Maestra Alsop, and the opportunity to conduct the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in a children's concert.

The Gala is made possible through the generous support of the presenting sponsors, Georgia and Peter Angelos and the Baltimore Orioles.

Special anniversary pricing for the BSO's 2007-2008 season at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall is made possible by generous underwriting from the PNC Foundation.

2007 CELEBRATION GALA INFORMATION
Saturday, September 15, 2007

6:00 p.m.-Dining, entertainment, silent auction-Gala Tent
7:30 p.m.-Doors open for Gala Concert-Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (JMSH)
9:45 p.m.-Post-party, dancing, desserts-Gala Tent

Tickets for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's 2007 Celebration Gala are available individually or in sponsor groups of 10, and start at $750 per person. For more information or to purchase tickets for the 2007 Celebration Gala, contact the BSO Development Department, 410.783.8054.

GALA CONCERT
Saturday, September 15, 2007

The Gala Concert is black-tie optional.

7:30 p.m.-Doors open for Gala Concert, entertainment, refreshments available for purchase-JMSH
8:30 p.m.-Concert-JMSH
9:45 p.m.-Post-concert entertainment in lobby, refreshments available for purchase-JMSH

Copland-Fanfare for the Common Man
Tower-Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, No. 1
Adams-Short Ride in a Fast Machine
Janacek- Sinfonietta, Movement I
Falla-El Amor Brujo: Ritual Fire Dance
Verdi-"Anvil Chorus" from Il Trovatore
Faure-"Pie Jesu" from Requiem
Li Huan Zhi- Spring Festival Overture
Verdi-"Dies Irae" and "Tuba Mirum" from Requiem
Orff-"O Fortuna" from Carmina Burana
Ravel-Bolero  

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Marin Alsop, conductor
Eric Dyer, video artist
Army Herald Trumpets
Baltimore Chorale Arts Society
Children's Chorus of Maryland
Frederick Douglass High School Drum Corps
The Johns Hopkins University's Yong Han 
Lion Dance Troupe
Meyerhoff Construction Workers
Morgan State University Choir

One-thousand tickets to the Gala Concert are available for just $25, beginning August 23. Tickets may be purchased through the BSO Ticket Office, 410.783.8000 or www.BSOmusic.org.

Media requests may be directed to the BSO's Public Relations Department, 410.783.8024.