Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Marin Alsop Present Women of the World ("WOW") Festival, March 2-4, 2012

WOW Festival part of the BSO's 2011-2012 season's celebration of revolutionary women

Festival is inspired and shaped by women in Baltimore

Baltimore, Md. (November 11, 2011) - The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra ("BSO") and BSO Music Director Marin Alsop announced today their plans to partner with London's internationally renowned Southbank Centre to present the Women of the World Festival in Baltimore ("WOW-Baltimore")  on March 2-4, 2012 at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. Inspired by BSO Music Director Marin Alsop's participation in the premiere WOW Festival presented by London's Southbank Centre in March 2011, this pioneering Baltimore event underscores Marin Alsop and the BSO's vision to go beyond an orchestra's traditional role and become a beacon of shared expression and inspiration for a community. WOW-Baltimore will also further explore the BSO's 2011-2012 season-long celebration of revolutionary women, a season which includes music that honors or depicts women in iconic roles throughout history.

Jude Kelly, founder of WOW and Co-Artistic Director with Marin Alsop of WOW-Baltimore said, "When I created WOW I realized it was a powerful time to bring women together to celebrate our achievements and to champion ideas that would further women's progress. After its phenomenal success in London, I'm thrilled that we are building the next festival in Baltimore."

WOW-Baltimore will be a three-day festival and interactive forum for and about women and women's issues and will include guest speakers, artists, panel discussions, networking opportunities and casual conversations. Daytime and evening ticketed events will include a variety of music, film, comedy, dance and literature performances and readings, including the BSO's performance on Friday, March 2 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, March 4 at 3 p.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall of Voices of Light: the 1928 silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc combined with Richard Einhorn's accompanying score. Please see below for complete event details. Editor's Note: A more complete schedule for WOW-Baltimore will be announced in January 2012.

"I believe that performing excellent music inside the concert hall is only part of an orchestra's role in its community. WOW-Baltimore represents another dimension to the BSO's role to the people in our region: we aspire to become a destination point and shared space for diverse cultural offerings, an arena for productive thought and discourse, a catalyst for inspiration and creative thought, " said BSO Music Director Marin Alsop. "When I first moved to Baltimore, I was struck by the abundance of strong, accomplished and courageous women at the forefront of public and private life in this region. It has been my privilege to get to know many of these women better through the 'Think-In' sessions we hosted to help plan WOW-Baltimore. Their astounding insights, palpable sense of excitement, and eagerness to connect with each other were a small but powerful microcosm of what I hope WOW-Baltimore will become."

In keeping with the BSO's vision that the WOW Festival be an event for the community, presented by the community, the BSO held 10 planning "Think-Ins" throughout Baltimore in Fall 2011.  Nearly 400 women of varying backgrounds responded to this open invitation to share their personal stories, discuss the issues facing women in Baltimore and around the world, and to help plan WOW-Baltimore. The remaining 5 Think-Ins occur this weekend, November 11-13; more information and a registration form are available at: http://wowbaltimorethink-in-eivtefrnd.eventbrite.com/. Proposed festival subject-matter "tracks" that emerged from the Think-In discussions to date have included: health/wellness, sports/fitness, family/everyday life, economics/financial literacy, entrepreneurship/business/career development, culture/media, and local/global issues.

Festival components that were very successful at the inaugural Southbank WOW festival and will be replicated in Baltimore include:
     - WOW Bites: short talks and inspiring ideas and stories in the style of TED talks;
     - Speed Mentoring: participants engage with leading female mentors from a range of industries in a "speed  dating" format.
     - Panel Discussions: women-led talks and Q&A's featuring significant guest speakers.
     - WOW Marketplace: female-run businesses or products and activities for women are provided sales space in the Meyerhoff lobby, including a WOW café.

WOW-Baltimore is part of a global network of WOW festivals that Jude Kelly and Southbank Centre in London are creating. Following the inaugural festival in London in 2011, it returns in 2012, along with WOW-Baltimore and WOW-Brisbane. "The inaugural WOW Festival in London was nothing short of groundbreaking, breathtaking, life-changing," reported Jude Kelly. "The germ of inspiration and awareness of our collective strength has taken root in London and is poised to shake up Baltimore and the world."

WOW-BALTIMORE FESTIVAL
Friday, March 2, 2012
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Sunday, March 4, 2012

WOW-Baltimore Festival

Events include: workshops, WOW Bites, Speed Mentoring, Panel Discussions, WOW Marketplace, WOW Café, various speakers and performers. Editor's Note: A complete schedule of events will be announced at a later date.

WOW-Baltimore daytime events will include a mix of free and paid events, with affordable day-passes available for sale in advance and on-site.

WOW-Baltimore ticketed events, including notable speakers, comediennes, and performers, will be announced in January 2012 and available for purchase at BSOmusic.org, 410.783.8000 or by visiting the BSO Ticket Office.

WOW-BALTIMORE THINK-INS
Friday, November 11 from 9:30a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 4 to 6:30 p.m. - Notre Dame of Maryland University, Doyle Formal Lounge, Doyle Hall, 4701 North Charles Street Baltimore, MD 21210 (Use main campus entrance and follow signs for parking)
Saturday, November 12, 2011 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 2 to 4:30 p.m. - Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
Sunday, November 13, 2011 from 1 to 3:30 p.m. - The Junior League of Baltimore, 5902 York Road, Baltimore, Maryland 21212

Think-Ins are free and open to the public. For more information or to register, visit: http://wowbaltimorethink-in-eivtefrnd.eventbrite.com/

VOICES OF LIGHT CONCERT
Friday, March 2, 2011 at 8 p.m.-Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (JMSH)
Sunday, March 4, 2011 at 3 p.m.-JMSH

Marin Alsop, conductor
Baltimore Choral Arts Society
   Tom Hall, director

Richard Einhorn: Voices of Light

Tickets are $28 to $61 and are available at the BSO Ticket Office, 410.783.8000 or BSOmusic.org.