Programs and results
What we aim to solve
When cultural organizations like the BSO succeed, so too does the entire region. The BSO’s artistic presentations stimulate a thriving cultural and economic landscape through creative placemaking, job creation and direct/resident/visitor spending – all supporting resident, business and employee attraction. Combined, the BSO calculates its annual economic impact at upwards of $30M. Perhaps more important, years of funding cuts have eliminated or severely reduced arts education in public schools, and an uncertain economic climate has greatly impacted access to the arts. To this end the BSO partners with Baltimore City and County Schools and other community partners to present transformative concerts onstage, and help close the arts education gap in our classrooms.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Family Concerts
Family Concerts offer engaging programs for children aged 5 and above on Saturday mornings, featuring age-appropriate pre-concert activities in partnership with Port Discovery Childrens Museum, the Waldorf School, and Music & Art.
Music Box Concerts
Music Box Concerts provide interactive performances for babies and toddlers aged 6 months to 3 years and feature BSO musicians and charismatic storyteller Maria Broom.
Midweek Concerts
Midweek Education Concerts (four unique programs each year) provide multi-disciplinary concert experiences (accompanied by Teachers Activity Guides to enhance students' understanding and appreciation of the performances). They also feature a special focus on presenting BIPOC guest artists, composers, and conductors. The concerts reach students from 13+ Maryland counties, Baltimore City, and beyond. BSO subsidizes transportation for Baltimore City Title I Public Schools, and tickets to all Maryland Title I schools. BSO's digital Midweek recordings are the most popular resource on the BSO's digital Offstage platform and free to all.
Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestras
The Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestras (BSYO) includes 250+ talented student musicians (elementary through high school) across three tiers of ensembles. Students meet throughout the year for rehearsals, sectionals, and workshops at the Carver Center in Towson, Towson University, AND the Meyerhoff, and present at least 3 BSYO concerts annually (including a concerto competition) with students regularly performing across the region and in the lobby at BSO concerts. A 10-day European Concert Tour was a highlight of their 10-year anniversary festivities in 2023, with plans for more international touring in the future.
Side-by-Sides
The BSOs Side by Side Program is for select high school students, offering a unique opportunity to rehearse and perform side by side with a world-class orchestra in the BSO's Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.
OrchKids
OrchKids provides social-change-through-music programming across seven embedded schools in Baltimore City (but draws from 53 City and County schools). Free for all participants, OrchKids serves over 1,800 students in grades Pre-K 12 in-school, after-school, and via a three-week+ summer session at Goucher College (with dozens of students also attending formative external summer music camps across the country/around the world). Last year, OrchKids shared 32+ concerts in schools, at the Meyerhoff, and at community events.
Open Rehearsals
Open Rehearsals bring regional middle and high school students to experience working rehearsals at the Meyerhoff and Strathmore. These programs are offered at no cost to the participating schools and students.
BSO on the GO
BSO on the GO offers musician engagement in the classroom for high school students. Current programming includes sectionals, masterclasses, and mini residencies across public schools in Howard and Montgomery Counties (including a new goal to reach all 25 MCPS high schools in FY24).
Where we work
External reviews
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Total number of free admissions
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Decreasing
Context Notes
This includes virtual and in person attendance
Total number of paid admissions
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This includes virtual and in person attendance
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Under the dynamic leadership of Music Director Jonathon Heyward, the BSO has become a more relevant, artistically vibrant, and financially sustainable organization. Overarching goals include performing great music in fresh and exciting ways; serving as a center for creativity, artistic excellence, and innovation with broad public appeal; developing the creative potential in people of all ages; and strengthening the cultural, civic, and economic needs of the community.
The overarching goal of the BSO's youth programming is to reach and impact every child in Maryland through the power of music. Specific objectives associated with these education initiatives include:
- Cultivating interest in symphonic music from an early age;
- Enhancing the quality of and increasing access to arts education for all Maryland public school students;
- Improving social and academic behaviors;
- Enhancing student learning while reinforcing State and National curricula (where applicable); and
- Nurturing creative expression through musical exposure and participatory activities.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The BSO presents 150 performances and special events annually, including pieces from the classical canon, world premieres, musical theatre, popular music, and film scores across two dedicated performance venues: the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore and The Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda. Combined with touring and run-out appearances across Maryland, the BSO brings the highest quality live music to 315,000+ people annually. In addition, and under Jonathon Heyward's leadership, the BSO has expanded its commitment to access and education, serving 40,000+ children and youth, teachers and families annually at low or no-cost through early-education initiatives; direct outreach in-and-out of the classroom; and summer enrichment options.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
In September 2019, the BSO established a Vision Committee, chaired by BSO Board Chairman Barry Rosen, and made up of musicians, Board members, Endowment trustees, artistic leadership, volunteers and staff. The BSO engaged TDC, one of the nations oldest nonprofit consulting firms, to lead in-depth analytical work to help ensure a strong foundation and key insights as we look to the future. In addition, former Senator Ed Kasemeyer, Chairman of the State Workgroup on the BSO, invited Michael Kaiser, the leading national consultant on turning around cultural organizations, to speak to the Workgroup. The BSO subsequently engaged Kaiser to help develop its multi-year plan.
In February 2020, the BSO announced the central tenants of its five-year strategic plan: 1) Culture: Ensuring that the art and education we deliver are among the best in the nation, engage our audience and donors, serve our community and are surprising and inspiring; 2) Capital: Ensuring we have the financial resources we need to support this programming and that we are responsible stewards of our assets; 3) Capacity: Ensuring that we have the people and the systems we need to manage the institution effectively and efficiently and to govern the organization responsibly; and, 4) Community: Ensuring that we serve our entire Baltimore and Montgomery County communities effectively, and that we fully occupy our role as the leader of the performing arts in Maryland.
Audience growth, community engagement and outreach, and further multi-year philanthropic commitments will be critical to the Orchestras ability to fully implement new initiatives and make the exciting future a reality.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In 2019, we charted a new path forward via a strategic plan shaped by the collective input of musicians, management, community members, and civic leaders. In August 2020, influenced by this state-endorsed plan and at the peak of the global pandemic, BSO musicians and administration ratified a progressive 5-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA), paving the way for artistic expansion, unprecedented digital accessibility, and even more robust ADIE (access, diversity, inclusion, and equity) and community engagement work. The BSO made musical history in 2007 when Marin Alsop became the Orchestras 12th Music Director the first woman to head a major American orchestra, and again, in 2023, with Jonathon Heyward officially taking the stage as Music Director, the first Music Director of color in our history and the only American-born conductor currently leading a major American orchestra.
Jonathon Heywards appointment followed an Orchestra-led search process, emphasizing the importance of finding a visionary leader who could connect with the community and advocate for music and musicians. Heyward, a former student of the Charleston, South Carolina Public School System, began his musical journey at the age of 10 and at 31 has already conducted influential orchestras worldwide. He is set to bring his artistry, passion, and vision to the BSO, inspiring budding musicians and promoting underrepresented voices in the industry. Alongside his post at the BSO, Jonathon Heyward was recently appointed as Music Director of the Lincoln Centers summer orchestra in New York City (starting summer 2024). As a star on the rise, this remarkable vote of confidence in Jonathon Heywards influence in the symphonic world has been accompanied this year by multiple prestigious debuts including at the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC
Board of directorsas of 12/14/2023
Mr. Barry Rosen
Gorden Feinblatt LLC.
Rick Bernstein
First Fruit Farms
Kathleen Chagnon
Remedi Seniorcare
Harvey Cohen
S.S. Papadopulos & Associates
Walter Doggett III
Arvest Bank
Michael F. Ernst
The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company
Denise Hargrove
Booz Allen
Joseph Jennings, Jr.
PNC Bank
Christian C. Johansson
Stella May Contracting
Marc E. Lackritz
Georgetown University
Judy Phares
Community Leader
Stephen D. Shawe, Esq.
Shawe and Rosenthal, LLP
James T. Smith
Smith, Gildea and Schmidt, LLC
Solomon H. Snyder, M.D.
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Barry F. Williams
Baltimore County Government, Retired
Peter L. Winik
Latham and Watkins, LLP, Retired
Steven R. Schuh
Maryland Opioid Operational Command Center
Michael Forster
Brown Capital
Margaret de Cuevas
Johns Hopkins University
Mark C. Hanson
Ex-Officio / Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Lisa Brown Alexander
Nonprofit HR
Chuck Alston
MSL
Mary Ellen Barbara
Chief Judge, Court of Appeals, Retired
Kappie Bogart
Transamerica
Ellen Fish
Sandy Spring Bank
Denise Galambos
BGE
Denise Hargrove
Booz Allen
Douglas Hamilton III
Hamilton Associates
Michael Keane
Wilmington Trust
Nancy Kopp
State of Maryland, Retired
Marie Lerch
Executive Scribe
Marshall Levine, M.D.
Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Retired
Jason Perry
Mindgrub
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 12/14/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.