BUILDING COMMUNITY THROUGH THE ENSEMBLE
OrchKids is building community throughout Baltimore in a rare way : through instrumental ensembles . For many Baltimore students , music education does not continue past general music in elementary school . A mere 12 % of city schools offer instrumental education . This is where OrchKids steps in to help fill the void . We create musical pathways for students to pursue music from as young as Pre-K all the way through 12th grade and beyond . We offer access to instruments , private lessons , ensembles , and community performances , including those on stage at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall . Every student should have access to instrumental education no matter what school they attend or what neighborhood they live in .
So , why instrumental ensembles ? Participation in an ensemble develops a set of crucial skills including collaboration , listening as a part of music-making , leadership , and personal responsibility as a part of a team . Students of all ages and neighborhoods come together with a common goal : to make beautiful music . As a member of an ensemble , students become part of a musical community where the sum is greater than the whole of its parts . This community extends past just their OrchKids site — as students from five sites , who attend 38 different schools , come together for several concerts each school year . Now , students in Midtown have friends in Highlandtown who have friends in Lexington , and so on . They are building a community not only within OrchKids , but across the entire city of Baltimore . In the same way that BSO musicians are simultaneously individuals , members of an instrument section , and members of the BSO , our students are individuals , students of their site , students of OrchKids , and members of the greater BSO community .
SEE OUR ENSEMBLES IN ACTION ! CHECK OUT
UPCOMING EVENTS ON OUR WEBSITE .
ABOVE : Strings at the OrchKids 15-Year Celebration Concert .
LEFT : Symphonic Winds at the 2022 OrchKids Winter Spectacular at Highlandtown Elementary / Middle School # 215 .
NOV-DEC 2023 / OVERTURE 17