BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
in tempo
BSYO TOUR
The Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestras celebrated their 10-year anniversary with an inaugural European concert tour . This 12-day excursion brought 76 BSYO musicians , 28 parents / chaperones , and six staff members including Jonathan Rush in his final performances as Artistic Director of the BSYO to 16 cities in four countries .
The Orchestra played five concerts and
Group photo in the airport headed to begin the European Concert tour
visited notable sites like La Scala in Milan , the Mozarteum in Salzburg , Lake Bled in Slovenia , and the Charles Bridge in Prague . The final concert took place in Dvořák Hall within the Rudolfinium . This historic concert hall has been the home of the Czech Philharmonic since 1896 when Dvořák himself conducted their first performance . Many of his works were premiered here , and it was only fitting that the BSYO finished this historic concert tour with a triumphant performance on the very stage that bears his name . Concert repertoire included Dvořák ’ s Symphony No . 9 , “ From the New World ,” Gershwin ’ s An American in Paris , Coleridge Taylor ’ s Danse Negre , Mambo from Leonard Bernstein ’ s Overture to West Side Story , and a special encore composed especially for this concert tour by BSO Interim Director of Community Engagement Brian Prechtl entitled Far and Away .
Following this inaugural tour , we are hoping to begin a three-year cycle of touring for the BSYO . The students ’ lives were enriched by the camaraderie of traveling and performing with their peers , and their horizons broadened as they got their first taste of how far music can take them .
Top : Dvorak Hall at the Rudolfinium in Prague , Czech Republic . Above : Oliver Wu and his father , Albert Wu posing outside of St . Mark ' s Square in Venice .
Group Photo of BSYO students on the steps of the Rudolfinium .
8 OVERTURE / BSOmusic . org