DONOR SPOTLIGHT
Maximilan Franz
Celebrating Outgoing Board Chair Barry F. Rosen
by ALLISON BURR-LIVINGSTONE
Barry and Susan Rosen, Photographed at the BSO’ s 2023 Gala
The period since 2019 could be described as the most evolutionary in the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’ s recent history. Through a global pandemic and multiple leadership transitions, there has also been a singular, constant force: Board Chair Barry Rosen. This November, Barry steps down as Board Chair following six years of impactful leadership, the maximum allowable term for the position. Barry ' s over 50-year commitment to the BSO— as patron, volunteer, and representative of a longstanding corporate sponsor— is a story to be cherished and an example to be celebrated.
A born and bred Baltimorean, Susan Rosen( maiden name Loker) has fond memories of attending Baltimore Symphony Orchestra concerts as a student at Notre Dame Prep.
A New Yorker who first came to Baltimore for his undergraduate studies at Johns Hopkins, Barry’ s BSO introduction came much later at an outdoor Fourth of July celebration— a beloved tradition the Rosens continue to share with their extended( and ever-expanding) family. Barry and Susan began attending BSO concerts more regularly when their children were young.
“ Our first subscription was a Sunday pops package with another couple from our neighborhood,” Barry recalled.“ We all had many small children at the time, and I believe the impetus was to select six Sundays when we could get babysitters and carve out some adult time away from our hectic households.”
Barry and Susan have come to enjoy many different BSO experiences over the years, and their 2025 – 26 season choose-your-own subscription package is a reflection of the diversity of the BSO: from a Live at the Meyerhoff holiday event with Leslie Odom, Jr. to a Fusion of Vivaldi’ s Four Seasons with Earth, Wind & Fire, to Classical masterpieces such as Brahms and Hayden to Broadway icons on the Pops series.
A subscriber for many years, Barry’ s journey to the BSO Board— and the boards of other healthcare and anchor institutions such as Loyola University, Sinai Hospital, and Lifebridge Health— was influenced by his professional career with the Baltimore law firm Gordon Feinblatt, where he remains head of the Firm’ s Health Care Practice Group. Gordon Feinblatt’ s corporate support of the BSO dates to the early 1990s, when the firm served as a signature sponsor for the 1992 – 93 Gala celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. It was during this period that Barry served an initial three-year Board term. Barry describes the 75-member Board of the‘ 90s as“ honorific” compared to a Board roughly half that size today, which“ takes its fiduciary responsibility very seriously.” And while honorific in nature, Barry also recalled a VIP parking pass at Oregon Ridge as a special and
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