Overture Magazine 2019-20 BSO_Overture_Jan Feb | Page 7

MONUMENT
LIGHTING
OrchKids headline Mount
Vernon Tradition
T
MARIN ALSOP, ORCHKIDS AND THE NATIONAL
COALITION OF GIRLS’ SCHOOLS
Leading Schools, Leading Girls: Preparing for the Future
A
t The Bryn Mawr School on
Friday, October 18, the National
Coalition of Girls’ Schools
welcomed Music Director Marin Alsop as
Keynote Speaker for their 2019 Educating
Girls Symposium, Leading Schools, Leading
Girls: Preparing for the Future. The
symposium sought to unite educators from
across the country to address the ways in
which schools are cultivating leadership
skills and confidence in young women.
In her speech, Alsop shared that she was
shocked when, at 9 years old, her violin
teacher told her that she couldn’t be a
conductor because “girls don’t do that.”
“As soon as someone says, ‘you can’t do
something,’ I am so motivated,” said Alsop.
“I find that ‘can’t’ to me equals ‘must.’ The
idea that you could tell a child that they
can’t do something is so unacceptable to
me. I think everyone can do everything,
but of course that is based on opportunity.”
Alsop noticed that orchestras often don’t
reflect the diversity of the communities
we live in, exemplifying the lack of
opportunities provided
Above: NCGS
to students and
Trustee and Head
of Ashley Hall
inspiring the opening
School Jill Muti,
of BSO OrchKids with
Music Director
30 students in 2009.
Marin Alsop and
OrchKids student
“The skills that you
Nyshae.
learn when you study
a musical instrument are transferable to
any discipline,” said Alsop. “You have to
practice every day, or you don’t get better.
It shows you that real progress is
incremental. You have to apply yourself.
You have to motivate yourself. You have to
learn incredible coordination skills. You
have to budget your time.”
Following her speech, Alsop was joined
on stage by OrchKids students Tantrice,
Keyona, Nyshae and Ny’Asia and OrchKids
Fellow Ms. Autumn for a performance
of “Three Dream Portraits” by Margaret
Bonds. An accomplished pianist, teacher
and composer, Bonds inspired many when
she became the first African American
to perform as a soloist with the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra in 1933.
he lighting of Mount Vernon’s
Washington Monument has
become a beloved Baltimore
tradition, and BSO OrchKids has
recently become an integral part of
that tradition! Now headlining the pre-
lighting performance, this year marked
OrchKids’ fifth performance at the
Monument Lighting. On December
5, the OrchKids Brass Band helped
close the evening of performances with
their original compositions and holiday
favorites. The festivities culminated in
a fireworks show over the monument!
GAME DAY
O
pening one of the most exciting Ravens games this season, members of the
Baltimore Symphony brass and percussion sections performed the national
anthem at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday, November 3. Led by Associate
Conductor Nicholas Hersh, the ensemble performed an arrangement of the national
anthem written by Sean O’Loughlin.
“This was my second time performing at the Ravens game, but the experience
was just as, if not more, electrifying,” says Hersh. “Being on the field in a sold-out
stadium, with all the fans hollering ‘O!’ in unison back down at you, is simply
incredible. And as we were leaving the field after the performance, the Ravens were
making their drive to their first touchdown of the night!”
The experience was made even better by the Ravens’ win against the previously
undefeated New England Patriots with a score of 37–20!
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