North Bethesda is an unincorporated, census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, located just north-west of the U.S. capital of Washington, D.C. It had a population of 50,094 as of the 2020 census. Among its neighborhoods, the centrally-located, urbanizing district of White Flint is the commercial and residential hub of North Bethesda. The Pike & Rose development and the Pike District is an initiative of Montgomery County to brand and market this region as "North Bethesda's Urban Core". The WMATA North Bethesda metro station and Grosvenor-Strathmore metro station serve the region.
Montgomery Blair High School (MBHS) is a public high school located in Four Corners, Maryland, United States, operated by Montgomery County Public Schools. The school's total enrollment of 3,600 makes it the largest public high school in Montgomery County, as well as Maryland as a whole.
Maryland is a U.S. state with a musical heritage that dates back to the Native Americans of the region and includes contributions to colonial era music, modern American popular and folk music. The music of Maryland includes a number of popular musicians, folk styles and a documented music history that dates to the colonial archives on music from Annapolis, an important source in research on colonial music. Famous modern musicians from Maryland range from jazz singer Billie Holiday to pop punk band Good Charlotte, and include a wide array of popular styles.
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, it began regular performances at the Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda.
The American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras (AYPO) is group of youth orchestras in the Washington metropolitan area. The group consists of three full orchestras, and three string orchestras, along with several chamber ensembles and community outreach organizations. Currently, over 430 young musicians take part in AYPO programs.
Strathmore is a cultural and artistic venue and institution in North Bethesda, Maryland, United States. Strathmore was founded in 1981 and consists of two venues: the Mansion and the Music Center.
The Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras (MCYO) is a youth orchestra program in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area. Along with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the National Philharmonic, MCYO is affiliated with the Strathmore music center. MCYO's programs include a harp ensemble, several chamber ensembles, three string orchestras and three full orchestras. In total, MCYO consists of over 450 young musicians in grades 3 though 12.
Winston Churchill High School, often referred to as WCHS, Churchill High School, CHS or Churchill, is a high school in Potomac, Maryland, United States, an unincorporated section of Montgomery County.
The San Jose Youth Symphony (SJYS) is a non-profit youth orchestra located in San Jose, California.
The Portland Youth Philharmonic (PYP) is the oldest youth orchestra in the United States, established in 1924 as the Portland Junior Symphony (PJS). Now based in Portland, Oregon, the orchestra's origin dates back to 1910, when music teacher Mary V. Dodge began playing music for local children in Burns, Oregon. Dodge purchased instruments for the children and organized the orchestra, which would become known as the Sagebrush Symphony Orchestra. After touring the state, including a performance at the Oregon State Fair in Salem, the orchestra disbanded in 1918 when Dodge moved to Portland. There, Dodge opened a violin school and became music director of the Irvington School Orchestra.
The Ottawa Symphony Orchestra (OSO) is a full size orchestra in Ottawa, Canada, including professional, student and amateur musicians. With around 100 musicians, the OSO is Ottawa's largest orchestra, which allows it to perform large symphonic repertoire of the 19th and 20th centuries, including works by Canadian composers.
Based in Baltimore, Maryland, four ensembles comprise the GBYO, the full-sized symphonic Youth Orchestra, the intermediate-level Concert Orchestra, and the beginning-level Sinfonia and Sinfonietta ensembles. GBYO also offers a "Bridges" program, providing entry-level instruction to underserved youth in the city. The GBYO ensembles are in residence at Loyola College in Maryland.
Piotr Marcin (Peter) Gajewski is a Polish former politician, artistic director, conductor, and founder of the National Philharmonic, currently in residence at the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda, Maryland, in the United States. It is a successor ensemble to the National Chamber Orchestra.
El Sistema is a publicly financed, voluntary sector, music-education program, founded in Venezuela in 1975 by Venezuelan educator, musician, and activist José Antonio Abreu. It later adopted the motto "Music for Social Change." El Sistema-inspired programs provide what the International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies describes as "free classical music education that promotes human opportunity and development for impoverished children." By 2015, according to official figures, El Sistema included more than 400 music centers and 700,000 young musicians. The original program in Venezuela involves four after-school hours of musical training and rehearsal each week, plus additional work on the weekends. Most El Sistema-inspired programs in the United States provide seven or more hours of instruction per week, as well as free use of an instrument.
The Reno Philharmonic Orchestra is a professional symphony orchestra based in Reno, Nevada. Its season runs from late September through April. The current music director is Laura Jackson.
The Gamer Symphony Orchestra at the University of Maryland is a student-run symphony orchestra and chorus at the University of Maryland. The orchestra is the first collegiate ensemble to draw its repertoire exclusively from the music of video games. Most of GSO's members are non-music majors The orchestra holds a free concert every semester during the academic year and yearly charity fundraisers that benefit Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C.
Andreas Makris was a Greek-American composer and violinist, born in Kilkis, Greece, on March 7, 1930. He was a Composer-in-Residence for many years at the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington DC, working with conductors such as Howard Mitchell, Mstislav Rostropovich, Antal Dorati, and Leonard Slatkin. He composed around 100 works for orchestra, chamber ensembles, and solo instruments, including the Aegean Festival Overture, which, transcribed for concert band by Major Albert Bader of the USAF Band, became a popular piece with US bands. Grants and awards he received include the Damroch Grant, National Endowment for the Arts Grant, the Martha Baird Rockefeller Award, ASCAP Award, the Fulbright Scholarship, and citations from the Greek Government.
The Washington Symphonic Brass is an American professional modern brass ensemble, and a not-for-profit 501- (c)(3) arts organization. The ensemble performs in the Washington, DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia areas. The WSB presents live concerts, produces commercial recordings, and educates young brass and percussion musicians. The WSB is the Ensemble-in-Residence at George Mason University and is a collaborative artist with the National Philharmonic Orchestra, the Fairfax Choral Society, and the Amadeus Orchestra.
Washington, D.C. and its environs are home to an unusually large and vibrant choral music scene, including choirs and choruses of many sizes and types.
