About the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra
The Annapolis Symphony Orchestra is a regional orchestra serving Maryland's capital, performing most of its concerts at Maryland Hall in Annapolis with additional appearances at outdoor and community spots like Quiet Waters Park, Severna Park High School, and Forward Brewing. Its season centers on classical programs, rounded out with pops, holiday, chamber, and family concerts, so first-timers can pick anything from a full orchestral evening to a casual brewery performance. The orchestra draws on professional musicians from the Baltimore-Washington region and aims to make orchestral music approachable, with pre-concert talks and family-friendly programming common at its events. Expect a mid-size ensemble, a warm community atmosphere, and a mix of familiar masterworks and lighter fare across the year.
History
The Annapolis Symphony Orchestra grew out of community music making in Maryland's capital and dates its founding to 1969, when local players and supporters organized a resident orchestra for a city that had long relied on visiting ensembles and the musical life of the United States Naval Academy. It began as a largely volunteer group and moved over the following decades toward a professional roster drawn from the Baltimore and Washington region, where many players also perform with military bands, opera pits, and teaching faculties.
Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, the former Annapolis Senior High School converted into an arts center in the late 1970s, became the orchestra's home and remains the site of its subscription concerts. The building also houses the orchestra's offices and its education programs.
Leslie B. Dunner led the orchestra as music director before José-Luis Novo, a Spanish-born conductor, took the post in 2005 and went on to become one of the longest-serving music directors in the orchestra's history. Under Novo the ensemble expanded its classical series, commissioned and performed music by living American composers, and built outreach work including the Annapolis Symphony Academy, a training program for young string, wind, and brass players in the surrounding counties.
Today the orchestra performs a full season of classical, pops, holiday, family, and chamber programs, and it takes music beyond the hall to parks, schools, and informal venues around Anne Arundel County. It draws audiences from Annapolis, Severna Park, and the wider Chesapeake Bay region, and it regularly presents guest soloists alongside players from its own ranks.