About the Hopkins Symphony Orchestra

Hopkins Symphony Orchestra (HSO) is open to JHU students not majoring in music, as well as to JHU faculty, staff, alumni, and community musicians. The only community orchestra in Baltimore City, HSO is dedicated to performing and promoting orchestral andchamber music from the standard and contemporary repertoires at a high artistic level.

HSO consists of two ensembles: the Symphonic Orchestra led by Music Director Jed Gaylin and the Concert Orchestra led by Blair Skinner. Each fall, orchestra musicians are accepted into the ensembles through a competitive audition process. Both orchestras offer a rigorous, artistically challenging orchestral experience, presenting an annual series of innovatively programmed, high-quality, low-cost or free orchestral concerts and a free children's concert. The winner/s of the biennial JHU student concerto competition performs with the orchestra in April.

HSO reaches out to a diverse audience through affordable concerts and educational programs like public school instrumental mentoring, lecture-demonstrations, and free pre-concert talks. Performances feature young Maryland soloists and composers as they develop their careers in addition to nationally and internationally known soloists. Among HSO’s prominent soloists have been Sara Davis Buechner, Allison Charney, Brian Ganz, Hilary Hahn, Awadagin Pratt, Eugenia Zukerman, and Stefan Jackiw.