Tchaikovsky visited. Stravinsky lectured. Bernstein conducted.
For the past 150 years, the Peabody Institute has been considered one of the leading music conservatories in the world. Founded in 1857 by philanthropist George Peabody, it was the first academy of music to be established in the United States.
Peabody?s generosity encouraged Enoch Pratt, Johns Hopkins and the Walters family to found other cultural institutions in Baltimore.
For its anniversary, Jeffrey Sharkey, director of the institute, is inviting the public to take a look into the past and envision the future at the 150th Anniversary Gala Celebration tonight.
What can people expect to see at the gala?
The gala is an attempt to show some of the diversity of the musical and dance offerings at the Peabody Institute. We will have our youngest chorus members singing, followed by our high school-age, pre-conservatory violinists. Our two international soloists of the evening are guitarist Manuel Barrueco and flutist Marina Piccinini. Then the audience is invited to see different performances going on in our major halls: Renaissance music and waltzing, opera and song, chamber music, and jazz and salsa performances.
How is the 150th anniversary significant to Baltimore?s public?
The people of Baltimore feel a tremendous sense of pride in the fact that our city has America?s first conservatory. This gala celebrates the richness of that 150-year-old past, where so many of the world?s most significant musicians taught, graduated or visited. I want to invite the public to think about the vital importance of music in our lives today. Music can transform anyone?s life at any time, if they are just given the opportunity.
What are you hoping for with Peabody?s future?
To be more embedded in the community of Baltimore, I want our students to come from the city, and inner city, of Baltimore. We just started a new program called Tuned In to reach out to students who can?t afford to study here.
I also want to raise the amount of scholarship money we have available to incoming students. Music is needed more than ever in schools and communities, but incredibly expensive to fund.
Nationally and internationally, I want our faculty and curriculum to continue to make Peabody a destination of first choice for the finest students in the world.
IF YOU GO
Peabody?s 150th Anniversary Gala
WHERE: Peabody Institute, 1 E. Mount Vernon Place, Baltimore
WHEN: 8:30 p.m.
TICKETS: $100*
*Proceeds will support the George Peabody 150th Anniversary Scholarship Fund.
